Flavell, Tamilo shine for Hawai’i despite season-opening loss at Oregon

Flavell, Tamilo shine for Hawai’i despite season-opening loss at Oregon

Nov 2, 2026

Flavell, Tamilo shine for Hawai’i despite season-opening loss at Oregon

Hawaii Rainbow Wahine basketball first-year head coach Khalilah Mitchell addresses the team during a timeout. | Photo: Riley Guillermo

 

The schedule was supposed to be challenging.

It’s absolutely living up to that billing at first glance.

The University of Hawai’i women’s basketball team opened the 2026-27 regular season on Monday, falling 87-54 in Eugene against Oregon despite career-best performances from sophomore guard Bailey Flavell and junior center Ritorya Tamilo.

Flavell turned in a college-best 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting while knocking down 9-of-12 free throw attempts in the loss by the Rainbow Wahine while Tamilo towered above the Ducks with 14 points and a career-best 12 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

Hawai’i scored six of the game’s opening eight points, but Oregon quickly caught fire from beyond the arc to spark a 22-2 run and open up a 28-10 lead by the end of the opening quarter. Turnovers torpedoed the Rainbow Wahine after the strong opening, giving the ball away eight times while only making two of their final nine shots from the floor in the frame.

The second quarter saw more success for the visiting Rainbow Wahine as Tamilo and Flavell found their groove on the way to the lone 10-minute stretch won by Hawai’i. The group outscored Oregon, 23-19, in the second frame as Tamilo scored 10 of her 14 points while grabbing four rebounds and blocking three more shots. Flavell kept cooking offensively as well, chipping in eight points in the stanza.

Oregon turned up the heat again in the third, outscoring Hawai’i by 14 points as the Ducks converted at a 53% clip from the field out of the break. The Rainbow Wahine committed five more turnovers and made four total shots in the frame, allowing the deficit to double from 14 to 28 by the start of the fourth.

The scoring slump continued through the final 10 minutes for Hawai’i, who shot 24% from the floor after halftime as the team continued to adjust to a new read-and-react system against a strong Ducks squad. The Rainbow Wahine defense clicked back into gear for the fourth frame, holding Oregon to 5-of-20 shooting in the last quarter.

Oregon saw four players finish in double figures, led by Mallory Heyer’s 16 points and seven rebounds while Ehis Etute turned in a 15-point, 14-rebound double-double in the victory. Ducks guard Katie Fiso, who was named to the 2026-27 preseason watch list for the Nancy Lieberman Award (best point guard in the country), diced up the Rainbow Wahine in her team-high 30 minutes of work as she scored 14 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed four rebounds for the hosts.

Despite a lopsided final score, Hawai’i showed plenty of positive flashes to start the season on the road against an NCAA Tournament team from last year.

Tamilo looked like a player primed to take a step into full two-way stardom under first-year head coach Khalilah Mitchell, setting career highs in rebounds and blocked shots while making a Power 4 program become hesitant to attack the rim with her patrolling the paint. The 6-foot-5 junior center also drilled her seventh career 3-pointer and looked stronger making moves around the rim as she finished two points shy of her college highwater mark.

Flavell, the reigning Big West Freshman of the Year, picked up where she left off with a new career high in points and got to the free throw line more than she did in any single game during her first collegiate campaign as she went to the charity stripe 12 times. She also scored at an efficient rate against the multiple Oregon defenders sent her way, connecting on 7-of-11 tries from the floor.

Liz Udeze, who played at Mt. San Antonio College last season, had seven points and three rebounds off the bench in her Rainbow Wahine debut. The 5-foot-6 guard showed off an impressive handle of the basketball and looked like a true playmaking guard with quality court vision and a creative layup package.

Hawai’i returns to action on Thursday, wrapping up a season-opening two-game road trip with a matchup against San Francisco. It’ll be the season-opener for the Dons, who are coming off a 19-win season and a WNIT appearance. USF had two players selected to the all-West Coast Conference preseason team heading into the 2026-27 campaign and were picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll.

