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By Paul Honda
Editor
HondaReport.com
Tuesday, March 30, 2004

HONOLULU—Never underestimate the pride of a champion.

Moanalua, facing a possible 0-2 start, eluded two potential game-winning shots in the final six seconds to upset Kalaheo, 41-39, Tuesday night. Senior Kepua Lee came through with 16 points and seven rebounds, both team highs. Junior Ronni Keli’iho’omalu added 10 points.

“Tonight’s win is a relief,” said Lee, who also tallied three assists and three steals. “We’re jelling more as a team, and we’re learning more on defense. We have a pretty young team.”

Not only did the defending O’ahu Interscholastic Association girls’ basketball champion hand Kalaheo its first league loss, but the Menehune avoided falling in a pit. With the playoff pool reduced from six to four teams in the East Division, every close game takes on more weight.

“We were consistent, especially on defense,” first-year head coach Rick Gonsalves said. “Sasha was tough on defense, Lisa (Ertl) did great off the bench. Everyone played good defense.”

Silva, a 5-foot-9 senior, was on a mission defensively. She and her pestering teammates applied enough pressure to limit Kalaheo center Kaiena Huihui to eight points. Huihui also led Kalaheo with six rebounds, but it was a far cry from her 20-point, 10-rebound effort against McKinley—not that Silva was aware of Huihui’s performance against the Lady Tigers.

“Defense is key. All I think about is getting my man and playing,” she said.

The Menehune have exactly one practice session to prepare for another playoff contender, Kaiser. “We’re going to enjoy the win, put it behind us and get ready for Kaiser on Thursday,” Gonsalves said.

Kalaheo, which opened the season with a win over McKinley, dropped to 1-1. The Lady Mustangs, ranked No. 4 in the latest HondaReport.com Top Ten, hosts Kaimuki Friday.

Moanalua pulled through—despite committing 20 turnovers—by hitting 11-of-14 free-throw attempts. It also didn’t hurt that Kalaheo missed golden opportunities—making just 3-of-9 tries from the line and committing 23 turnovers.

The final 3:53 were odd enough. First, Shannadee Canon, Kalaheo’s standout freshman point guard, missed two free-throw tries that would have tied the game at 39.

Moanalua, using a semi-delay offense, struggled at times. That was enough reason for Lee to take her own initiative. With her team clinging to a two-point lead, Lee went 1-on-3 on a fastbreak, pulled up for a 16-foot jumper from the right wing, and hit all net. That gave Moanalua a 41-37 lead with 2:49 remaining.

“You live and die by it,” Gonsalves said. “I trust her judgment.”

Lee, a McDonald’s All-America nominee, went on instincts. “It was a risky shot, but I didn’t want them to score, and we’d be behind,” she said.

Moanalua did not score another point, and that shot turned out to be pivotal. Randi Forstead’s layup brought the Lady Mustangs within two points with 2:37 left, and shortly after, Kalaheo got the ball back with a chance to tie or take the lead.

However, Lee stole the ball from Canon at midcourt. Showing signs of fatigue—Lee played the entire 32 minutes—she turned the ball over against Kalaheo’s halfcourt trap. The Mustangs had a 2-on-1 break, but Sasha Silva hustled back and stole a pass under the basket with 1:05 to go.

Another Moanalua turnover gave Kalaheo one more fastbreak opportunity. However, Canon missed a wide-open left-handed layup that would have tied the game. Kalaheo got the ball back, though, when Lee lost control of the rebound. Trailing 41-39 with 20 seconds remaining, Kalaheo set up for a potential tying or winning shot.

Instead, Shantel Marumoto’s pass at the top of the key sailed past Shaina Siliga, who had cut toward the basket. The ball went out of bounds, and the Lady Mustangs eventually fouled Keli’iho’omalu with 14.2 seconds to play.

The normally solid free-throw shooter missed the front end of her 1-and-1. Forstead rebounded, and Kalaheo worked the ball to Siliga on the right wing. The senior missed a tough 3-point try off the dribble, but Kaiena Huihui tipped the rebound back out. Canon grabbed the loose ball at the top of the key, but couldn’t get a good grip. Her shot from 21 feet out missed as time expired.

It was a bizarre final sequence that left Furtado scratching his head. Furtado didn’t lay too much weight on his freshman guard. “Shanadee will make mistakes. I’m willing to wait that out,” he said.

“We have enough game savvy and experience, so I don’t buy that,” he said. “Making free throws, making layups—those are things we practice every day. Back cuts … we work on that a lot. And we didn’t do that once tonight.”

The longtime coach had his share of banter with officials. “They didn’t cause us to not win. We didn’t do enough things to win,” he said.

Moanalua, the smaller, but more energetic team, amassed a 26-21 edge on the boards. The Menehune hustled for 10 offensive caroms; Kalaheo had five offensive boards.

It was Kalaheo’s second game in league play without all-state candidate Taylor Smith, who has a broken foot. She may return in about three weeks, during the final week of the regular season.

Moanalua, using a man defense from start to finish, probably played its best game since the start of preseason. “We didn’t play to our standards during preseason,” Lee said.

Kalaheo started the game with its usual man defense. Lee, strong on the drive and the pull-up jumper, was tough to handle. She scored six points during a 9-4 run to start the second quarter. That gave the Menehune a 19-14 lead with 3:35 to go in the first half.

The Lady Mustangs pulled within a point, but turnovers stunted their momentum—seven in the second quarter alone. Moanalua led at intermission, 23-18.

Lee opened the second half with a baseline drive and layup, and Moanalua had its biggest lead of the game. Again, Kalaheo pulled within a point, but the Menehune got six third-quarter points from Keli’iho’omalu to stretch the lead to 37-33 entering the final quarter.

Siliga’s 3-point bomb from the right corner tied the game at 37, and after a time out, the Lady Mustangs did something unique. They went to a 2-3 zone, allowing just four points in the final five minutes of play.

“Once we went zone, we did better,” Furtado said. “It’s hard to matchup on Kepua.”

Problem was, Kalaheo’s offense hit a wall at the same time.

Kalaheo 10 08 15 06 — 39
Moanalua 10 13 14 04 — 41

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