Defending champ Lahainaluna rallies past upset-minded Kapolei
Kapolei's Toe Motu, middle, got sandwiched by Lahainaluna's Haley Nakamura, left, and teammate Kawehi Hagi while battling for a rebound.
With Lahainaluna’s hopes of defending its state championship flickering, the Lady Lunas’ defense again provided the spark they desperately needed.
The second-seeded Lunas came back from a six-point deficit in the final 2 minutes and weathered Kapolei’s upset bid with a 58-55 win in the Division I quarterfinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships last night at Radford’s Jim Alegre Gymnasium.
Lahainaluna senior Maiki Viela came up with a steal and a layup with 1:02 left in the game and hit two free throws moments later to finish with a game-high 29 points and send the Lunas to today’s 7 p.m. semifinal at the Blaisdell Arena.
"We feed off of (our defense) a lot," said Viela, one of the Lunas’ four seniors. "That’s basically Lahainaluna basketball. Pressure, create turnovers and just play our game."
The MIL champions harassed Kapolei into 16 first-half turnovers, coming up with 10 steals, and Lahainaluna threatened to run away in the second quarter when it opened a 10-point cushion.
But once the Hurricanes managed to secure the ball, they chopped the 23-13 deficit to a single point heading into halftime, thanks to 63 percent shooting from the floor before the break.
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Kapolei pulled ahead 51-45 with 2:08 left in the fourth quarter, led by guards Krystal Jacobs and Kawehi Hagi.
Lahainaluna coach Todd Rickard then called a full timeout and had a simple message for his team.
"We’ve got a lot of time," Rickard said.
"We’ve been there before and we know what it’s going to take. Fullcourt, man-to-man pressure, we have to trap and we have to create turnovers or the season is over."
Lahainaluna, held scoreless over the first 6:05 of the fourth quarter, closed the gap on Viela’s third 3-pointer of the night and when Haley Nakamura scored inside while being fouled. She missed the free throw, but a putback by Ana-Marie Lauese, the last of her 14 points, brought the Lunas back to within a point.
"We had to battle for every ball," Rickard said. "Kapolei is such a good rebounding team. I give Ana a lot of credit, she went in there with the big girls and came down with some big rebounds and made some big shots."
Viela’s swipe and score then put the Lunas back ahead for good.
"It’s one of our defenses we have," Viela said of the backcourt trap that produced the decisive play. "We work on it a lot in practice. We needed it here and luckily it paid off."
Jacobs, Kapolei’s point guard, settled the Hurricanes down after their shaky start and finished with a team-high 16 points. Hagi’s minutes were limited by foul trouble and Kapolei trailed 45-38 going into the final period.
But Hagi ignited the Hurricanes in the fourth quarter with four points and three key assists, including a dish to Kaity Wills for a 3-pointer that tied the game at 45. Hagi then hit four free throws in a row and Jacobs added two more to bring OIA runner-up Kapolei within sight of the upset.
But that’s when time seemed to stand still for Hurricanes coach Jesse Baugh.
"(The clock) didn’t move," he said. "It didn’t move fast enough for me.
"I told the girls, we have to bring the ball up; we have to move the ball so we can get the clock in our favor."
Instead, Lahainaluna proved to have just enough time to come back and the Lunas survived when Kapolei’s last-ditch attempts at a tying 3-pointer came up short.
"They’re big, they’re athletic. My hat’s off to them, they gave us everything we could handle," Rickard said.
| Kapolei (17-3) | 13 | 15 | 10 | 17 | — | 55 |
| Lahainaluna (13-0) | 19 | 10 | 16 | 13 | — | 58 |
KAPOLEI–Krystal Jacobs 16, Toe Motu 11, Kaity Wills 7, Paige Kaea 6, Kawehi Hagi 9, Tamar Rodrigues 2, Kayla Fuataga 4, Malia Folaumahina 0.
LAHAINALUNA–Glelynn Casil 0, Jade Chihara 2, Erika Erickson 0, Maiki Viela 29, Hiilei Bacalso 4, Ana-Marie Lauese 14, Petiola Tuakoi 7, Haley Nakamura 2.
