A few extra reps at the park with mom proved to be a good investment of time for ‘Iolani center Mele Sake.

The 6-foot-1 junior scored eight of her nine points in the first half as No. 3 ‘Iolani broke away for a 57-40 win over No. 4 Punahou on Wednesday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

“I had to drive. They were over-helping so I decided to go,” Sake said. “Usually, we work on screens and rolling. I didn’t really work on moves recently. My mom (Monika) took me to the park the past couple of nights to work on my layups because I’ve been missing them.”

Hailey-Anne Ohta scored 18 points to lead ‘Iolani, which improved to 6-1 in ILH play (15-7 overall). Keiki McGee added eight points, while Paige Oh and Callie Pieper chipped in seven each.

“I like how we worked really hard on the boards. We still missed a bunch of rebounds and block-out assignments, but we’re getting better,” ‘Iolani coach Dean Young said. “We’re not a good box-out team, we’re not a good rebounding team yet, but I saw some improvement today.”

The Raiders are finding a way to get better after losing guard Abby Tanaka to a knee injury.

“It’s a big loss for us. That’s a first-team All-ILH returning guard that we’re missing,” Young noted. “The girls that are trying to take her spot, some of them haven’t played much on varsity or weren’t even on varsity last year. They’re getting better, getting smarter.”

Punahou had a slim edge on the boards with 34 rebounds to ‘Iolani’s 32. the Buffanblu hustled for 10 offensive caroms while ‘Iolani had nine.

Sake added nine rebounds and two blocks, forming a wall at the rim with 6-foot sophomore, Pieper (nine boards).

Punahou shot 29 percent from the field (12 -for-41) on its home court, including 1-for-10 from the arc. ‘Iolani shot 40 percent (22-for-55), including 5-for-17 from the 3-point line.

Laynee Torres-Kahapea finished with 17 points, six rebounds and three steals for the Buffanblu, but shot 4-for-13 from the field as the Raiders pestered her with and without the ball. She was in constant motion, constantly chased.

“That’s the only way you’re going to get open. You have to move and even if you don’t get the ball, it opens up lanes for everybody else. That’s what we didn’t exploit tonight, trying to get other ways to score instead of just passing to me,” Torres-Kahapea said. “We’ve got to be individually confident and build more confidence.”

Punahou dropped to 4-4 in league play (11-6 overall). The Buffanblu fullcourt pressure forced only one turnover by the Raiders in the first half.

In the first four minutes, both teams were in hyper-speed mode as the teams combined for 23 points.

“I actually didn’t like that pace at that time,” Young said. “We gave up six fast break points. (Punahou) was having a hard time in their halfcourt offense and we’re giving them layups in transition.”

The pace slowed in the second quarter as ‘Iolani went on a 12-3 run to open a 29-17 lead before the half.

Sake drove from the left wing on one possession, using a fake spin move to get to the bucket for a layup. After Ohta scored off a steal, the Raiders had a 12-point lead.

Punahou hung around, but never got the margin under 10 points in the second half. McGee’s trey from the left wing opened the lead to 34-20. In the fourth stanza, Ohta scored off another steal to extend the lead to 52–36 with 1:22 left, and the Raiders emptied their bench.

Ohta tallied four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Punahou guard Shania Moananu sat out with an ankle injury.

“It’s good to sit on the bench sometimes and watch, sitting down and watching the girls, giving them feedback. That’s benefitting me and the team,” she said.

‘Iolani will host Damien on Friday before visiting Kamehameha on Saturday.

Punahou will travel to Kamehameha on Friday.