Casey Poe and Riana Arima are Big Islanders with no fear of big-game hunting.
The Kamehameha-Hawaii playmakers embraced the moment, with Poe scoring 28 points and Arima driving for 24 as the unseeded Warriors outlasted OIA White champion Farrington 64-58 on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division II Girls Basketball State Championships.
"Now, we prepare for the game tomorrow," said Poe, who played major minutes along with Arima. "Oh, there’s a lot left in the tank."
A cantankerous crowd of about 200 at Kalani’s Earl C. Holmer Gymnasium watched coach Garrett Arima’s Warriors withstand Farrington’s 1-2 inside punch of Penina Faumui and Jeneva Toilolo. Faumui finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds, while Toilolo tallied 20 points and 22 rebounds.
"The last time we played a team that tall was Hanalani last year," said Poe, who had foul trouble in the second half. "It was the beginning of the fourth quarter and I knew I didn’t want to foul again. I didn’t want this game to finish without me in it."
It was in the little things that the smaller squad from Keaau had the advantage. KS-Hawaii (13-8 overall) shot 22-for-31 from the foul line (71 percent) while Farrington struggled: 5-for-14 (36 percent).
"I thought I was a little off on my free throws," said Poe, who was 10-for-14 from the charity stripe.
Arima, the coach’s daughter, was 7-for-10 and added five steals.
The Warriors also had just 18 turnovers to Farrington’s 28. Many of the Lady Governors’ giveaways came against KS-Hawaii’s game-long fullcourt press.
"We did a pretty good job dealing with the pressure that Farrington has," Arima said. "Offensively, we pushed the ball. We knew that they had two bigs and we were quicker. We wanted to press them and get their guards to turn it over."
Poe is a veteran of the state tourney. With older sister Chelsea by her side, Poe helped KS-Hawaii win the state title in 2012. Last year, with Chelsea graduated, the Warriors repeated. This season, KS-Hawaii saw Honokaa surge to the BIIF
D-II championship.
The one edge for third-seeded Farrington, which was 9-3 in OIA play, came on the glass. The Govs had a resounding 55-27 edge on the boards, including 11 offensive caroms by Toilolo. But they struggled to finish at the bucket and Poe teamed with teammate Makamae Gabriel to battle hard. Each played the fourth quarter with four fouls, but Poe finished with four blocks and three steals and Gabriel provided just enough against the bigs (five boards) to provide a key contribution.
Farrington never led, committing six first-quarter turnovers to fall behind 20-10. Poe, a 5-10 guard, blazed past Farrington’s defenders for nine early points.
Kamehameha-Hawaii opened the lead to 47-33 after a 3-pointer by Kiera Kua-Ramirez and a driving bucket by Gabriel late in the third quarter.
Farrington went on an
11-1 run, partly during a stint on the bench by Poe, to pull within 49-43 with 5:08 remaining. By then, the Warriors Poe was back in the game and playing with four fouls, and the Warriors spread the court to kill the clock.
The Warriors got the lead back up to 10, but the Govs made one last charge, pulling within 57-54 after Toilolo and Faumui hit baskets in the paint. KS-Hawaii shot 7-for-8 from the foul line in the final 1:42 to ice the win.
"We’re planning on winning the state championship," said Arima, a 5-foot-8 junior.
At Kalani
| KS-HAWAII |
20 |
11 |
16 |
17 |
— |
64 |
| FARRINGTON |
10 |
15 |
13 |
20 |
— |
58 |
KAMEHAMEHA-HAWAII—Casey Poe 28, Kiera Kua-Ramirez 5, Caitlyn Poe 0, Kamalani Kekuewa 0, Riana Arima 24, Makamae Gabriel 7, Tiana Ramelb 0.
FARRINGTON—Hazel Artates 0, Nani Cabato-Macado 0, Megan Aguinaldo 0, Britteney Savusa 2, Gehraniah Tulba 0, Chantal Mailou 6, Lokelani Pacheco 0, Molimeu Heimuli 2, Penina Faumui 28, Jeneva Toilolo 20.
3-point goals—Kamehameha-Hawaii 2 (Kua-Ramirez, Arima). Farrington 1 (Mailou).
HAWAII BAPTIST 41, CASTLE 31
Stephanie Dang pumped in 17 points and Rylie Wada scored 14 as the ILH D-II champions fended off the Knights. Jenee Brown added eight points and a team-high six rebounds for second-seeded HBA, which rallied to take a 25-18 lead at the half.