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Lake Erie (OH) holds off Hawaii Pacific to take third in Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic

Lake Erie (OH) holds off Hawaii Pacific to take third in Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic

Nov 2, 2026

Lake Erie (OH) holds off Hawaii Pacific to take third in Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic

Hawaii Pacific guard Keonjay Carter fires a shot from distance during the Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

HONOLULU – Close but no cigar.

For the second consecutive night, the Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team took a tough opponent down to the wire before falling short in regulation as Lake Erie (OH) used a high-pressure defense and clutch shooting to snag a 90-84 win over the Sharks on Sunday and claim third place in the Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic.

Four players finished in double figures for the Storm, seeing redshirt senior forward Gio Moore lead the way with 15 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes of work. Junior guard Griffin Turay had 13 points  on 5-of-7 shooting while Jamyier Patton and Aidan Filippini each chipped in 12 points in the win.

The Sharks struggled with turnovers for the second time in three games to start the season, committing 24 giveaways against Lake Erie on Sunday night that led directly to 26 points for the Storm.

Lake Erie’s full-court pressure played a big role in a slow start for HPU, forcing seven turnovers in the first four minutes of action and 16 across the opening half. The Sharks steadied themselves over the final nine minutes of action, committing just two turnovers during the stretch to help erase a 16-point deficit and enter the break tied at 40 with the Storm.

“It’s one of those games you wish you had a week [to prepare for], but no excuses,” fourth-year head coach Jesse Nakanishi said about the turnovers forced by the Lake Erie pressure. “No excuses though, we’ve got to be ready for quick turnarounds and I thought our guys did a pretty good job once they got a taste of it … Still not quite good enough executing and a lot of learning in this game.”

The Storm built the lead back up to 12 after the initial seven minutes of second half action out of the locker room, using a trio of three pointers and a few trips to the free throw line to grab some breathing room against the Sharks.

Hawaii Pacific responded again though as Evan Kilminster and Marino Dubravcic started to heat up, scoring 11 of the team’s next 14 points to make it a 66-62 game with 9 minutes left to play.

The Sharks took their first lead of the night with just under five minutes remaining in regulation, seeing guard Keonjay Carter connect on one of his two threes of the night to push the PacWest squad ahead momentarily, 77-75.

Lake Erie knotted the game at 77 with a layup from Caelum Ethridge on the very next possession and the Storm snatched the lead back with 3:23 left after Kilminster missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity and Jamyier Patton drained a shot-clock beating triple from five feet behind the arc.

Hawaii Pacific would not lead again, connecting on one of the team’s next seven shots as Lake Erie built up a nine-point lead while draining all six free throw attempts in the final minutes. Evan Kilminster cashed in a buzzer-beating three for the Sharks, but the connection came too little, too late as the Storm snatched a 90-84 victory in the tournament’s third-place battle.

Kilminster led the Sharks in scoring for the second straight night, pouring in 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting while also dishing out seven assists, grabbing four rebounds and committing six turnovers across a team-high 34 minutes in the loss.

The senior guard was the lone Hawaii Pacific player to be named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 16.3 points, 5.7 assists and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 45.5% from 3-point range across the three-game stretch.

Keonjay Carter added a season-high 16 points off the bench for Nakanishi’s Sharks, going 6-for-6 at the charity stripe while only committing one turnover in 27 minutes of work. Fifth-year big man Will Woodward chipped in 13 points and tied for the team-lead in rebounds with seven boards in 23 minutes, finishing as the third and final player in double figures for HPU.

Despite leaving the weekend with a 1-2 record, Nakanishi took away plenty of positives about what his team could be able to do as the regular season rolls along.

“We’ve got the pieces,” the fourth-year head coach stated. “We’re still a new team that’s learning each other and [this tournament] was kind of the barometer of where we’re at right now so I did learn a lot for where we’re at … Roles are still going to evolve but got a good feel for our team going against three really good opponents.”

The regular season rolls on for Hawaii Pacific next Monday, November 9 as they host Northwest Indian College at the Shark Tank in the team’s home opener at 6:30 p.m. HT.

