Wahine Force A Crash Landing For the Pilots

The Rainbow Wāhine edged out a 55-51 victory last week against LMU, continuing the hope Coach Beeman could get her team comfortable at home. They faced Portland’s Pilots at the Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center this Sunday, winning with a dominant fourth quarter display to start the season 4-0 for the first time since 2000-01.

Center Ritorya Tamilo had an impressive season debut and was named the Bank of Hawaiʻi Classic’s MVP in her first game back. She finished the game with a team-high 16 points and knocked down timely shots to put the Wāhine in the lead. Bailey Flavell showed out again with a nice display of passing and knocking down the game-icing free throws.

The first quarter was a shootout, with both teams trading blows early in the game. The Pilots’ early team effort put them in the lead throughout much of the first quarter. However, Ritorya Tamilo answered every single time.

Tamiloʻs started 4-4 from the field with a transition three with 30 seconds left in the quarter and put the Wāhine in the driver’s seat, closing out the quarter 13-11.

The Pilots, eager to keep their unbeaten streak against the Wāhine, came out flying in the second. Rhyan Mogel shifted the momentum in Portland’s favor after knocking down a shot-clock buzzer beater to put them up in the quarter with 8 minutes left.

Things got a little chippy when Portland’s defensive pressure was failing to stop the Wāhine. The full-court pressure by the Pilots was getting exposed with quick transition buckets, forcing Coach Meek to call a timeout.

Nicole Rodriguez came out guns-blazing after that timeout, and with the help of defensive adjustments, went on an 8-point scoring run herself. But the bleeding didnʻt stop there, as the defensive adjustments forced a late-quarter Wāhine turnover. Portland benefited from this, moving the ball to all five players before Dyani Ananiev hit the last-second mid-range to put the Pilots up 36-30 to end the half.

The third quarter was a quiet one for the first few minutes, but an and-1 spin move by Saniyah Neverson put the Wāhine down by one and got the Bankoh Arena active. Looking to put an end to that momentum, the Pilots forced two back-to-back turnovers, both leading to threes on the other end by Florence Dallow, finishing the quarter with a 48-47 lead over Hawaiʻi.

Portland started off the most important quarter with all the momentum heading their way. But Coach Meek’s mounting frustration on the refereeing earned him a tech, and the possession was followed by a quick three.

Hawaiʻi’s defensive resilience showed out in the fourth with Imani Perez being the defensive anchor, while Flavell and Tamilo were getting busy on offense. A three from Tehyana Bond tied up the game at 56-56 with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Timing and comfort, a topic Coach Beeman talked about in the season opener against Portland State, was a real showout. The Wāhine closed out the game with a stunning defensive display, and Bailey Flavell hit the game-icing free throws with 16 seconds left to put the Wahine up 64-60.

Coach Beeman told us after the game that watching this team's growth has been “amazing.” Beeman also praised the Portland team: “Mike does a great job with this program. Every year they are in the mix to win the conference and they will be again this year.”

Clutch defense forced two airballs from Portland and ultimately resulted in a 66-61 victory for the Wahine — the first victory for Hawaiʻi against a tough Portland team since 1992. The Wāhine look to go 5-0, facing a new opponent from Vermont on Nov. 28, continuing their homestand at the Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.