Hawai‘i outlasts Saint Mary’s in triple overtime for Khalilah Mitchell’s first win
The Sporting Tribune
Host · Writer
HONOLULU — Kyra Webb hit a corner 3-pointer to keep Hawai‘i alive in regulation. Ritorya Tamilo beat the buzzer in the first overtime, and Bailey Flavell drove for the tying layup in the second. In the third overtime, the Rainbow Wahine finally pulled away, beating Saint Mary’s 93-89 on Friday to give Khalilah Mitchell her first victory as a head coach.
Tamilo led Hawai‘i with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks, shooting 9 of 12 from the field. Flavell played 53 of a possible 55 minutes and finished with 17 points, a career-high 10 rebounds and five assists. The win came in Mitchell’s home debut at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center, where more than 600 children attended Coach K’s Keiki Game on the opening day of the Bank of Hawai‘i Classic.
Hawai‘i (1-2) spent much of the afternoon trying to catch Saint Mary’s (1-3). The Gaels led 22-13 after the first quarter and stretched their advantage to 11 in the second before the Rainbow Wahine rallied to take a brief lead. The teams went into halftime tied at 37, but Saint Mary’s opened the third quarter with a 7-1 run and carried a 57-50 advantage into the fourth.
The Gaels scored six straight points to go up by nine with fewer than four minutes remaining in regulation. Hawai‘i chipped away until Webb got a look from the corner and buried a 3-pointer to tie it at 66 with 31 seconds left. Saint Mary’s had the last shot of regulation, but Lucy Aherne missed a hook shot at the buzzer.
Aherne went to the free-throw line with a chance to put the game away in the first overtime. With the Gaels ahead by two and 1.3 seconds left, she missed both attempts. Hawai‘i advanced the ball to the frontcourt, where Flavell found Tamilo under the basket on the inbound pass. Tamilo got the layup off before the buzzer to tie it at 73.
Jovi Lefotu made a free throw to give Hawai‘i a 78-75 lead in the second overtime, but Saint Mary’s came back again. NaTallia Urlacher drove to the basket, drew a foul and completed a three-point play to put the Gaels ahead 80-78. Flavell answered with a driving layup with 11 seconds left, and both teams came up empty on their final possessions of the period.
Flavell scored Hawai‘i’s first two baskets in the third overtime. Urlacher, who led all scorers with 26 points, fouled out with 3:14 remaining. The Rainbow Wahine took a 90-85 lead when Zyriah Price came up with a steal and drove for a layup while drawing a foul. Tamilo followed with a putback to extend the lead to seven, giving Hawai‘i enough room to close out the game.
Price finished with 13 points and four steals in 22 minutes off the bench. Rebecca Moors added 10 points and 12 rebounds, both career highs, for her first double-double. Moors and Tamilo combined for 10 offensive rebounds, with Tamilo grabbing six.
The game was the second to go to triple overtime in Hawai‘i program history and the first since a 67-59 loss at Nevada in 2016. The Rainbow Wahine opened the season with road losses at Oregon and San Francisco and will finish the Bank of Hawai‘i Classic against Loyola Marymount at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
