ANDREW LEE / SPECIAL TO THE HONOLULU STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii Baptist’s Hayley Taka jostles for position with Seabury Hall’s Pio Tu’ivai during a state tournament game in 2019.
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It took more than a year, but Hawaii Baptist gained a measure of revenge on Hanalani after a crushing loss.
The Eagles, who won the state championship in 2019 only to lose to eventual champion Hanalani in 2020, beat the Royals 35-29 in the Division II semifinals at Kalani High School.
Emi Wada led Hawaii Baptist to its fourth state championship game with 15 points, nine of them on 12 shots from the line. She had the team’s lone assist in the game and the Eagles won despite missing all 10 of its shots from beyond the arc while committing 11 turnovers. Joey Lin added 12 points and nine rebounds for HBA.
Maria Ralar led Hanalani with 16 points in 32 minutes. She came off the bench to score 12 points in 21 minutes in Hanalani’s win over Hawaii Baptist two years ago.
Hanalani led 24-22 heading into the fourth quarter before being outscored 13-5. The Royals hit only half of their 14 free throws.
Hawaii Baptist won state titles in 2016 and 2019.
Sacred Hearts 37, Seabury Hall 34
Sacred Hearts used a fast-paced approach and beat Seabury Hall in the Division II semifinals at Kalani High School.
The Lancers put up 49 shots and four starters played more than 30 minutes to beat the Spartans. Nahenahe Alo led the way with 11 points for Sacred Hearts and KalysaMarie Ng added nine. Sacred Hearts put up 29 shots from 3-point land but hit only six of them. Dezaray Carter led the Lancers with nine rebounds and five steals.
Seabury Hall didn’t substitute in the game, forcing all five of its starters to go the full 32 minutes of the frantic affair. Pio Tu’ivai led the way with 11 points on 11 shots and Meleani Sjostrand added 11 points and nine rebounds. The tired Spartans scored as many points in the second half (14) as they did in the second quarter.
Sacred Hearts will play for a state championship for the first time since 2007, when it fell to Kamehameha-Hawaii in the championship game.