Pua‘ena Herrington saved her best for last, with 10 of her 24 points in the final quarter, including 8-for-8 shooting at the free-throw line, as No. 3 Maryknoll edged No. 4 ‘Iolani 52-50 at Father Bray Athletic Complex on Tuesday night.
Maryknoll (15-10 overall) advanced to the round-two title game against Kamehameha, which advanced with a 55-28 victory over Punahou. Tip-off at Kekuhaupio Gym is set for 6 p.m.
“We’ve got to work our butts off and see where it will take us,” said Herrington, who also hauled in 14 rebounds and shot 11-for-12 from the line for the game. “I know I have to be physical inside. They’re pushing me, bumping me, grabbing me, so I have to get the contact. When I fade away I don’t get the call I want.”
Zoe Silva had seven points and six boards and Hailey Perez added six points and five assists. With Silva and Perez in foul trouble, coach Chico Furtado relied heavily on role players Kalae Kaopua and Talitha Tupola.
It was a nail-biter from the start, with 10 lead changes in the last three quarters. The final three minutes were epic ILH playoff hoops. Rayah Soriano came through with two free throws for a 43-42 Raiders lead with 2:57 remaining.
Rebekah Lum Kee then hit a 3-pointer from the left wing on a feed from Silva to give Maryknoll the lead, 45-43, with 2:40 left.
Perez drove and dished to Herrington for a layup and a four-point lead, and ‘Iolani didn’t tie or take the lead again.
Perez went to the foul line with Maryknoll ahead 47-45 with 53 seconds to go and made both shots.
Mia Frye’s remarkable reverse layup cut ‘Iolani’s deficit to two points, but Lum Kee drained two foul shots with 31.9 seconds left for a 51-47 lead.
Frye drove to the bucket again and scored on a spin move for an and-1. She made the free throw and ‘Iolani was within 51-50 with 4.8 seconds remaining.
Skylyn Moore made the second of two free throws for a 52-50 lead with 3.3 seconds left.
The Raiders had to go full court and inbounded to Frye, who dribbled past halfcourt, but the buzzer sounded before she got a shot up.
Lum Kee finished with seven points, seven rebounds, three assists and the biggest two free throws of her senior year.
“On my free throws, I really try just try to take my time. I make sure to calm my body down. I know that if I miss it, I always have the next one, and I always have my teammates’ backs,” she said.
Justice Kekauoha led ‘Iolani (21-10 overall) with 26 points despite Maryknoll’s swarming, man-to-man defense. Kekauoha, like Herrington, found very few open lanes. The sophomore shot 6-for-20 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line. Frye added 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting from the field and 4-for-5 at the charity stripe.
Just 24 hours earlier, ‘Iolani went to Maryknoll and won 55-44 in a tiebreaker game to settle second place in the regular season. ‘Iolani could have clinched a state-tourney berth with a win on Tuesday, but the Spartans were resilient in a physical battle.
By winning, Maryknoll is in position to claim a state berth by beating Kamehameha. However, if the unbeaten Warriors win round two, they secure the ILH championship. In that scenario, round-one runner-up ‘Iolani and round-two runner-up Maryknoll would play again — for a fifth time this year — to earn the ILH’s second-state berth.
Herrington also faced layers of Raiders defenders all night and finished 6-for-18 from the field. She was 1-for-5 in the opening quarter, when the Spartans took a modest 7-5 lead.
Kekauoha missed all eight of her shots in the first quarter, but kept attacking and had nine points in the second quarter. Still, Maryknoll led 19-15 at the break.
Moore covered Soriano, limiting the ‘Iolani sharpshooter to four points, including 0-for-3 from the arc.
“We played four man straight and face-guarded Soriano,” Furtado said. “Skylyn face-guarded her the whole game.”
