HondaReport.com - Girls' Basketball: No. 8 McKinley rallies for OT win over Farrington

Girls' Basketball: No. 8 McKinley rallies for OT win over Farrington

A nine-point lead fizzled for Farrington, and McKinley's clutch plays paved the way to a 59-51 overtime win Tuesday night. Here's the extended version of the game story. The shorter, edited version is in Wednesday's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

Twenty-nine turnovers cost Farrington dearly in a 59-51 overtime loss at McKinley Tuesday night. “The turnovers were crucial,” Farrington head coach Jenic Tumaneng said. “It comes down to our inexperience at guard.”

Farrington’s pain was McKinley’s pleasure. McKinley improved to 4-2 in Oahu Interscholastic Association East Division play (12-7 overall). The win kept the Lady Tigers’ playoff hopes alive and well; they trailed Kahuku, Kaiser and Kalaheo in the standings entering Tuesday night’s games.

Farrington dropped to 4-3. Moanalua and Roosevelt had two losses entering last night’s games. With only four playoff berths allotted—there were six berths prior to this year—the battle at McKinley Student Council Gym was crucial.

“Our seniors knew, if we don’t beat Farrington, we probably don’t make the playoffs,” McKinley coach Jesse Victorino said. “Basically, this was a gut-check game, and our seniors came through.”

McKinley isn’t out of the woods yet, by any means. Kaiser awaits Friday, and Moanalua follows.

The Lady Governors aren’t out of the picture mathematically. “I think three losses still gets you in the playoffs,” Tumaneng said. “It depends on the tiebreaker formula. Right now, we have to bounce back and get ready for Kalaheo Friday.”

Despite their distinct height disadvantage, the Lady Tigers kept launching from the field at the command of Victorino. Their aggressive, hustling philosophy paid off despite horrendous shooting accuracy.

For the game, McKinley shot just 23 percent (17 of 73) from the field. That included a 3-of-32 performance in the first half. It also included 5-of-28 shooting from the 3-point line. Farrington, which shot 43 percent (14 of 35) from the floor, also made 22-of-37 attempts from the foul line and outrebounded McKinley 50-28.

The Lady Tigers made up for it by committing just seven turnovers and making 22-of-36 tries from the foul line. Also, 17 of their 28 boards were on the offensive glass.

Bre Carson led McKinley with 18 points despite an off-shooting night from the 3-point line. She shot 6-of-22 from the field, including 3-of-14 from the arc. The senior guard connected on four treys, including 3-of-8 in the second half.

Meagan Miyasaka, a defensive stopper, pumped in 17 points, and freshman Chelsie Sato tallied 14 points and seven boards in the post for McKinley, ranked No. 8 in the HondaReport.com Girls’ Basketball Top Ten.

McKinley overcame a superb effort by Farrington senior Sunshine Misa-Uli. The 5-foot-10 center scored 17 points and hauled in 20 rebounds. Double-teamed much of the night, she made 3-of-6 attempts from the field and 11-of-18 tries from the free-throw line.

Farrington led by nine in the final quarter before the host Lady Tigers rallied and took the lead. Farrington regained the lead and held a 45-42 margin with 14 seconds left in regulation. That’s when Chantal Yadao swished a 22-footer from the left wing for three, tying the game at 45 with nine seconds remaining.

The Lady Govs called time out and got the ball inbounds, where Misa-Uli corralled a loose ball at midcourt. She drove to the hoop and missed a tough left-handed layup attempt at the buzzer, but Farrington fans were aghast that no foul was called on the play as two Tigers defended on the breakaway.

Misa-Uli stayed down for five minutes with a leg cramp. “If she’s going up, there’s no way she’s coming down to the floor unless she’s fouled,” Tumaneng said of Misa-Uli, a two-time state wrestling champion at 175 pounds.

In overtime, Farrington regained the lead on Montero’s free throw, but McKinley utilized its full-court press to force four Farrington turnovers during an 11-2 run.

McKinley made 10-of-16 free-throw attempts in the extra period, while Farrington made just one of its seven field-goal tries.

“Bre had a tough night, but Meagan kicked it in gear, and Chantal stepped it up,” Victorino said of his senior guards. McKinley constantly attacked the rim, forcing Farrington’s man defense to commit or back off. Misa-Uli picked up her fourth personal foul late in the third quarter and sat for three crucial minutes.

While she was on the bench, McKinley rallied from a 36-27 deficit. Farrington’s misfortune began when a free throw by Montero was disallowed because of a lane violation, keeping Farrington’s lead at 37-30.

Carson drilled a 3-pointer, and on the same play, Montero fouled McKinley’s Linda Fowler under the hoop. Fowler banked in her first free throw and swished the second, and the Lady Tigers were suddenly within 37-35 with 5:23 left in regulation.

Yadao scored on a give-and-go layup to tie the game, and Carson came up with a steal for a breakaway layup to give McKinley a 39-37 lead with 3:18 to go. The lead changed hands three more times, and when Sandy Tauta hit an easy layup, Farrington led 45-42 with 14 seconds left.

That set up Yadao’s game-tying shot. McKinley worked the ball upcourt to Sato for a quick timeout. The Tigers then called their patented sideline play to Yadao, who inbounded the ball to Sato, got the ball right back and drained the trey to force overtime. Patented or not, it is very similar to the old play run by the Chicago Bulls in their championship heyday. The go-to shooter back then was Toni Kukoc.

The defensive standoff featured four disqualifications—two for each team—due to fouls.