For one half, all of Mid-Pacific’s plans were in full effect.
The box-and-one defense on Damien’s Theresa Anakalea couldn’t confine her forever. The junior guard scored nine of her 13 points in the final quarter as Damien rallied from a four-point halftime deficit for a 41-26 win on Saturday afternoon at Mills Gym.
Shastyne Selesele had 13 rebounds in addition to six points. Kenna Wengler finished with seven rebounds and three assists.
“I feel very proud of this team. Tough loss yesterday,” Damien coach Mark Arquero said, referring to a loss to Hawaii Baptist. “Today, we bounced back and I’m very proud of them.”
Damien is 7-1 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II play (10-2 overall) with five regular-season games remaining. Damien and Hawaii Baptist (9-1) are in first and second place in the standings, with Hanalani (5-3) and Mid-Pacific (5-4) giving chase. The top two finishers during regular-season play will clinch state-tournament berths. The remaining teams plus the D-III champion will enter a playoff tourney with the other two state berths on the line.
“After losing the game against HBA, we definitely wanted to come back from a loss. It motivated us to get that dub today,” said Anakalea, who closed the game with six-straight free throws. “My team definitely had my back. They were getting boards, rebounding. Our defense is always lockdown. That’s where points basically come from.”
On Saturday, MPI coach Reid Sagawa deployed a box-and-one on Anakalea, who then shot 1-for-6 from the field and 0-for-2 at the free-throw line in the first half. The Owls led 13-9.
Using a fullcourt press and 2-3 matchup zone, Damien chipped away and took the lead, 16-15, on a follow shot by Wengler with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
Tiare Arquero hit a runner, Selesele hustled for a putback, and Damien’s lead was four points after three quarters.
Their momentum carried into the fourth period. After Wengler banked in a 3, Damien had a 26-17 lead with 7:10 to go.
MPI struggled for the remainder of the game and shot 4-for-24 from the field in the second half. Shayna Selesele made a follow shot, Cristazia Cristobal scored in transition on a pass from Wengler, and Anakalea’s free throws opened the lead to 33-21 with 1:33 left, sealing the win.
Senior Lauren Hayashi led the Owls with 14 points and added four rebounds. She shot 6-for-7 from the field.
Kalena Thurston added seven rebounds.
Damien will play Kamehameha I-AA on Monday, then hosts Hawaii Baptist on Tuesday.
