Hawaii women’s basketball’s version of the twin towers provided a new and exciting look showcasing just how many options coach Laura Beeman has at her disposal this season.

Freshman Ritorya Tamilo, a 6-foot-5 center, spent much of Friday’s 69-64 win over Louisiana-Monroe paired on the court with 6-foot-4 junior forward Imani Perez. Tamilo was a difference-maker with 12 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and three steals and returning seniors Lily Wahinekapu and Daejah Phillips combined for 33 points to help UH get off to its first 2-1 start since 2019.

“When teams come big with two bigs, we have that luxury,” Beeman said. “We tried to really impress upon these guys after Portland that we’re just still trying to figure things out. I promise we’re not coaching them to a loss. I think the bottom line for this group is we have a game plan and everyone knows our game plan and we have to execute.”

A SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 1,701, which included more than 1,000 grade-school students taking a field trip to enjoy the rare 11 a.m. tipoff on a Friday, saw Louisiana-Monroe (3-2) cut a 16-point deficit to one with 46 seconds remaining in the opening game of the Bank of Hawaii Classic.

Wahinekapu, who scored a team-high 20 points, dribbled behind her back and then stepped back for a jumper in the key to push the lead back up to 3.

Up two with 26 seconds remaining, Wahinekapu made the first of two free throws. She missed the second, but Phillips grabbed the offensive rebound and MeiLani McBee cashed two free throws for the final margin.

“I think our coaches put us in good positions during practice to (prepare for) situations like that and I did that in practice a couple of weeks ago and it translated to the game,” Wahinekapu said.

Tamilo, who was the youngest player on the New Zealand National Team in 2023 at 18 years old, flashed the dynamic skill set that made her a prized recruit for Beeman and her staff.

She shot 6-for-8 from the field and was just as good on the defensive end, helping to hold the Warhawks’ two starting forwards to a combined 10 points, less than half what they were averaging coming in.

“When we recruited her we knew we landed something really special,” Beeman said. “I believe that (Tamilo’s) international experience and just her processing speed is going to continue to help put us in positions to be successful.”

ULM’s Jakayl Johnson scored 24 of her game-high 25 points in the second half and was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in a third quarter in which the Warhawks scored 15 of their 25 points from the charity stripe.

Johnson finished 6-for-17 from the field and 4-for-11 from the 3-point line and Meloney Thames added 16 points before fouling out.

Hawaii was held without a field goal for the final 4 minutes, 20 seconds of the third quarter.

“We lost some intensity in that third quarter. We started fouling too much,” Beeman said. “It affected some of our offensive continuity.”

Perez, Phillips and McBee played the entire fourth quarter.

Phillips, who was named the first Big West Player of the Week after the opening two games of the season, finished with 13 points, a game-high six assists and two boards, which both came on the offensive glass.

Hawaii shot 50% from the field (27-for-54) and 36.8% from 3 (7-for-19) and never trailed in the game.

Tamilo, who has scored in double figures in each of her first three games, played a season-high 27 minutes in her first home game.

“It felt so good. All of the little kids were so cute. I was tearing up while they were singing the national anthem,” Tamilo said. “It was just great to have them here and all of the support.”

Hawaii will next play Sunday against Eastern Washington at 2:30 p.m.