Pua‘ena Herrington scored 18 of her game-high 25 points in the first half as No. 3 Maryknoll posted a gritty 57-46 win over No. 7 Punahou on Friday night.

Rebekah Lum Kee added 12 points, while Skylyn Moore tallied eight points and two steals, and senior point guard Hailey Perez had four points, six assists and two steals for Maryknoll.

The Spartans improved to 2-1 in ILH play (10-4 overall) and will host five-time defending state champion ‘Iolani at 5 p.m. on Monday. The win over Punahou was Maryknoll’s first game in six days.

Maryknoll seized control with an 18-5 run in the second quarter, then extended the lead to 18 by the half. Punahou scrapped and battled back, cutting the margin to eight points in the final two minutes.

“It’s a good win, but it was an ugly win at the same time,” Herrington said.

Herrington shot 10-for-19 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. She also had six rebounds, three assists and four steals with just one turnover. The key for Maryknoll’s improvement, however, has been the shooting and confidence of players like Caleigh Kaio and Kalae Kaopua, and the versatility of center Talitha Tupola.

“I don’t think the win was ugly. I think there were spots when we kind of lost track of what was happening. Sometimes kids got to understand time and situations. We’re up 17, we don’t need to take an early 3 in the shot clock,” coach Chico Furtado said. “We lost some momentum at the end of the third quarter, but we got that back. Punahou hit some shots. I give them credit. They got back in the game and we were able to fend them off. In this league, a win is a win.”

Annastaziah Wright led Punahou (10-8, 0-3) with 12 points. She also dished five assists. Kaua McNamara and Halia Hoapili added nine points each.

“They’re playing together and learning to take the injuries and move on. It’s still a work in progress,” Punahou coach Elyse Umeda-Korth said. “Their execution in the second half was much better. Halia had a great second half on (Herrington). She shut her down. I’m proud of the way they fought to the end.”

Punahou arrived home from the West Coast Jamboree with the Ruby division title. The Buffanblu posted wins over Fairfield (Calif.), 48-26; Woodcreek (Roseville, Calif.), 46-31; and St. Mary’s (Berkeley, Calif.), 53-42.

Punahou’s improvement since the early stage of preseason has been substantial. The high-low game with Wright and Pua Saole has lots of potential, and Hoapili has emerged as a clutch 3-point shooter. Hoapili shot 3-for-8 from the arc.

The Buffanblu will play at Kamehameha on Monday.

Punahou played without freshman standout Zaraiyah Wright. She injured her left shoulder on the last day of the West Coast Jamboree and is awaiting MRI results.

Maryknoll played without guard Zoe Silva, who is recovering from a foot injury.

For most of the first quarter, they were even with the Spartans, patiently attacking the high and low posts and utilizing their size advantage. Saole was tenacious with six points and four offensive rebounds in the first eight minutes.

Punahou tried to stick with Herrington with a normal man-to-man defense, but the 5-foot-10 junior feasted by consistently cutting under the basket. She scored 12 points in the first quarter as Maryknoll opened the lead to 19-14.

Herrington then scored nine more points in the second quarter, adding two steals. She fed Moore for a layup after one of the takeaways, and after Kaio hustled for an offensive board and passed to Lum Kee for an and-1 drive and bucket, the Spartans led 37-19 going into the half.

After going without a turnover in the first half, Maryknoll gave it up four times in the third quarter after Punahou switched to a matchup zone with Hoapili applying deny defense on Herrington. After shooting 8-for-13 from the field in the first half, Herrington was 2-for-6 after the break. Maryknoll’s offense has evolved.

“When defenses box-and-one me I’m trying to move without the ball and not stand in one place,” said Herrington, who is crashing the offensive board more now.

A miraculous, left-handed toss from the right corner by McNamara beat the shot clock, and after she swished a right-handed 3 from the right wing on the next possession, Punahou was within 52-42 early in the fourth quarter.

The Buffanblu were within eight points when Saole blocked a layup attempt by Herrington. Punahou ran the floor often, and scored on Hoapili’s hook pass to Annastaziah Wright, cutting the lead to 54-46 with 1:55 left.

After Herrington hit two foul shots for a 10-point lead with 1:14 remaining, she reached high and plucked an entry pass by Wright. The Buffanblu opted not to deliberately foul the rest of the way.