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Hawaii Pacific falls to St. Mary’s (TX) in Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off third-place game

Hawaii Pacific falls to St. Mary’s (TX) in Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off third-place game

Nov 2, 2026

Hawaii Pacific falls to St. Mary’s (TX) in Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off third-place game

Hawaii Pacific wing Lucia Ricci puts up a floater over two defenders during Sunday’s Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic 3rd-place game. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

HONOLULU – Fought hard, fell short but found plenty of positives.

Playing for the third time in three days, the Hawaii Pacific University women’s basketball team ran out of energy in the Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic third-place game as they fell 58-51 against St. Mary’s (TX) on Sunday night.

The Sharks saw three players score in double figures in the loss, getting 15 points from second-year guard Jalen Samuel while wings Kyla Hopton and Lucia Ricci each added 10 points.

HPU (1-2) struggled to find any offensive rhythm in the first half against St. Mary’s, scoring four points in the opening quarter and 11 points in the follow-up frame to head into the break with 15 total points through 20 minutes of action.

The defense was up to the task in the first quarter for the Sharks, holding the Rattlers to 3-of-14 shooting to enter the second stanza trailing by two. St. Mary’s turned up the heat in the second with a 20-point quarter, drilling three 3-pointers in the frame to open up a 26-15 lead heading into the locker rooms.

Hawaii Pacific saw the offense ignite after the break, posting 36 points in the second half while holding St. Mary’s to 32 points across the final 20 minutes of action. The Sharks outscored the Rattlers in both the third and fourth quarters and made a rapid push late, but the rally ultimately fell short for the PacWest products.

St. Mary’s was carried by junior forward Kamryn Griffin, who posted a 29-point, 13-rebound double-double in the victory for the Rattlers. Freshman guard Elizabeth Griffin chipped in 12 points and knocked down a pair of triples for the visitors from Texas while junior forward Raynne Malik added eight points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes of work.

Despite falling on the final two nights of the season tip-off tournament, second-year head coach Brent Gibson felt the weekend brought plenty of positives for the season that still sits ahead for the Sharks.

“Great for us to step up on the national level and get that opportunity,” Gibson said when asked about the weekend. “I think that for us, we saw some combinations that work really well in our pressure defense system and we’re going to see how we can grow with that.”

 Gibson also pointed out the adjustment for his team having a true post presence this year after going all of last season without a single player over 6-foot tall. With the addition of a healthy Cordelia Wilcox, who missed all of last year with a knee injury, and the expected return of Abbey Hadsell, the Sharks will have multiple true “bigs” to play with throughout 2026-27.

“It’s the question of how we incorporate that,” Gibson continued. “We haven’t had that in the past, so we’ve got to make some adjustments and add a little something extra to us.”

Hawaii Pacific will return to action for the team’s home opener in just under two weeks, welcoming Alaska Fairbanks and Alaska Anchorage to the islands on November 13 and 14 as part of the Hawai’i-Alaska Challenge.

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Hawai’i clinches playoff spot with Senior Day draw against New Mexico

Hawai’i clinches playoff spot with Senior Day draw against New Mexico

Nov 1, 2026

Hawai’i clinches playoff spot with Senior Day draw against New Mexico

The Hawai’i women’s soccer team poses together on Senior Day after clinching a spot in the Mountain West tournament. | Photo Credit: Ku’ulei Agbayani, HSRN

HONOLULU – They certainly didn’t make it easy.

The University of Hawai’i women’s soccer team clinched a spot in the Mountain West tournament on Sunday, playing New Mexico (8-4-4, 5-2-2 Mountain West) to a 2-2 draw at the Lower Campus Field on Senior Day in the islands.

The Rainbow Wahine (9-5-2, 6-2-1 Mountain West) got goals from a pair of seniors, seeing Jordyn Eldredge Sagapolutele and Anuhea Aluli find the back of the net in the second half to help rally from two different deficits.

