Senior point guard Kaiya Mack scored 17 of her 23 points in the first half as Esperanza (Calif.) hung on for a 47-39 win over Punahou on Wednesday at the Pa‘ani Invitational girls basketball tournament.
“Kaiya Mack gets us going,” Aztecs coach Jimmy Valverde said.
Madi Lam added 12 points, including four key free throws in the final 1:01 of regulation.
It was a busy first few hours of the Aztecs’ adventure in Hawaii, playing just their second game of the season. Hailing from Anaheim, they were 20-8 last season, including 4-2 in the Crestview League.
“You know, we just got off the plane at 3:15 and then traffic, and we get to hotel about 5 and it’s a rush-rush thing. I couldn’t be prouder of my girls,” Valverde said.
Esperanza and Punahou tipped off at 7 p.m. on the main court at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
“We’re a young team, but you saw, they played hard. They battled. They pick each other up. They’re there for each other and that’s what makes this a little special. There’s no selfish kid on this team. They’re just about each other and that’s what pulled us through this game,” Valverde said.
Shania Moananu paced Punahou (2-1) with 12 points. The host team shot 11-for-26 at the free-throw line, including 1-for-8 in the opening quarter.
“That’s a heck of a team over there. That’s a great team we just played and that’s what makes me feel even prouder. They’re well-coached. They’re very nice young ladies,” Valverde said “Sometimes the shots fall for one team or another.”
The Buffanblu missed their share of shots in the paint, but the ball movement wasn’t lacking.
“I think we just had a slow start. We let them have too many layups, but it’s all controllable. We’re a young team, still. It’s a good experience. We had played hard and that’s all coach could ask of us,” said guard Laynee Torres-Kahapea, who finished with five points.
The Aztecs started slowly, going scoreless for nearly 4 minutes. They trailed 5-0 before going on a 16-0 run. Punahou was relentless with cutting and passes into the paint, and gained the bonus early in the second quarter. By the middle of the second quarter, both teams dropped extended pressure, but the Aztecs stuck with their matchup zone.
Punahou climbed back and got within 19-13, but Esperanza finished the half strong. Mack’s corner 3 with 2 seconds left made it 25-16 at intermission.
The Aztecs’ lead was down to 30-26 when Lam went down with less than 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Torres-Kahapea scored on drive to bring Punahou within two points, but Esperanza’s Charlotte Muller splashed a corner 3 at the buzzer. It was the Aztecs’ third buzzer-beating shot in three quarters.
Muller opened the fourth quarter with a traditional 3-point play to give the Aztecs a 36-28 lead. Lam returned to the game, but the Buffanblu made a run. Torres-Kahapea drove and scored for a three-point play, but Punahou missed three free throws during that time span. One miss was on a lane violation and another was the front side of a one-and-one.
Punahou cut the lead to 38-35 before Lacie Miyatake swished a corner 3 to open Esperanza’s lead to six points with 3:55 remaining. Punahou got no closer than two points the rest of the way.
Patience and clock management without a shot clock was no problem for the Aztecs. Lam sank two free throws to extend the lead to 45-39 with 1:01 left. The freshman added two more charity shots with 53.9 seconds left for an eight-point margin.
“When Madi goes down, I’m thinking, come on. We need her. She’s a fabulous freshman. She’s a magnificent kid. The trainer was amazing. When the trainer was talking to her, the way Madi was responding, it was a relief,” Valverde said. “ACL tears we’ve had, we’ve had a couple of players come back from those. When Madi’s hurt, you know she’s hurt. That girl’s a tough competitor. She came back and gave us the minutes we needed from her.”
Punahou’s pace impressed Valverde, whose team plays in the CIF, which uses a 30-second shot clock.
“When they were in transition, we were a little tired. They did a great job beating us down the court. They did a fantastic job just keeping on coming right at us,” Valverde said.
The Aztecs and their following of roughly 30 parents and supporters will take a boat ride on Thursday.
“We’re going swimming with the turtles,” Valverde said.
No. 8 Damien 80, Hilo 24
Theresa Anakalea poured in 27 points as the Monarchs (3-0) routed the Vikings. Shastyne Selesele added 10 points.
Moanalua 36, Mid-Pacific 21
Shailoh Liilii scored 10 points and Braylee Riturban added eight for Na Menehune (3-3).
Maile Bellevou connected on three 3-pointers to lead the Owls (2-3) with nine points.
Leilehua 37, Punahou I-AA 21
Today’s games
I MUA Invitational (Kamehameha)
Kamehameha-Hawaii vs. Maryknoll, 3:30 pm
Kamehameha vs. Waiakea, 5 pm
Kahuku vs. Radford, 6:30 pm
Kamehameha I-AA vs. Kaiser, 8 pm
Lancer Jamboree (Sacred Hearts) At La Pietra gym
Sacred Hearts vs. Kalani, 4 pm
Hawaii Baptist vs. Kalaheo, 5:30 pm
La Pietra vs. Waimea, 7 pm
Pa‘ani Tournament (Punahou)
Damien vs. Leilehua, 5 pm (main)
Mid-Pacific vs. Punahou I-AA, 5 pm (ewa)
Moanalua vs. Esperanza (Calif.), 6:30 pm (main)
Hilo vs. Punahou, 6:30 pm (ewa)
Friday
I MUA Invitational (Kamehameha)
Kamehameha-Hawaii vs. Radford, 3:30 pm
Waiakea vs. Maryknoll, 5 pm
Kamehameha I-AA vs. Kahuku, 6:30 pm
Kamehameha vs. Kaiser, 8 pm
Lancer Jamboree (Sacred Hearts)
At Sacred Hearts gym
Kalaheo vs. Sacred Hearts, 4 pm
Kalani vs. La Pietra, 5:30 pm
Waimea vs. Hawaii Baptist, 7 pm
Pa‘ani Tournament (Punahou)
Damien vs. Mid-Pacific, 5 pm (ewa)
Esperanza (Calif.) vs. Hilo, 5 pm (ewa)
Leilehua vs. Punahou, 6:30 pm (main)
Punahou I-AA vs. Moanalua, 6:30 pm (ewa)
Saturday, Dec. 3
Nonconference
Waimea at Sacred Hearts, 1:30 pm
Hawaii Baptist vs. Kalani, 3 pm, Sacred Hearts gymI MUA Invitational (Kamehameha)
Kamehameha vs. Kamehameha-Hawaii, 2:30 pm
Waiakea vs. Kahuku, 4 pm
Kaiser vs. Maryknoll, 5:30 pm
Radford vs. Kamehameha I-AA, 7 pm
Lancer Jamboree (Sacred Hearts) At Sacred Hearts
Sacred Hearts vs. Waimea, 1:30 pm
Hawaii Baptist vs. Kalani, 3 pm
La Pietra vs. Kalaheo, 4:30 pm
Pa‘ani Tournament (Punahou)
Punahou I-AA vs. Hilo, 9 am (main)
Esperanza (Calif.) vs. Damien, 10:30 am (main)
Leilehua vs. Mid-Pacific, noon (main)
Punahou vs. Moanalua, 1:30 pm (main)
