Hawaii women’s basketball team holds off Louisiana-Monroe in home opener

HONOLULU — Despite some shaky execution down the stretch, the Hawaii women’s basketball team defeated Louisiana-Monroe 69-64 in its home opener on Friday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Point guard Lily Wahinekapu put in 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, wing Daejah Phillips added 13 points and six assists and freshman center Ritorya Tamilo was a two-way force with 12 points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals.

UH’s 10-point halftime lead narrowed to two by the end of the third quarter. It remained a close game to the final minutes. The Wahine, who set a program record with a 25-for-25 outing at the free-throw line in the season opener at Portland, went just 8-for-18 at the stripe to keep the Warhawks (3-2) in it.

UH had the ball up 66-64 with 32.6 seconds left. Wahinekapu hit one of two and Phillips grabbed the offensive board on the second. ULM had to take another foul on UH and MeiLani McBee hit both for a five-point lead with 18.8 seconds left that would be the final score.

Behind Tamilo, a 6-foot-5 post from New Zealand, UH compiled a 38-16 edge in paint points as she displayed deft footwork on offense and a knack for swats on defense.

In keeping with Laura Beeman’s platooning style to begin the 2024-25 season, 12 Wahine saw action and eight scored a field goal.

Guard Jakayla Johnson led ULM with 25 points on 6-for-17 shooting from the field and 9-for-10 at the line.

The unusual 11 a.m. tipoff game featured some 1,200 elementary school keiki taking in the game on a field trip.

Saint Mary’s and Eastern Washington were to play at 1:30 p.m. in the tournament’s other game of the day.

Note: This story will be updated.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.