Darrien Dacosin paced Castle with 11 points, while Sheastel Tiumalu had eight points and eight boards.
HBA was 8-for-19 from
3-point range (41 percent), getting five treys from Dang and two more from Brown.
The Eagles will meet KS-Hawaii in semifinal play at Kaimuki. Tip-off is 7 p.m.
At Kalani
| CASTLE |
12 |
6 |
5 |
8 |
— |
31 |
| HAWAII BAPTIST |
8 |
17 |
8 |
8 |
— |
41 |
CASTLE—Shaney Tiumalu 7, Darrien Dacosin 11, Sierra Koki 3, Briana Hidalgo 0, Sheastel Tiumalu 8, Kaylee Ishii 0, Asia Almedia 2, Kaira Tilton 0.
HAWAII BAPTIST—Stephanie Dang 17, Sara Utsugi 1, Rylie Wada 14, Taylor White 1, Jenee Brown 8, Jennifer Gonsalves 0, Nicole Lopes 0, Ashley Benn 0, Kaily Lum 0, Dominique Hart 0.
3-point goals—Castle 4 (Dacosin 3, Koki). Hawaii Baptist 8 (Dang 5, Brown 2, Wada).
UNIVERSITY 50, ST. FRANCIS 24
At Kaimuki gym
| ST. FRANCIS |
4 |
4 |
10 |
6 |
— |
24 |
| UNIVERSITY |
8 |
20 |
14 |
8 |
— |
50 |
ST. FRANCIS—Kelli Okubo 0, Alissa Pacarro 6, Hunter Roberts 4, Rya Ornong 0, Tayler Bellevou 10, Kahili Liu 0, Lacey Satele 4, Chasey Abrams 0, Dayna Romero 0.
UNIVERSITY—Malialani Parpana 1, Markayisha Masani 8, Karley Ann Yoshioka 4, Brenna Dela Rosa 4, Paige Salavea 2, Michelle Au 10, Kyra Young 4, Malie Adams 0, Brooke Kodama 17, Jocelyn Ki 0.
3-point goals—St. Francis 2 (Satele, Pacarro). University 2 (Kodama 2).
MOLOKAI 41, KAPAA 35
Tiara English scored 14 and the Farmers advanced after chalking up 25 points in the fourth quarter.
At Kaimuki gym
| KAPAA |
4 |
13 |
2 |
16 |
— |
35 |
| MOLOKAI |
8 |
6 |
2 |
25 |
— |
41 |
KAPAA—Tayzia Goodwin 0, Kaylee Silva 6, Shai-Anne Abigania 4, Maile Tuttle 4, Uilani McCabe 2, Uinise Paua 0, Ariel Cummings 2, Kristen Yam 0, Tori Daligcon-Pomaikai 4, Siokapesi Paua 6, Annie Ballesteros 2, Paea Tafea 5, Sierra Shigematsu 0.
MOLOKAI—Taylor Keliihoomalu 3, Tiara English 14, Precious Rawlins 0, Hepuakea Falealii 10, Kristine Aquino 0, Kori-Lee DeRouin 0, Ilana Meyer 7, Rebecka Adolpho 4, Lehiwa Pedro 0, Edel Mae Alvarez 0, Kelcyn Balbas 3.
3-point goals—Kapaa none. Molokai none.
HONOKAA 61, KALANI 49
Hunter Liftee scored 20 points and Eliyah Fernandez added 18 as the Dragons handled the Falcons.
At Kaimuki gym
| KALANI |
6 |
8 |
11 |
24 |
— |
49 |
| HONOKAA |
10 |
15 |
16 |
20 |
— |
61 |
KALANI—Carly Kakuda 18, Riley Kishaba 3, Sydnee Kishaba 2, Andrea Ching 0, Tristyn Nishibun 3, Taili Iinuma 3, Kassidy Misaki 6, Samantha Shizuru 4, Taylor Murai 4, Noelle Suzuki 6, Julia Lee 0.
HONOKAA—Jaycie Carvalho 0, Maluhia Awai 0, Shereena Bird 0, Kayla Requelman 2, Hunter Liftee 20, Apreal Ansagay 0, Shayla Ignacio 5, Jasmine Castro 4, Shemika Frazier 2, Taylor Souza 2, Chancis Fernandez 8, Eliyah Fernandez 18, Markell Marquez 0.
3-point goals—Kalani 7 (Suzuki 2, Misaki 2, Kakuda, Nishibun, Iinuma). Honokaa 1 (Ignacio).
