HondaReport.com - Girls' Basketball: No. 8 McKinley edges No. 5 Kalaheo in OIA semifinal

Girls' Basketball: No. 8 McKinley edges No. 5 Kalaheo in OIA semifinal

Bre Carson's 14 points led McKinley over Kalaheo, 42-39, in the semifinals of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association playoffs Tuesday night. Here is the extended version of the game story that appeared in Wednesday's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

HONOLULU—To knock out Kalaheo, it took a former Lady Mustang to deliver the punch.

Bre Carson scored 14, including eight in the final quarter, to lead McKinley over Kalaheo 42-39 last night in the semifinals of the Oahu Interscholastic Association girls’ basketball playoffs.

A crowd of about 500 watched on a humid evening at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium.

McKinley (15-8, 10-3 OIA) will meet last night’s Kahuku-Kaiser victor for the OIA championship Friday, 8 p.m. The Lady Tigers entered the game ranked eighth in the HondaReport.com Top Ten.

Fifth-ranked Kalaheo (21-4. 10-3 OIA) will play the Kahuku-Kaiser loser in Friday’s third-place game, which tips off at 4:30 p.m. The Lady Tigers last won the OIA crown in 1997, the third of three-straight under coach Jesse Victorino.

“I’m excited. We haven’t played in the championship game in a while,” said Carson, who still gets butterflies playing against her former school. “I was pretty nervous and frustrated.”

Chantal Yadao added 11 points and seven rebounds, and Meagan Miyasaka scored all eight of her points in the first half for McKinley.

“It feels great. We were waiting a long time for this,” Yadao said, referring to a regular-season opening loss at Kalaheo. The senior guard played on the post much of the night.

“It’s not all about scoring. If rebounding and defense is what I have to do, I’m going to do it,” Yadao said.

For seniors like Yadao and Miyasaka, Friday’s title game is new territory. “We’ve never been in that situation,” Miyasaka said. “We’ve gotten better with finishing games. It was like our Kaiser game, but that time, we didn’t make our free throws.”

McKinley prepared for the semifinals by shooting free throws for 30 minutes at a time in two stints at practice. The Lady Tigers also scrimmaged against eight defenders, working exclusively on their spread offense.

“We know how talented Kalaheo is,” Victorino said. “My (assistant) coach said, ‘Strategy, strategy.’ That’s when we spread the court. I think after we had those mistakes in the first half, we took care of the ball pretty well afterward.”

Shaina Siliga, who missed a 3-point shot with five seconds left that would have tied the game, led Kalaheo with 19 points. Randi Farstad added 10 points and eight caroms.

“The bottom line is, they’re shooting 3s, and we didn’t make enough plays offensively to win,” Kalaheo coach Chico Furtado said. McKinley sank seven treys, including six in the first half. “We scrapped out. Our kids played hard. We had several opportunities. They made big shots.”

Carson, who played her freshman and sophomore seasons at Kalaheo, came through at the free-throw line. With McKinley ahead 33-32 entering the final quarter, the 5-foot-3 guard sank 6-of-8 attempts from the line to help the Lady Tigers take a 39-35 lead with 4:50 remaining.

Kalaheo committed five of its 20 turnovers during the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.

McKinley then spread the floor and took time off the clock, but in a near duplicate of the first half, struggled to extend the lead. Chelsie Sato’s free throw pushed the Lady Tigers’ lead to 40-35 with 1:24 to play.

Farstad hustled for an offensive board and putback, and after a McKinley turnover, Kaiena Huihui scored on an inbounds pass to pull Kalaheo within 40-39 with one minute left.

Kalaheo, which never led, had its chances. Miyasaka missed a difficult fastbreak layup try over Huihui, giving Kalaheo possession. Shanadee Canon missed a tough layup try, but recovered her own rebound on the floor. Moments later, after Kalaheo time out, Farstad pulled up for a 12-foot jumper in the lane, but missed with 27 seconds to go.

Carson, fouled on the ensuing rebound, went to the line and sank two free throws. McKinley led 42-39 with 25 seconds left. “That was big,” Furtado said. “If she makes just one, we only need a 2-point basket.”

Kalaheo opted to go for a quick score. “We told the girls, if you get the first look, take the shot,” Furtado said. Farstad missed two tough shots in the key, and Yadao rebounded before falling to the hardwood. Yadao was whistled for traveling with five seconds to go.

Kalaheo set up a screen to free Siliga up, and she was wide open on the right wing. Her shot missed long, but McKinley batted the ball out of bounds with one second left. Canon’s 21-footer from the right corner missed as time expired.

Yadao, guarding Siliga, didn’t quite make it around a big screen on the wing. “She grabbed me,” Yadao said. “And (Siliga) got open. That was scary.”

Victorino expected a swish. “I thought that shot was going in,” he said.

In all, Carson made 8-of-12 tries from the line, accounting for all of her team’s fourth-quarter points.

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The defensive battle of the second half was no reflection of the first 12 minutes. McKinley, the No. 4 seed, seemed to enjoy its homecourt rims. The Lady Tigers were just 1-of-5 from 3-point range in the opening minutes before catching fire.

During one stretch, they drilled 5-of-6 attempts from beyond the arc. Carson and Miyasaka each sank two treys over Kalaheo’s 2-3 zone, and Yadao added her second 3-pointer of the half as McKinley opened a 22-13 lead.

“I told Meagan a while back, ‘You have to become a shooter.’ She has a nice, high-arching shot,” Victorino said. “That, plus her great defense, and she’s almost the complete package.”

At that point, with six minutes remaining before intermission, Kalaheo extended its zone to the 3-point line. McKinley responded by becoming very deliberate and spreading the floor.

“I’ve seen try to milk it and lose games,” Furtado said. “Sure enough, we caught them.”

Kalaheo whittled away at the lead. Canon, who finished with six points, scored on a pair of offensive boards, and Siliga swished two foul shots to cut the lead to 22-19 with 1:38 to go before halftime.

Down 24-19 at the break, Kalaheo kept chipping away. Breaking McKinley’s full-court press—and forcing the Lady Tigers into five turnovers in a four-minute span—Kalaheo tied the game at 30 on a 3-pointer by Siliga with 2:24 left in the third quarter.

Yadao answered with a trey from the top of the arc, and McKinley led 33-32 entering the final stanza.

In all, Kalaheo shot 27 percent from the field (15 of 56), a far cry from their early-season matchup. The Lady Mustangs shot 10 percent (1 of 10) from 3-point range, but outrebounded McKinley 35-22. Seventeen of those caroms came on the offensive glass.

McKinley, which committed 20 turnovers, shot 28 percent from the field (11 of 39). That included 7-of-21 from the 3-point line. McKinley made 13-of-20 tries from the foul line.

Kalaheo was just 8-of-12 from the charity stripe.

Kalaheo, which finished second in the East, and Kahuku, the OIA East titlist, found themselves on the road. The game was televised on cable, and McKinley is one of just two gyms outfitted for broadcast.

“That’s the benefit of being in your home. It amazes me that a team can get that advantage, especially a 3-point shooting team,” Furtado said. “Teams bust their butt in the regular season to get the homecourt advantage, but they have to play away in the playoffs.”

Victorino dismissed any significant advantage by being home. “Our team plays better on the road. We played our preseason away,” he said. “I tell the team, ‘We don’t want to be a custodian during the playoffs, sweeping the floor, being in the concession stand.’”