HondaReport.com - Girls' Basketball: Kahuku tops McKinley, 66-48, for OIA title

Girls' Basketball: Kahuku tops McKinley, 66-48, for OIA title

Flat? Sluggish? Kahuku? Though some fans say the Lady Raiders had not been very sharp in recent weeks, Kahuku was humming on all cylinders Friday night. Kahuku captured the OIA championship by overwhelming McKinley, 66-48.

And never more so than Friday night. Latoya Wily scored 24 points and Karla Tailele added 18 as Kahuku captured the O’ahu Interscholastic Association girls’ basketball championship with a 66-48 win over McKinley.

It is Kahuku’s first league crown since 1994. “I feel great, but we still have a ways to go,” Kahuku head coach Wendy Anae said. “Latoya is definitely a leader out there. She was very focused. Karla was huge for us. Everybody contributed.”

Kahuku, ranked No. 2 in the HondaReport.com Top Ten, improved to 13-1 in league play, 24-3 overall. With the OIA crown, Kahuku earned a bye in the opening round of the state tournament, which begins Wednesday.

McKinley, which secured the league’s second seed in the state tournament, dropped to 10-4 in OIA action, 15-9 overall.

Wily, one of several talented seniors on the Kahuku roster, played with a passion and focus that were on a title-winning level. “We spent the last two days at practice working on defense,” Wily said. “Our coaches always say offense wins games, but defense wins championships. Now just gotta stay humble and stay focused.”

Kahuku mixed man and 1-3-1 zone defenses. The man, in particular, was relentless and suffocating. “We had to penetrate to create passes, and we had too many times where we penetrated to create shots,” Victorino said. “For some reason, every team brings their ‘A’ game into this gym.”

The Lady Raiders also handled McKinley’s full-court pressure with consistent efficiency. At times, Kahuku looked like the old ‘Showtime’ Lakers.

“We felt that we could pressure them into bad passes. Tonight, they made crisp passes and they ran the lane well,” Victorino said. “That was unreal, the way they ran the court. Our quick guards would hurry back, and Latoya would already be there for a layup.”

The Lady Raiders, the top seed in the OIA East, played its semifinal and final on the road. The homecourt advantage they had earned by winning the East was nullified because the semifinal and final rounds were televised.

That left McKinley, the fourth-place finisher in the East, with a homecourt edge, or so it would have seemed.

Instead, Kahuku was en fuego from the start, racing to a 12-1 lead. “I was waiting for that TV timeout,” Victorino said. “That’s something I probably should’ve done differently.”

By the time the second quarter was well underway, the Lady Raiders were sprinting on all cylinders. Their fastbreak was rarely stopped, and they had a 34-17 lead.

McKinley came out with plans to smother Wily on the low post, but. “We had her triple-teamed the first time she touched the ball. Then they moved her to the high post,” McKinley coach Jesse Victorino said.

Eventually, Wily got back into the low post, and there was little resistance. McKinley got no closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Bre Carson scored 17 points to lead McKinley, ranked No. 8. The loss won’t affect McKinley’s confidence.

Victorino agreed. “We’re fine. The girls gave everything they’ve got,” the veteran coach said. “They never give up. This is my most passionate team.”

Kahuku won a regular-season matchup at McKinley, 70-50, but the Lady Tigers are a much-improved team since then. “This time, we had to earn it and be smarter as a team,” Wily said.

The Lady Raiders will get just a little bit of time to enjoy the win. “We practice tomorrow. Tonight, we’ll celebrate a little,” Wily said. “In the morning, we’re back in the gym.”

McKinley, meanwhile, surprised many fans by finishing second. “What that means is, we won’t be in Kahuku’s bracket unless we play them for the championship,” Victorino said of pairings for the state tourney. “Traditionally, the OIA No. 2 gets a good seeding.”

McKinley teammates Chantal Yadao and Chelsie Sato appeared to be in good spirits despite a collision under the basket as the third quarter ended. Yadao, who did not return to the game, has a shiner on her right cheek. Sato, who sustained an abrasion above her left eye, returned to the game midway through the fourth stanza.

Leading 60-41 with 1:52 left, Kahuku removed its starting five. However, McKinley trimmed the lead to 62-48 with 1:05 remaining, and Anae sent her starters back in.

“I told our girls, 'Our goal right now is to make Kahuku put its starters back in,’” Victorino said.