3-point goals–Kapolei 3 (Jacobs, Motu, Wills). Lahainaluna 3 (Viela 3).
No. 3 Punahou 37, Kahuku 33
The ILH champion Buffanblu overcame a cold shooting first half and held off the Red Raiders down the stretch to set up a semifinal rematch against Lahainaluna.
Punahou, which lost to the Lunas 64-56 in last year’s semifinals, shot just 16 percent in the first half and trailed 15-11 at the break.
The Buffanblu battled back to tie the game at 23-all, and took the lead for good when guard Turner Wong hit a 3-pointer just before the third quarter buzzer and drained another 28 seconds into the fourth quarter.
"We’ve got good shooters, it’s just a matter of staying confident in their stroke, passers trusting the shooters and just executing," Punahou coach Mike Taylor said.
Wong’s shots highlighted a 14-0 Punahou run that pushed the Buffanblu ahead 34-23. But Kahuku chipped away and closed the gap, thanks in part to Punahou going 4-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final 4:45.
The Red Raiders drew to within three on Joshlyn Noga’s driving shot with 2:26 left and had a shot to tie in the final minute. But Fiatagata Tailele-Latu’s 3-pointer was just off the mark and Punahou forward Hailey-Ann Maeda made one of two free throws with 3.3 seconds left to seal the outcome.
"They know they’re in the same position we were in last year playing Lahaina in the semis and it’s going to be a battle," Taylor said. "They’re the defending state champions and they’re back for a reason."
Maeda scored all of her team-high nine points in the second half and finished with 12 rebounds. Noga led all scorers with 15 points.
"Kahuku is very physical, but they’re very disciplined," Taylor said. "They take care of the ball and they take good shots. With that size and strength and discipline, they keep themselves in the game. It was a matter of us finding a rhythm and coming back from adversity."
At Jim Alegre Gymnasium
| Kahuku (9-10) | 10 | 5 | 8 | 10 | — | 33 |
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| Punahou (11-2) | 4 | 7 | 15 | 11 | — | 37 |
KAHUKU–Fiatagata Tailele-Latu 8, Pati Anae 3, Seiko Schwenke 0, Keuhi Naeole 3, Rachel Tailele 4, Jaelynn Kaio 0, Jessica Falemalu 0, Temutisa Teo 0, Allyson Teo 0, Tyra Williams 0, Manaia Afalava 0, Joshlyn Noga 15, Mata Tonga 0.
PUNAHOU— Reina Furuya 1, Turner Wong 6, Mysha Sataraka 4, Julia Brand 8, Michelle Parke 2, Jennifer Ching 7, Hailey Ann Maeda 9.
3-point goals–Kahuku 3 (Tailele-Latu 2, Naeole). Punahou 3 (Wong 2, Ching).
CONSOLATION
No. 5 Waiakea 45, Pearl City 26
The Warriors dropped seven 3-pointers to defeat the Chargers and advance to the consolation final.
Sefulu Faavae led Waiakea with 10 points.
At Radford gym
| Pearl City (9-10) | 4 | 7 | 4 | 11 | — | 26 |
| Waiakea (14-2) | 7 | 18 | 11 | 9 | — | 45 |
PEARL CITY–Sabrina Angle 3, Adrienne Jean Sylva 5, Shay Alterado 2, Rachel Look 0, Dani Magana 9, Tiari Walker 1, Robi Kami 0, Sierra Mendiola 0, Paulina Langi 0, Shawni Cayetano-Ramos 3, Christian Daniels 0, Shawna Angle 3, Alexia Blalock 0, Brianna Nakamura 0.
WAIAKEA–Keani Shirai 3, Taesha Aina 5, Sefulu Faavae 10, Crystal Lambert 4, Alyssa Ferreira-Kealoha 8, Ciera Pacheco 9, Sky Kela 0, Tricia Amuimuia 2, Daven Namohala-Roloos 4.
3-point goals–Pearl City 3 (Sa. Angle, Cayetano-Ramos, Sh. Angle). Waiakea 7 (Pacheco 3, Faavae 2, Aina, Shirai).
