Top-seeded ‘Iolani captured its third straight Division I state championship with a convincing 28-17 win over second-seeded Konawaena on Saturday night at Blaisdell Arena.
Jovi Wahinekapu Lefotu had 14 points and eight rebounds, along with two blocks and two assists for ‘Iolani (16-2 overall). Lefotu earned Most Outstanding Player honors, but it was not so easy against a tough-nosed Konawaena defense. Lefotu had just four points in the first half as the Wildcats swarmed defensively out of their unpredictable matchup zone.
By game’s end, Lefotu made seven of her 11 free-throw attempts in the final quarter as the Raiders pulled away.
“The little things, I think, add up. We knew they were going to key on our scorers, so having everyone spread out the points really helped us and was effective,” said Lefotu, who signed recently with Hawaii.
“Her legacy. She could’ve had four state championships if we had played and possibly won last year,” ‘Iolani coach Dean Young said. “Her legacy could’ve been even bigger.”
It was the lowest-scoring championship game in Division I and pre-classification history.
No other Raider scored more than four points. ‘Iolani shot just 27 percent from the field (8-for-30), but outrebounded Konawaena 28-23 and was 10-for-14 at the free-throw line. Konawaena shot 24 percent from the field (8-for-33) and was only 1-for-2 at the charity stripe.
The game pivoted on an injury to Konawaena standout guard Kaliana Salazar-Harrell. The senior was on defense guarding Jaety Mandaquit in the final seconds of the first half. Both jumped as an entry pass arrived, and Mandaquit inadvertently knocked the smaller Salazar-Harrell slightly off balance with her off hand. Salazar-Harrell then landed awkwardly, both legs buckling as she landed, and she immediately crumbled to the hardwood. Stunned players from both teams circled Salazar-Harrell at first before being directed to their respective benches.
The entire audience at Blaisdell went silent as Salazar-Harrell was tended to by a trainer. She was carried to the lockerroom, unable to put any weight on her left leg. Konawaena had been ahead for most of the second quarter, but trailed 14-10 at the half when Salazar-Harrell was injured.
She returned to the Konawaena bench after the third quarter, on crutches, and the crowd on both sides of the arena gave her a long ovation.
Salazar-Harrell, a Cal State Fullerton signee, had scored 24 points in a quarterfinal win over Mililani and 27 in a semifinal win over Lahainaluna, averaging three steals per game. Co-head coach Bobbie Awa was still in tears after the game as she hugged her players.
“That’s the toughest. She’s our captain and our leader. The girls follow her and she leads by example. The ball’s always in her hands and we struggled setting up without her,” Awa said. “The girls knew she got hurt, but they didn’t know how serious it was. ‘Iolani is well coached and played very, very aggressive tonight. (The officials) let us play tonight.”
Lefotu was one of the Raiders who was on the court when Salazar-Harrell went down.
“She’s a great player. I used to play with her and she’s a great girl. Hopefully her injury is not severe and she gets back on the court. She played well tonight,” Lefotu said.
Young’s third run to the state title was different.
“God, I have a lot of mixed emotions right now. I have so much respect for the Konawaena program, coach Awa and Kaliana. To see her not finish the game was so heartbreaking for us. Obviously, I’m so happy and super proud of our girls, but I’m kind of heartbroken, too, for them. They kept fighting, so well coached, and gave us a battle to the end.”
The game was a stalemate for much of the first half, two chess players refusing to budge. Mandaquit’s 3 gave ‘Iolani a 3-2 lead, and after buckets by Lefotu, the Raiders led 7-4 after one quarter.
Konawaena started the second quarter on fire, getting a layup by Braelyn Kauhi and a go-ahead 16-footer from the right wing by Salazar-Harrell. After Juliana Losalio-Watson scored inside on a feed from Kauhi, the Wildcats had a 10-7 lead with 4:10 left in the second quarter.
‘Iolani began to solve the Konawaena matchup zone and scored the last seven points of the first half. Callie Pieper scored on a pass from Lefotu, Abby Tanaka fed Haylie-Anne Ohta for a corner 3 and Lefotu fed Pieper again for a deuce, and the Raiders led 14-10.
Then, on the last play of the half, Salazar-Harrell landed awkwardly after battling Mandaquit for a lob pass on the low post.
‘Iolani won its sixth girls basketball championship in all. The first was in 1987 under Calvin Hashimoto, followed by titles in ’89, ’95 and ’96 under Bernie Ching.
Then came a long drought with runner-up finishes in ’08 and ’12 — the latter being a loss to Konawaena and coach Awa — until the three-peat of ’19, ’20 and this year.
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Third place
Lahainaluna 46, Campbell 36
Fifth place
Punahou 35, Maui 33
