Justice Kekauoha poured in 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds as No. 4-ranked ‘Iolani outlasted No. 3 Maryknoll 60-51 on Thursday night at Father Bray Athletic Complex to secure second place and a state-tournament berth.
‘Iolani (22-10) will play at Nanakuli at 6 p.m. Monday in the opening round of the Pacific Century Fund Team Aloha/HSSAA Girls Basketball State Championships. The Raiders have won the past five state championships.
In a fifth matchup between the teams this season, the scrappy Raiders did just enough to curtail Spartans scorer Pua‘ena Herrington, who finished with 25 points and eight rebounds. The 5-foot-11 junior shot 8-for-19 from the field, including 4-for-9 from the arc and 7-for-7 at the foul line. She did not get to the free throw line until the fourth quarter, when the Spartans cut deeply into a 20-point deficit with a 21-6 run.
“We played them a ton of times. We knew how their game was, so we just had to stop Pua. We’re just very happy. We always lost at home and won at their gym,” Kekauoha said. “One team. We just play together as a team. It’s just our energy and how we held each other’s backs on the floor and off.”
Rayah Soriano tallied 12 points, while Hailey Fernandez added 12 points and seven assists, including three key pick-and-roll dishes to senior forward Haley Mafua.
“We just played team ball today. It was a whole different game from Tuesday. They were keying on our shooters, so we knew the big was going to be open. Everyone else who they didn’t think was a threat would have to score,” Fernandez said. “Assists are more exciting thaen scoring, I think.”
Seniors Hailey Perez and Skylyn Moore chipped in nine points each for Maryknoll.
This was the fifth meeting of the two teams, including four in the past eight days. As always, Maryknoll (15-12) played hard, but playing a fourth game in four nights, they were depleted. Despite that, they made a run in the fourth quarter, cutting a 20-point deficit to 54-49 with less than two minutes left.
That’s when Zoe Silva deflected a pass and Herrington was chased by two Raiders on her way for a layup but missed the shot in traffic.
“Our kids played hard all season. The ILH Division I is a gauntlet. Everybody’s tough. That’s how the league is,” Maryknoll coach Chico Furtado said. “Our girls stepped up. We were down 20. We cut it to five, we had the steal with the breakaway and Pua got undercut. No call. Again, adversity. Pua has been facing adversity all year. I feel bad for her.”
Just two nights earlier, Maryknoll ousted ‘Iolani 52-50 in a round-two semifinal battle on the Raiders’ court. In the ILH, however, elite teams find a way to evolve. Normally a zone team, Maryknoll used man-to-man defense to thwart ‘Iolani’s long-range shooters on Tuesday. On Thursday, there was no answer for Mafua’s key contributions, which included seven points and eight rebounds — six on the offensive glass — as the Raiders dug deep once again.
“I’m super, super proud of the girls. I’m super happy for them. It was as hard as you could with losing players, all the injuries, the adversity, but they just kept believing,” ‘Iolani coach Dean Young said. “They played their hearts out tonight.”
When the season began, ‘Iolani was without key returnee Callie Pieper, who opted to focus on volleyball. Then came season-ending knee injuries to guards Dylan Neves and Kylie Chong Kee. Over the course of three months, a roster of mostly finesse-oriented, offensively skilled guards learned to play with physicality in a merciless ILH Division I schedule.
“We had one game plan before the season. Then we had a second game plan when Callie didn’t play. Then we had to come up with a third game plan when we lost two guards. It was just tinkering, tinkering, trying to figure it out,” Young said.
Kamehameha (26-3) won the ILH title with a 52-29 win over Maryknoll on Wednesday and will have a first-round bye at the state tournament next week. Round one runner-up ‘Iolani had the benefit of a day off (Wednesday) before meeting second-round runner-up Maryknoll with a state berth on the line.
