The ankle was a big gimpy, but Pua‘ena Herrington is a quick healer.
The 5-foot-10 junior poured in 30 of her 38 points in the first half as No. 3 Maryknoll stormed to a 72-44 win over El Capitan (Merced, Calif.) on Wednesday afternoon at Maryknoll Community Center.
Rebekah Lum Kee and Talitha Tupola added nine points each for Maryknoll (8-4) on day one of the Tony Sellitto Hawaii Invitational.
Playing through ankle injuries, Herrington and point guard Haylie Perez sat the third quarter as Maryknoll sat on a 29-point lead. With 7:15 left in the fourth quarter, coach Aries Perez had seen enough. With the lead down to 18 against the resilient Gauchos, Herrington and Perez returned. On cue, Herrington took a fastbreak pass from Zoe Silva and swished wing 3-pointer, drawing a foul. She hit the free throw for a four-point play, added four more points in her three fourth-quarter minutes.
When Herrington left the game for good with 4:13 remaining, the lead was 24 points. She finished the game 14-for-20 from the field, including 6-for-10 from the arc, adding three rebounds and two steals with no turnovers. All in 17 minutes of playing time.
“Coach told me he was going to rest me,” Herrington said.
It wasn’t necessary, but 40 was clearly attainable. Or 50. Perhaps 60.
“Maybe. I felt really good,” she said. “We came out with a lot of energy. Our energy wasn’t that good against Kamehameha. We need everyone to come out and be a leader. Any given day we can win a game.”
Assistant coach Aries Perez filled in with head coach Chico Furtado on a quick trip off island.
“He went to see the grandson, Noah Furtado. He’s graduating from Arizona State,” Perez said.
He had no intention of playing Herrington and his daughter, Hailey, in the second half, but El Capitan forced his hand.
“They’re gamers, right? They’re itching to get back in,” Perez said. “We had a chance to play our young players.”
The Gauchos shot 3-for-13 from the field in the opening quarter, but junior forward Jordynn Middleton hustled for offensive rebounds to keep their energy competitive.
“I like our response in the second half. We started off slow and they started off fast. I’m proud of the way we played in the second half,” El Capitan coach Tyler Dietz-Powers said.
It was the first loss of nonconference play after 10 wins for the Gauchos. Herrington might be the best scorer they have seen.
“She’s a great knockdown shooter. In preseason we try to let the players try to figure it out. If we were in league, we would make some adjustments, but you tip your hat to a girl who hits that many threes. That means she works hard in the gym,” Tyler Dietz-Powers said.
El Capitan will play West Anchorage Friday, 12:30 p.m. Maryknoll will play West Anchorage Saturday, 2 p.m.
Coming off a loss to No. 1 Kamehameha, the Spartans raced to a big lead early. Herrington scored on a fastbreak layup, Lum Kee scored inside, Skylnn Moore swished a 3 and Shykina Werner scored on a pass from Caleigh Kaio. Maryknoll led 21-3.
Herrington took a breather and re-entered with the Spartans ahead 21-10. She then hit back-to-back treys, and scored on a steal to ended their lead to 19 points. Herrington shot 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the second quarter.
El Capitan went on a 17-9 run in the third quarter, spurred by Alexis Valenzuela. The freshman guard scored 10 of her 13 points in the quarter as the Gauchos got within 54-36.
Madysen Dietz added 12 points.
Maryknoll boys 44, El Capitan 42
Micah Tangonan’s 3-pointer at the buzzer lifted the Spartans over the Gauchos.
El Capitan took a 42-41 lead on a free throw by Zach Hunter. He missed the second foul shot and Ghesiah Faleafine-Auwae rebounded, immediately calling time out. With 4.7 seconds remaining, the Spartans maneuvered through fullcourt pressure. Nixis Yamaguchi slashed through midourt and passed to Tangonan on the right wing, and the junior made his first and only shot of the game for the win.
Rome Lilio and Yamaguchi led No. 2 Maryknoll (10-2) with 12 points apiece.
Diego Utreras paced El Capitan with 12 points.
