HondaReport.com - Girls' Basketball: No. 5 Iolani stuns No. 2 Punahou, 32-30

Girls' Basketball: No. 5 Iolani stuns No. 2 Punahou, 32-30

The ILH title race is now a dead heat between former frontrunner Punahou and surging Iolani. Here's the extended version of the story that ran in Saturday's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

HONOLULU—Hennesea-Sue Tokumura picked just the right time to sharpen her shooting touch.

Tokumura drilled a 3-pointer with 3:01 to play, and Iolani’s lock-down defense shut out Punahou the rest of the way for a resounding 32-30 win last night at the Raiders’ gym.

The win pushed Iolani (9-2) into a tie with Punahou (9-2) for first place in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. Iolani is ranked No. 5 in the HondaReport.com Girls’ Basketball Top Ten. Punahou is No. 2.

Tokumura and Ginger Gravelle led Iolani with nine points apiece. Keilyn Fujioka, a 6-foot sophomore, pulled down a team-high nine caroms. Gravelle, who also grabbed six rebounds, could barely contain her surprise and joy.

“We never beat Punahou in my four years until now,” said Gravelle, a 5-foot-10 forward who is the Raiders’ lone senior. “They’ve got so much strength. They’re young, but they play like they’re so much older.”

Christine Takara scored nine points to pace Punahou. “We’re just that much more hungry now,” the junior said. “The ILH is really competitive, and any team and beat another any time.”

Punahou coach Mike Taylor kept the loss in perspective. “Nobody expected us to be where we are right now,” he said. “Now we have to get ready for Maryknoll.”

In a league where there are no pushovers, Punahou has learned all too well that anything less than an outstanding performance could be lethal. The Buffanblu sustained their first loss in ILH play, to Kamehameha, Wednesday night. A nice cushion atop the league has turned into a heated battle for a state tournament berth.

They can thank Tokumura for that. The sophomore guard was scoreless in the first half, but came alive with all nine of her points after intermission.

“This is almost as good as winning the ILH already,” Tokumura said. “Especially on Senior Night. It was a good way to end up at home.”

Longtime Iolani coach Glenn Takara is still amazed at the way his team has jelled. “I’m happy for them, especially Ginger. She’s worked really hard, and she’s kept them together,” he said. “But it’s still not over yet.”

Punahou, the defending ILH and state champion, had plenty of chances to tie or take the lead. Iolani, however, executed with precision in the final three minutes.

After committing 12 turnovers, the Raiders took nearly complete care of the ball. Running a motion play over and over, Iolani whittled one minute and 41 seconds off the clock before being whistled for a five-second violation with 45 seconds remaining.

With just two team fouls, Iolani had plenty of giving to do. Fujioka blocked a strong driving layup attempt by Takara, and the Raiders dealt out fouls to stymie Punahou’s offense.

By the time Marci Kang fouled Shanna-Lei Dacanay for Iolani’s fourth team foul, there were just six seconds to play. Moments later, Fujioka fouled Chelsea Deptula on an inbounds pass, and there were just four ticks left.

With one more foul to give, Gravelle hacked a Buffanblu on a sideline inbound pass, and the clock stopped with just two seconds remaining. Punahou settled for a 26-footer by Dacanay from the left wing, which fell short as time expired.

In all, Iolani’s defense of mostly man with a little 2-3 zone kept Punahou’s shooters off-balance. Punahou shot 20 percent (nine of 45) from the field, including 2-of-7 from 3-point range. The Buffanblu couldn’t get to the basket, either, attempting just two free throws after halftime, missing both.

Iolani, one of the youngest teams in the state, had just three of its 13 turnovers after intermission. The Raiders shot 13-of-34 from the field (38 percent), including 2-of-6 from 3-point range. They outrebounded Punahou, 24-18.

The Raiders, buoyed by a raucous Senior Night crowd of about 700, roared to an 11-0 lead. Gravelle scored seven points during that run, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key.

“Oh, my God. There were some people I’d never seen here before,” Gravelle said. “It was so nice to get that support.”

Takara answered with a trey from the left corner, and Tessa Sonobe swished a 15-foot baseline jumper as the visiting Buffanblu settled down. Mahina Macfarlane’s jumper from the right wing brought Punahou within 12-7 going into the second quarter.

With Fujioka on the bench with two early fouls, Iolani’s defense gave ground. “The matchups evened out,” Takara said.

Punahou went on a 12-2 run, going ahead for the first time on Takara’s free throws for a 15-14 lead with 2:20 left. Punahou led at the break, 19-14.

“We just needed to relax and run our offense,” Takara said. “We started well, but we started to force some things.”

Free throws were a key part of Punahou’s rally. The Buffanblu made all eight of its second-quarter free-throw attempts.

With lone senior and defensive specialist Eryn Chun on the sideline with an injured ankle, Punahou didn’t keep Tokumura quiet for long. Tokumura sank an 18-footer from the right corner, and then drove for a tough pull-up jumper in the lane to bring Iolani with 21-20.

Dacanay answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and Punahou clung to a 26-22 lead entering the final quarter.

Sophomore Alana Wall took a feed from Tokumura and swished a 16-footer from the baseline, and Marci Kang drove for a tough basket and free throw to bring Iolani within 28-27.

Tokumura drove for a short bank shot to give the Raiders a 29-28 lead with 5:28 remaining. Takara broke a defensive stalemate by driving for a left-handed layup on the baseline, and Punahou led 30-29 with 3:28 to go.

Moments later, Tokumura got open on the left wing and drilled the go-ahead 3-point shot. “That wasn’t supposed to be part of the play,” she said. “Christine was overplaying me, so I stepped out.”

It was Tokumura’s only trey of the game. “Hennesea got us on that downscreen on the flex,” Taylor noted. “She hit a big shot.”

Punahou, meanwhile, missed the services of Chun. “Eryn is one of the best defensive players in the state,” Christine Takara said. If Chun had been healthy, would Punahou have made up the two-point margin of defeat?

In the meantime, the Buffanblu are struggling to put points on the scoreboard against some of the best defensive teams in the state, let alone the league. “We had some missed shots and layups. We always give the green light,” said Taylor, adding that they’ll get more open looks with more ball reversal.

The Raiders, ranked among the top five in the state for many weeks now, are peaking at the right time. “We played Kamehameha and Punahou close in the last couple of years. We’re over the mental block,” Takara said. “We’ve still got a lot to learn, especially with game experience. We’re gaining more confidence.”

At this point, with Iolani and Punahou locked in a battle for the ILH crown—and a bye in the first round of the state tournament—it’s practically a new season. “We just have to play our game together. It’s the whole team, not just one or two players,” Gravelle said. “At the beginning of the season, we weren’t even close to being seen as a top team in the ILH. Now, we’re a team. I think we’ve got that down now.”