Freshman forward Shaileia Hookahi-Bannister scored all 10 of her points in the third quarter as No. 2-ranked Konawaena built a 20-point lead, then hung on for dear life in a 49-39 win over King’s High School (Seattle) on Friday at the HBA Invitational.
“Definitely different from yesterday. My mindset was different when I walked in the gym,” Hookahi-Bannister said.
Ki‘ilei Leleiwi, Mikela Salazar-Harrell and Caysea Kaupu chipped in seven points each for Konawaena (14-2). Junior guards Haikela Hiraishi and Kaylie Yamasaki provided key ball control down the stretch for the Wildcats, who led 41-21 late in the third quarter before King’s cut the lead to 45-32 early in the fourth quarter.
“Our mindset changed today. We have to take advantage of these kinds of games that we play up here because back home, we don’t get competition like this,” Hiraishi said.
The Wildcats, who edged West Torrance on Thursday, are 2-0 in the tournament.
Kaleo Anderson led King’s (5-4) with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, adding a block and a steal. Cat Ellard added 11 points.
“It hurts a little bit to lose, but we have to move on,” said Anderson, whose mother graduated from Maryknoll and grandmother from Konawaena.
“Her future is bright,” Knights coach Dan Taylor said. “She is the connector on and off the court. Her teammates love her. She loves her teammates. She makes everybody better. We have girls that shine because of what she does for them.”
For a second day in a row, turnovers offset the Knights’ effort. They committed 25 turnovers, while Konawaena finished with 17.
The Wildcats were sharp from the start, vastly crisper than they were on day one in an overtime win over West Torrance (Calif.) Six Wildcats scored as they opened a 17-5 lead in the opening quarter.
Anderson got going with four straight free throws to end the first quarter. The 6-foot junior scored six more points in the second quarter and had 12 by intermission.
Konawaena’s quick, rugged man defense made it difficult for Anderson to get any breathing room. After Leleiwi posted up for a bucket, Aubrey Pak drove for a layup and Mikela Salazar-Harrell splashed a 3, the Wildcats had their biggest lead to that point, 24-13.
Konawaena carried that lead into the half. With Kalei Blas hounding Anderson, Konawaena dissected the Knights’ man defense in the third quarter. Hookahi-Bannister hustled after every loose ball in the paint and was effective on the block, scoring 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field. After Kaupu scored inside on a pass from Hiraishi, Hiraishi stole the ball from Anderson and fed Hookahi-Bannister for a 41-21 Konawaena lead late in the third quarter.
Down 45-25 entering the final quarter, King’s went on a 7-0 run. Anderson drove and dished to Bella Trias-Ruiz for a corner 3, and Anderson scored a layup in transition, cutting Konawaena’s lead to 45-32.
Leleiwi answered with a layup on a bounce pass from Yamasaki, and after Salazar-Harrell brought help-side defense and swatted a shot by Anderson, Hiraishi swished a baseline jumper for a 49-32 Wildcats lead.
The Knights got no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
King’s is a formidable basketball program in the Northwest with a high school enrollment of 470. The Knights have won two 2A and two 1A state titles in Washington since 1996-97.
No. 3 Maryknoll 77, North Torrance (Calif.) 71, OT
Pua‘ena Herrington scored 17 of her 29 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Spartans rallied past the Saxons. Rebekah Lum Kee shot 3-for-7 from the 3-point line and finished with 12 points, while Hailey Perez added nine points and four assists for Maryknoll (11-4).
Freshman Shay Tokeshi led North with 21 points, including 4-for-12 shooting from the arc. Sophomore Camryn Shimazaki tallied 19 points (4-for-10 from 3-point range) and senior Keimi Santiago had 14 points (4-for-5 from 3) before fouling out with 1:55 left in regulation.
Herrington, a 5-foot-10 guard, faced what North Torrance coach Lauren Kamiyama called a “sandwich” defense. It was highly effective, keeping the high-scoring junior scoreless in the second quarter.
North (7-5) took command during that second quarter by shooting 5-for-9 from the arc against Maryknoll’s 2-3 matchup zone. The Saxons finished the game 13-for-31 from the arc.
North appeared to have the game in control after Santiago splashed a 3 for a 63-56 lead with 2:40 remaining. She then fouled out less than a minute later.
Maryknoll’s fullcourt press caused problems for North, but Shimazaki drove for an and-1 bucket and hit the free throw for a 66-61 edge with 1:08 left in regulation.
Herrington hit her follow shot in the paint, and then swished her second 3 of the game, tying it at 66 with 17 seconds to go.
North was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
Tokeshi opened the extra period with a wing 3, but Skylyn Moore answered with a 3 to tie it at 69. Moore finished with 11 points, including five in OT.
Moments later, Zoe Silva drove into the paint and was fouled. After she stopped on two feet, her shot went under and through the basket, falling back in. Officials conferred and ruled it a made basket, which gave Maryknoll a 71-69 lead with 34.6 seconds to go.
Lum Kee hustled for a putback to open Maryknoll’s lead to 73-69, but North’s Chloe Kim drove for a layup to cut the lead to 73-71.
Herrington hit two key foul shots for a four-point lead with 17.3 seconds left. Tokeshi’s elbow jumper cut the lead to 75-73 with 5.3 seconds on the clock, but Moore iced the win with two free throws for a four-point lead with 4.9 ticks left.
Kamiyama’s small but rugged team nearly pulled off a remarkable win.
“I told my kids, you don’t know what the referees will call. We’ll be resilient and fight through everything. There were some blatant calls that were missed. We had some bad turnovers, but we still had a chance to win,” she said.
West Torrance (Calif.) 42, Hawaii Baptist 30
Sophomore guard Tess Ida scored 14 points and classmate Cadence Uchida added nine as the Warriors (12-6) withstood a comeback try by the host Eagles.
Sienna Ramos led HBA (14-7) with 12 points despite a thumb injury.
