OIA champion Kahuku had designs on its second all-time win over an ILH opponent in the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA Water Polo State Championships.
Kamehameha, with its collective back pressed against the walls of its Kalani‘opu‘u Aquatic Center pool, finally dispelled the notion.
In a tense, back-and-forth game, the Warriors got clutch late goals from Mahie Lee and La‘akea Dedrick and skimmed past the Red Raiders 8-6 and into the semifinals for the fourth straight year.
It was also the fourth straight time Kahuku — this year the No. 3 seed, down from its usual spot at No. 2 — exited the winners bracket at the hands of ILH runner-up Kamehameha, in what has become the most consistently compelling matchup in states.
Kamehameha (8-3) faces No. 2 Baldwin (13-0) in today’s 5:45 p.m. semifinal. No. 1 Punahou, the 10-time defending state champion, advanced easily past Kaiser, 14-2, and faces No. 4 Kamehameha-Hawaii at 7.
The nine-time league champion Red Raiders (13-2) led 2-1 after a quarter and 3-2 early in the second before falling behind 5-4 at halftime. Kahuku rallied to tie it at 6 with 4:53 to play on Sophia Wilson’s skimmer shot.
“I thought our defense was playing well, so I wasn’t too concerned at that point,” Warriors coach Randy Bart said. “It was just if we were gonna get enough offense. We had just enough. Just enough.”
Lee broke the tie from straightaway with 2:41 to go and Dedrick scored a clinching goal with 38 seconds left.
“We’ve been working on in practice just winning the moment, and I was open, the cage was open and I just fired,” Lee said.
Dedrick and Shaye Story led the Warriors with three goals each, while Lee added two.
Story, a 5-foot-11 freshman who anchors the Warriors at both ends, exited the pool late with a foot cramp and watched the final minutes from the deck. She expects to play today.
“I knew my teammates would pull out their extra batteries and we really brought it home at the end,” Story said.
It was the earliest winners-bracket exit ever in states for Kahuku, which had advanced to the semifinals all 14 previous years. Kahuku is the only OIA team to beat an ILH foe in states — ‘Iolani in the 2013 semis.
“Honestly, just very minute mistakes,” Kahuku coach Gina Ahue said of the difference late. “Other than that, I have no complaints. The girls played amazing. They left their hearts in that pool. … There were a couple calls we should’ve got. Offensively, that would have given us similar opportunities. But overall, all you can do is push forward.”
The Red Raiders lost to Baldwin in a preseason game that didn’t officially count, then to Kaiser in the OIA regular season. The Bears are first-time semifinalists with their 16-7 win over Kalaheo.
Ahue was still baffled by her team’s seeding.
“I don’t know how that happened,” she said. “We just gotta take those obstacles and work to overcome them.”
Grace Rittenhouse led the Red Raiders with three goals, while fellow senior Wilson added two and Hannah Smith one.
No. 4 KS-Hawaii 9, Roosevelt 5
Behind six goals from senior Lahela Rosario, the Warriors (15-0) became the first neighbor island team to advance to the semifinals since KSH did it in 2011.
Princess Gimeno paced the Rough Riders (14-4) with two goals.
No. 2 Baldwin 16, Kalaheo 7
Bears senior Rebecca Gallimore scored seven goals and MIL champion Baldwin (13-0) advanced to the semifinals for the first time in its ninth state appearance, marking only the second time in HHSAA history (2007) two neighbor island teams made the semis in the same year.
Mattea Jergovic led the Mustangs (10-7) with two goals.
No. 1 Punahou 14, Kaiser 2
Dani Kauahi scored four goals, Dillyn Lietzke added three and Christina Hicks two as the 10-time defending champion Buffanblu (10-0) moved to 37-0 all-time in state tournament play.
Kanoko Niimura scored both goals for OIA runner-up Kaiser (15-2).