“I got after [the team] a little bit at the end of the game,” Hawai’i head coach Bud Nagamine said following the tie against the Lobos. “I told them they were like a cat and their nine lives were getting really close there at the end … Fortunately for us, we had some really gritty individual performances.”

Hawai’i gave up an opening half goal for the second straight game, seeing New Mexico forward Presley Devey to sneak a shot by keeper Kennedy Justin in the 7th minute to give a 1-0 lead to the visitors before fans had fully settled in.

The Rainbow Wahine recovered to outshoot the Lobos, 10-7, across the first half of play but were unable to find the equalizer before heading into the halftime break.

It marked just the fourth time this season that Hawai’i exited the first 45 minutes trailing an opponent. The Rainbow Wahine had lost all three previous instances, twice during non-conference play and during the Mountain West opener at Colorado College.

Hawai’i finally found the back of the net more than midway through the second half after Jas Cayetano crossed a ball across the 18-yard box to the foot of fellow freshman Olivia Dianda, who dropped it off to Jordyn Eldredge Sagapolutele right in front of the net for a game-tying goal with 19 minutes left to play.

New Mexico wasted no time taking the lead right back, getting a go-ahead goal from midfielder Alysa Whelchel just 49 seconds later.

Anuhea Aluli leveled the match again for the Rainbow Wahine in the 79th minute, taking one touch to turn to the outside and firing a right-footed rocket over the outstretched arms of New Mexico goalkeeper Alyson Campbell to re-ignite the cheers from the home crowd on hand.

“I think we were just hungry,” Aluli said of the team’s mindset after falling down 2-1 in the second half. “When we’re put in the position, I think it’s a good moment for us to step up … We don’t fall down more than one goal, so we knew that we just needed to put one in the back of the net.”

After squaring the match at two-all, the Hawai’i defense handled business to maintain the even score until the final whistle to secure a draw against the Lobos. With the result, the Rainbow Wahine officially clinched one of the four spots in the conference tournament in the team’s first year in the Mountain West with one game left to play.

“I think we needed that little spark … We’re not ready to be pau yet,” Aluli said. “We’re just really excited and ready to get to work again.”

Kennedy Justin finished Senior Day with six saves, tied for the third-most in a single match this season for the fourth-year keeper. Despite allowing a pair of scores to the Lobos, Justin kept the Rainbow Wahine within striking distance with a handful of spectacular stops across both halves.

“I don’t even know how she got on the end of that,” Nagamine said about Justin’s stupendous stops. “I mean, she’s done that for us. She’s been exceptional all year long … What Kennedy did today was she kept us in the game and that’s all we ever ask of our goalkeepers.”

Despite being celebrated on Sunday, Justin intends to return for her fifth year of eligibility in 2027.

Justin, Aluli and Sagapolutele were among the nine seniors honored after the match, joining Izzy Ayala, Leila Kahoano, Alohi Ramos, Tatum Porter, Zoe Park and Izzy Palmatier as Rainbow Wahine showered with love and appreciation for their collegiate careers after the match.

“The senior class has led us in so many different ways this year,” Nagamine gushed of her veterans. “The example that they set, the standard of excellence that they’ve put for us … Credit to our seniors for just really leading us through so much emotion.”

Hawai’i will wrap up the regular season on the road on Saturday, November 7 when the Rainbow Wahine visit Wyoming. UH has already secured a spot in the playoffs regardless of the result against the Cowgirls but can see the team’s seeding finish anywhere from second place to fourth place depending on winning, losing or tying in the season finale.

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Sizzling shooting display helps Hawaii Pacific to blowout win over St. Edwards

Sizzling shooting display helps Hawaii Pacific to blowout win over St. Edwards

Oct 30, 2026

Sizzling shooting display helps Hawaii Pacific to blowout win over St. Edwards

Hawaii Pacific G Avi Halpert drives during a preseason exhibition against the University of Hawai’i. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

HONOLULU – Welcome to the Splash Zone.

Behind a blistering first half of long-range shooting and suffocating defensive showing, the Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team cruised to an 88-64 victory over St. Edwards (TX) on Friday morning to begin the 2026 Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic tournament.

