The latest win in a five-peat may be the sweetest for the ‘Iolani Raiders.
Mia Frye’s 3-pointer opened overtime and top-seeded ‘Iolani escaped with a 39-38 win over unseeded Kamehameha to capture the Division I title at the Heide & Cook/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships on Friday night.
‘Iolani became the first team in state history to win five girls basketball state crowns consecutively. It could have been six, perhaps, if not for the cancellation of the 2020-21 season due to the pandemic.
“Last year was pretty rewarding,” said center Mele Sake, who had seven points and six of her nine rebounds on the offensive glass. “But this was record-breaking.”
It was ‘Iolani’s sixth win in six games against Kamehameha, but the Warriors had their chances to pull out their first state title since 2013.
Frye is a combo guard who has embraced the role of a high post when opponents use a zone. She adjusted and launched the biggest shot of the night in the nick of time for ‘Iolani.
“My coaches were telling me to step out because they were covering me really good in the high post. I wasn’t getting any looks. I got the pass and just shot it,” said Frye, who led the Raiders with 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field.
Keiki McGee added eight points, including a crucial 3-pointer late in regulation. Justice Kekauoha overcame an ankle injury and chipped in six points.
‘Iolani coach Dean Young guided his team to a 26-3 overall record.
“This title doesn’t feel too different, but each team is different. Each team has its own personality, its own chemistry,” he said.
“This team, their personality, they’re super close. They’re super playful. They love being with each other. They love coming to practice. We pound the stereo every day at practice. They’re always dancing and singing. There’s so much joy. Besides the five-peat, I really wanted this team to win it for themselves. That’s more important than the five-peat.”
Kamehameha finished the season 20-9 with a promising, young squad that had ‘Iolani on the ropes once again. Sophomore center Nihoa Dunn had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Rylee Paranada added nine points.
The Warriors trailed 8-0 at the start but never lost focus.
“I think we were a little tentative or hesitant,” Kamehameha coach Pua Straight said. “Once we got a few stops, we were OK. I’m super proud of them. They stick together and left everything on the court.”
Overtime was a titanic battle, as ‘Iolani’s powerhouse bigs Sake and Callie Pieper went to battle in the paint with Dunn and Kamaka Fonoti.
Frye, operating on the high post, stepped out and splashed a straightaway 3. More than three minutes passed until another point was scored. Mikylah Labanon drove and lobbed a pass to Fonoti for a layup, cutting ‘Iolani’s lead to 34-33 with 44 seconds to go.
Kekauoha went to the foul line with 12.5 seconds left and missed both free throws, but Sake outjumped Dunn for an offensive rebound. The Raiders called time out with 9.1 seconds left.
Frye went to the charity stripe with 7.9 seconds to go, and she also missed both foul shots. Dunn rebounded and with only two team fouls, ‘Iolani fouled quickly, stopping the clock with 5.2 seconds left.
On the ensuing play, the Raiders fouled Labanon after a long pass. With 2.9 seconds left and no fouls to give, ‘Iolani allowed the inbound pass to Paranada, who drove toward the right elbow but was contested by Sake. Her tough runner missed at the buzzer.
In the games on Jan. 20 and 29, Kamehameha had the lead in the second half. In the latter of those, the Warriors led 29-21 in the third quarter.
McGee’s steal and layup opened ‘Iolani’s lead to 8-0 with 1:36 left in the first quarter.
The Raiders got a big block by Kekauoha on Kamehameha’s talented young center, Fonoti, but at the other end, Kekauoha’s layup was blocked by Dunn — and Kekauoha landed on Fonoti’s left foot. Kekauoha was down for a few minutes before being helped back to the bench with a right-leg injury.
Kamehameha cut the lead to four before ‘Iolani went on a 9-0 run. Sake drove for a lefty layup, Frye hustled for a putback, and then Frye drove and kicked to McGee for a corner 3 as the Raiders opened their lead to 19-6 with 3:36 left in the first half.
After Pieper hit a jumper in the lane, ‘Iolani had a 15-point lead, its largest of the first half. A 3-pointer by Paranada helped the Warriors get within 23-14 by halftime. ‘Iolani’s mix of fullcourt and halfcourt pressure led to 10 Kamehameha turnovers in the first half.
