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Girls' Basketball: Strategy rules as Kahuku outlasts Konawaena, 51-45, at Punahou Wahine Classic
Posted at 11:14 PM
Who woulda thunk it? Kahuku and Konawaena's top players, Latoya Wily and Nancy Hoist, combined for seven points in a rematch from last year's state tournament. By Paul Honda HONOLULU—Rarely does a preseason basketball game reveal so much about where two state title contenders stand. The Konawaena Wildcats went into a showdown with Kahuku with big plans. By limiting all-state center Latoya Wily to three points, the Wildcats executed that leg of the plan. However, the rest of the Lady Raiders stepped up with a balanced attack in a 51-45 win over Konawaena Thursday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse. Monarisa Ale scored 16 points to pace Kahuku, which battles Punahou Friday night. The Lady Raiders are 2-0 in the Fourth Annual Punahou Wahine Spring Classic, but second-year head coach Wendy Anae was even-keeled, as usual. “They had good effort. We’re still trying to make adjustments, so they adjusted pretty well,” said Anae, a former standout player and longtime assistant coach. Among the new wrinkles is a 1-3-1 zone. In the midst of a battle with the defending Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion, only time will tell if the new tactics will lift Kahuku to a new level. “Even though they made errors, they stayed with it,” said Anae, who guided the Lady Raiders to the state title game last year. “Kona is solid. They’re consistent. They execute well. They were a good matchup for us size-wise.” Today’s schedule is as follows: Main Court Saturday’s games Kahuku 51, Konawaena 45—The Wildcats struggled early against Kahuku’s fullcourt press, but rallied to make a close battle of it. Konawaena led 18-16, thanks in large part to Williams’ shooting. Kahuku regained the lead, 34-31, entering the final quarter. Konawaena switched from man to zone defenses, and the Wildcats used a fullcourt press of their own. It was Konawaena’s swarming, collapsing defense that proved effective. The ‘Cats forced a multitude of Kahuku turnovers on entry passes to Wily, who was double- and triple-teamed all night. “We weren’t moving. Everybody was just standing around,” Anae said. Ale, scoreless in the first half, was at full voltage in the second. She scored 11 points in the third quarter, energizing the Lady Raiders. Shortly after BIIF Player of the Year Nancy Hoist fouled out with 3:03 remaining, Konawaena trailed 44-38. Before the Wildcats were permitted to put a substitute into the game, officials surprised everyone by giving Kahuku the ball to resume play. Konawaena, with just four players on the floor and its substitute waiting at the scorer’s table, had no way to defend Kahuku’s easy breakaway basket. The officials stopped the game and conferred for a minute, and then determined that the basket must stand, stunning everyone in Hemmeter Fieldhouse. Instead of correcting their mistake, they gave Kahuku a 46-38 lead with 2:50 remaining. Still, the Wildcats pulled within four with a minute to play, but missed consecutive layups, and turned the ball over on an inbounds play. Speedy Karla Tailele added nine points for Kahuku, which had its share of turnovers while trying to maintain a narrow lead in the final minutes. Anny Soliai and Camilla AhHoy added eight points each. Tina Soliai added seven points. Jessica Hanato, who scored 12 points in the final quarter, finished with 14 points. Jazzmin Williams, a freshman with an Iceman-style shooting touch, finished with nine points. All nine came in the second quarter, when the Wildcats rallied from a 10-0 deficit to take an 18-16 lead. “She’s tough,” Anae said. Hoist scored four points on 4-of-8 shooting from the foul line. As a team, Konawaena shot 11-of-27 from the free-throw line (41 percent). Hoist wasn’t the only Wildcat to struggle from the line. Hanato, like Hoist, is normally accurate at the line. The junior, however, made just 3-of-9 tries. Kahuku was 8-of-17 from the line. Maryknoll 42, McKinley 39—Tammy Andres scored 14 points and Cheryl Lee added 13 to lead the Spartans past the Lady Tigers. Freshman Chelsie Sato, a 5-foot-7 swingman, led McKinley with 19 points. She sank three 3-pointers. Bre Carson added 12 points, including three treys. No other Lady Tiger scored more than three points. Punahou 46, Kamehameha-East Hawaii 17—Eleven Buff n’ Blue scored in the win over the visitors from the Big Island. Shanna-Lei Dacanay led the way with seven points. Iolani 52, Moanalua 42—Hennesea Tokumura scored 12 points as the Lady Raiders took command early and never let the Menehune back into the game. Marci Kang added eight points and Ginger Gravelle tallied seven. Kepua Lee led Moanalua with 13 points. Lisa Ertl added 10 points. Saint Francis 61, Punahou II 43—Monica Chock and Kanani Perry scored 10 points apiece to lead a balanced Troubadour attack. Latasha Griffin added nine points and Melanie Keli’ipuleole added eight. Kelsey Jandoc led the Division II Buff n’ Blue with seven points. Wednesday’s scores Leading scorers
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