The Sharks (1-0) looked right at home despite playing at McCabe Gym on the Chaminade campus, connecting on 19 3-pointers as a team in the season-opening win. It marked the most made threes in a single game for HPU since hitting a program record 20 triples against Grace Bible College in the Hoops in Hawaii Classic in 2015.

“Winning is hard so [when] you get a win like that, you try to enjoy it,” fourth-year head coach Jesse Nakanishi said after the game. “Every team in this tournament is figuring out their own team right now, so being able to get a win like that while we’re still figuring ourselves out is a sign of some good work that we put in.”

Senior guard Avi Halpert paced HPU with a game-high 23 points, shooting 8-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-10 from behind the arc against a Hilltoppers squad that received votes in the NCAA Division II men’s basketball Top 25 preseason poll. All but two of Halpert’s points came before the halftime buzzer, helping the Sharks take a 57-25 lead into the locker rooms after 20 minutes of play.

“[Shooting is] a separator in basketball and we shot the heck out of it in the first half and fortunately created a big enough gap to hang on in a second half where we did not take care of the ball very well,” said Nakanishi.

HPU shot it at 63% clip from the floor and knocked down 15-of-24 attempts from beyond the arc across the action in the first half. Despite a team featuring nine new players and returning zero starters from a season ago, they dished out 17 assists on the 19 total shots made from the field.

“We really talk about turning bronze to silver and silver to gold as far as how we rate shots,” a pleased Nakanishi explained of the offense. “Our guys shared it, especially in that first half … Obviously, you’ve got to make shots to get assists, but we really were moving the ball and sharing the ball and pushing in transition with pitch-aheads that really gave us some clean looks in the first half.”

The Sharks turned the ball over 24 times in total, 18 coming after halftime, leading to 25 points for St. Edwards. Despite the giveaway woes, HPU held the Hilltoppers to 12-for-31 shooting in the second half to hold on for a 24-point win and advance into the tournament semifinals on Saturday, October 31.

Robert Conran’s 16 points paced St. Edwards in the loss. Donovan Santoro was the only other Hilltopper to trickle into double figures, chipping in 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench.

Third-year forward Marino Dubravcic chipped in his first career double-double in the victory, tallying 10 points and 12 rebounds in 22 minutes of work in his first official game in an HPU uniform. The 6-foot-10 transfer from Northern Iowa also committed a team-high seven turnovers.

USC-Beaufort transfer Evan Kilminster also enjoyed his Sharks debut, adding 15 points and six assists in 31 minutes of action. The 6-foot-3 guard drained four 3-pointers, second-most on the squad behind Halpert.

Returning third-year guard Nemanja Sarenac was the fourth and final Shark to register double digits in the points category, cashing in a trio of triples while completing a four-point play to finish with 10 points in 28 minutes. The Serbian guard also grabbed four rebounds, handed out three assists and registered two of the team’s nine total steals.

Hawaii Pacific will take on Minot State (ND) in the tournament semifinals on Saturday at 5:15 p.m. HT inside McCabe Gym. The Beavers upset Adelphi (NY) in the second game of the tournament as guard Jayse Boatwright’s 34 points helped lift the team over the Panthers, 75-74.

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Hawaii Pacific hopes to take next step despite plethora of new players

Hawaii Pacific hopes to take next step despite plethora of new players

Oct 30, 2026

Hawaii Pacific hopes to take next step despite plethora of new players

Hawaii Pacific University’s bench celebrates after an early basket during a preseason exhibition against the University of Hawai’i. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

HONOLULU – Progress is not always linear, but it can be.

Coming off the program’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in nearly a decade, the Hawaii Pacific University men’s basketball team enters 2026-27 with a roster filled with fresh faces. After going 18-12 last year and earning an at-large bid to the dance, the Sharks saw 11 departures via graduation and the transfer portal.

The coaching staff also looks different entering Year 4 for head coach Jesse Nakanishi, seeing former associate head coach Cam Flabel move on to Division I with Idaho State. That led to a promotion into the second chair for assistant coach Kyle Ruiz and the addition of two new coaching faces in Cole Cummings and David Rowlands.