Kekauoha returned to the game late in the second quarter and seemed to have good movement.
The Warriors’ extended zone stifled ‘Iolani, which shot 1-for-9 in the third quarter. Buckets by Dunn and Labanon helped Kamehameha slice the lead to 25-20 going into the fourth quarter.
With a 28-25 lead, Sake went to the bench with 5:18 left after picking up a fourth foul on a drive to the basket by Labanon.
Labanon drove for another bucket, cutting the lead to one point. Dunn’s putback on a miss by Fonoti gave the Warriors a 29-28 lead with 4:10 to play.
‘Iolani regained the lead on a clutch 3 by McGee, and Sake splashed a corner 3 for a 34-29 cushion with 2:41 to go.
Dunn came through with back-to-back buckets, cutting the lead to 34-33.
Kekauoha hit a tough runner in the lane, but Paranada swished a corner 3 to tie it at 36 with 55 seconds remaining.
‘Iolani had a chance to regain the lead on Frye’s elbow jumper, but it rattled out. Sake converged for the offensive board but got tied up by Makenzie Alapai. The possession arrow pointed to Kamehameha’s basket.
Moments later, however, Paranada was called for a five-second violation and ‘Iolani got the ball back at midcourt with 5.5 seconds left.
On the inbounds play, however, Frye was whistled for traveling while avoiding Alapai, who attempted to steal the ball. The Warriors got the ball back with four seconds on the clock.
Paranada’s desperation heave from 35 feet away sailed out of bounds as regulation time expired.
This is ‘Iolani’s ninth state title.
Kamehameha entered the tournament with nine koa trophies in girls basketball.
IOLANI 39, KAMEHAMEHA 38, OT
WARRIORS (6-7)
MIN FG-A FT-A R A PF PTS
Paranada 29 3-10 1-2 0 0 1 9
Labanon 33 2-4 0-2 3 2 3 4
Cbydo-Cswll 21 2-7 0-0 3 0 1 5
Alapai 33 0-4 1-2 9 0 3 1
Dunn 31 6-14 3-410 1 1 15
Nakakura 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Frreira-Trralba 10 0-1 0-0 0 0 2 0
Fonoti 21 2-10 0-2 6 0 3 4
TEAM 6
TOTALS 180 15-51 5-12 37 3 14 38
RAIDERS (12-0)
MIN FG-A FT-A R A PF PTS
Frye 36 6-9 0-2 2 2 4 13
McGee 29 3-6 0-0 2 3 2 8
Dernandez 32 0-4 0-0 6 2 2 0
Kekauoha 24 2-10 2-4 2 0 1 6
Sake 22 3-8 0-0 9 0 4 7
Pieper 25 1-4 1-2 1 0 2 3
Hanohano 12 1-2 0-0 1 0 0 2
TEAM 2
TOTALS 180 16-43 3-8 25 7 15 39
Kamehameha 2 12 6 16 2 – 38
‘Iolani 10 13 2 11 3 – 39
3-point goals — Kamehameha 3-11 (Paranada 2-3, Cabuyadao-Caswell 1-4, Nakakura 0-1, Ferreira-Torralba 0-1, Alapai
0-2). ‘Iolani 4-17 (McGee 2-4, Frye 1-3,
Sake 1-3, Pieper 0-1, Kekauoha 0-2, Fernandez 0-4). Steals — Kamehameha 4 (Labanon 3, Alapai). ‘Iolani 6 (Frye 2, McGee,
Fernandez, Kekauoha, Sake). Blocked
shots — Kamehameha 1 (Dunn). ‘Iolani 3
(Sake 2, Kekauoha). Turnovers — Kamehameha 14 (Alapai 3, Dunn 3, Labanon 3,
Paranada 2, Cabuyadao-Caswell, Nakakura, Fonoti). ‘Iolani 15 (Frye 5, Fernandez 4,
Sake 3, McGee 2, Pieper). Technical
fouls — none. Officials — Tony Collazo,
Saffery Silva, Cass Kasparovitch. A —
1,860.
