Nothing stops Kahuku.
Not a full day of school, a 35-mile bus ride to town. Not even the hungry Campbell Sabers and an early 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
Kahuku’s starting five of seniors Posia Wily and Tuisila Wily-Ava, juniors Makana Kamakeeaina and Zaylyn Falevai, and sophomore Tailele Wily-Ava nearly went the distance. Tailele Wily-Ava led the way with 22 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Kamakeeaina hustled for 18 points and eight rebounds as No. 6 Kahuku overwhelmed No. 10 Campbell 58-41 in the OIA girls basketball semifinals at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium.
“This wasn’t our best game, but we played Saturday, didn’t have practice yesterday. We just had to show up here ready to play. I felt like we had a slow start,” Kahuku coach Artevia Wily said. “Sometimes you have to remind them.”
Kahuku (14-4 overall) will meet Moanalua in the title game Wednesday at McKinley.
Tuisila Wily-Ava added eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while Posia Wily chipped in six points, five boards, four assists and three steals as Kahuku put on its usual display of unselfishness on offense and toughness on defense.
Junior guard Jaynalyn Sotelo paced Campbell (8-8 overall), the second-place team in the West, with 19 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. She connected on two 3-pointers and had eight points in the opening quarter, but after two instructive timeouts with elevated volume by coach Artevia Wily, Kahuku clamped down on the versatile playmaker.
“Our coaches wanted us to play with more energy,” Posia Wily said. “We had to adjust on the small things.”
Aiesha Deweever added nine points and Cayden Parado tallied eight points. Center Kamai Lei Ringor had seven points and seven rebounds in the paint, battling Kahuku’s relentless rebounders.
Campbell battled hard all game, but struggled to hit open shots against Kahuku’s sticky 2-3 matchup zone. The Sabers were 3-for-17 from 3-point range.
Kahuku led 15-10 after one quarter behind seven points by Tailele Wily-Ava.
The Lady Raiders then opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run. Tuisila Wily-Ava and Kamakeeaina combined on four free throws, Posia Wily went coast to coast for a layup and Tailele Wily-Ava converted a steal into a layup to open Kahuku’s lead to 23-10 with 6:37 to go in the second quarter.
Kahuku led at the half, 25-15. Campbell never got going from 3-point range against Kahuku’s 2-3 matchup zone. An 11-5 run featuring two corner 3s and a mid-range bank shot on the move by Kamakeeaina put Kahuku up 40-24.
Moanalua 59, No. 7 Mililani 48
Sophomore Serenity Tacgere had 11 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks as Na Menehune handed the Lady Trojans their first loss in league play. Tacgere teamed with senior Shailoh Liilii, who had 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, a superb 1-2 punch on both ends of the floor.
Guard play was big for Moanalua (14-9 overall), the second-place team from the East. Senior Rhea Nobleza slashed her way to 17 points, while freshman Alofa Simanu added seven points and three steals.
Senior guard Brooke Kurasaki shot 6-for-9 from the 3-point line and led Mililani (18-8 overall) with 20 points. Kelsie Ohta and Zennalenn Nelson added eight points apiece, while Akemi Kawamata had seven points, all in the first quarter.
When Moanalua met Kahuku to open the regular season, Kahuku won 58-38.
“I told the team our hardest game was in the first game of the season against Kahuku. If we’re on the right path and take the right journey, we’re going to meet them again in the last game of the (OIA) season,” Moanalua coach Kirk Ronolo said.