“The formula here is you get some young grinders that go above and beyond for our guys because we wear so many hats as a Division II coaching staff,” Nakanishi said about filling out his bench. “Kyle really showed last year that he was that guy … so it was an easy answer for me to promote Kyle.”

Along with the new staff, Nakanishi and company added nine new players to the program as the Sharks look to earn back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths for the first time in school history. After losing over 75% of the team’s scoring from a year ago, impact players were a must-have for Nakanishi.

He also looked to add more size and toughness, which he found in Bellevue product Will Woodward and Western Oklahoma wing Franciz Wai – a pair of junior college products that stand tall at 6-foot-7 and enjoy competing on the defensive end.

Woodward, a former pitcher at the University of Washington before spending last year playing basketball at Bellevue, had an especially nice Sharks debut as he posted 10 points and a team-best eight rebounds against a Division I opponent in the University of Hawai’i during last Sunday’s season-opening exhibition in Mānoa.

HPU also brought in a new, dynamic point guard after seeing last season’s starter Quentin Meza transfer out of the program. Even with the loss of an all-PacWest selection in Meza, the Sharks believe they could get more from USC-Beaufort transfer Evan Kilminster.

Kilminster, who was an all-Peach Belt selection for the Sand Sharks last year, struggled to find his shot against a suffocating Rainbow Warrior defense but handed out a game-high eight assists while only turning the ball over twice in his first game action in an HPU uniform. Being held below double figures was a rarity for Kilminster in 2025-26, when he scored 10+ points in 20 of his 29 appearances for USCB last season.

Despite expecting growing pains through the year with a different roster, Nakanishi sees the program pushing along like previous campaigns.

“The expectation is to continue the growth of the program even though it’s with a lot of new faces,” the fourth-year head coach said ahead of the regular season opener. “The expectation is to take that next step, to win the league and finish in the national tournament.”

Nakanishi understands the difficulty of those goals, so he set up a schedule that can help achieve them.

HPU will start the new season earlier than the majority of the nation, taking on St. Edwards (TX) at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 30 in the Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic. It’ll be one of three events sanctioned by the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) to tip off the 2026-27 regular season.

The Hilltoppers present one of many challenges on the schedule for the Sharks, receiving votes in the initial national Top 25 poll for Division II. The season-opening opponent is one of five teams on the HPU schedule that were either ranked or received consideration in the season’s first national rankings.

“You learn from your experiences … the proof is in the pudding. Last year I challenged our team and myself and our staff that we were going to schedule as hard as we can,” Nakanishi explained. “If we didn’t do that route, we would’ve not gotten into the national tournament. It’s really difficult to win the PacWest, the PacWest Tournament and get that automatic bid so if we don’t, what’s the fallback plan?”

Nakanishi believes that the loaded Hoops in Hawaii Tip-Off Classic will provide a strong baseline for the team and point the Sharks in the direction of what they need to improve upon for the rest of the season. A few wins would strengthen the résumé for HPU but won’t come easily during the tournament.

“This tournament is going to be a great opportunity for us to grow,” Nakanishi said. “Definitely think we’re more than capable of winning the whole thing if we’re playing at our best. I do think getting a couple of wins towards [our NCAA Power Index] would go a long way for us in the grand scheme of trying to get into the national tournament with an at-large berth. A couple of wins would make this a successful tournament.”

The winner of Friday’s game between Hawaii Pacific and St. Edwards University will advance to the tournament semifinals and take on the victor between Adelphi University (NY) and Minot State University (ND) on Saturday, October 31 at 5:15 p.m. inside McCabe Gymnasium.

Matingou magic helps Hawai’i hold on late against Seattle

Matingou magic helps Hawai’i hold on late against Seattle

Nov 3, 2026

HONOLULU – What a way to end college basketball’s opening day. After seeing a 16-point lead evaporate and falling behind for the first time all game late, the University of Hawai’i men’s basketball team sent fans home happy on Monday night as Jaden...

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