The Hawaii women’s basketball team claimed a championship in its first nonconference tournament of the season.

The next might be a little tougher.

UH defeated Eastern Washington, 67-55, on Sunday afternoon with a well-rounded performance. Along with a win over Louisiana-Monroe on Friday, the Rainbow Wahine went 2-0 in the Bank of Hawaii Classic and claimed the championship over Saint Mary’s via tiebreaker. The Gaels also went 2-0 with wins over the same teams but the Wahine had more total points.

Point guard Lily Wahinekapu was named tournament MVP after putting up nine points, eight rebounds and four assists for UH (3-1), which is off to its best four-game start since 2019.

Wing MeiLani McBee led the Wahine with 12 points on four 3-point hits, including a one-legged shot to beat the buzzer and lead her team into the half up by 12. Forward Imani Perez scored 11 points and center Brooklyn Rewers added nine points and seven rebounds off the bench.

The degree of difficulty ratchets up a notch in the American Savings Rainbow Wahine Showdown immediately following Thanksgiving.

UH will take on Fresno State (5-1), Tennessee-Martin (1-4) and No. 5 UCLA (5-0) in succession on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with 2:30 p.m. tipoffs each day.

UCLA achieved a stunning 77-62 home win over No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday, breaking the Gamecocks’ 43-game winning streak.

Along with Wahinekapu, freshman center Ritorya Tamilo was named to the Bank of Hawaii Classic all-tournament team. Tamilo scored eight points with two blocked shots Sunday.

Daejah Phillips and McBee had three steals apiece.

EWU (1-5) of the Big Sky Conference was led by Peyton Howard, who scored 14 points with six assists.

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