HondaReport.com - Girls' Basketball: Kahuku Post-Game Wrap

Only the most jaded of sports fans wasn’t touched in some way by the grit, sportsmanship and fierce determination of Kahuku in the face of tremendous obstacles. Even in defeat to Konawaena in the state championship game, the Lady Raiders earned a measure of admiration from fans and opposing teams.

HONOLULU—There are some questions that are worth asking. Then, there are some that need not be asked at all.

For the Lady Raiders of Kahuku, the answer is always the same: Win or lose, they have heart. Plenty of it.

“I felt helpless, like I couldn’t contribute like I wanted to,” said Latoya Wily, who finished her career with a 21-point, eight-rebound effort. Wily, arguably the top player in the state, came close but never got to be part of a state championship team.

Weeping openly after the loss, Wily soon regained her composure and applauded Konawaena during the post-game ceremony. The 5-foot-10 senior has no regrets. “I’m so happy to play with these girls. I’d never trade any of it. It’s been a privilege to play with so many girls I’m related to,” said Wily, who transferred back from Kalaheo two years ago for a chance to play with her cousins.

Kahuku finished the year 26-3, including 13-1 in O’ahu Interscholastic Association play.

From the end of last season, the Lady Raiders were primed to make a run to the state championship.

Along the way, Kahuku faced Konawaena twice. The Lady Raiders edged the Wildcats at the Punahou Spring Wahine Classic, and later lost to Konawaena in the finals of the Lady Cardinal Classic. That defeat, three days before the OIA regular-season began, served as fuel for title run through the league. It was one of the toughest slates in recent league history, with an OIA East Division that boasted seven strong teams with state tournament-level ability.

The Lady Raiders topped Kaiser and McKinley to win the OIA crown. With the No. 2 seed in the state tourney, Kahuku seemed to be peaking. Then the wheels began to wobble, no pun intended.

Standout guard Monarisa Ale sustained a freak injury during a quarterfinal win over Lahainaluna. The senior made a cut in a corner, and her leg buckled. She sustained a sprained left ankle and did not return to the game.

The next night, in a semifinal battle with Punahou, point guard Karla Tailele scored on one of her typical, coast-to-coast layups in traffic. The senior landed on a Buff n’ Blue defender, however, and sprained her right ankle.

That kept Tailele sidelined for the night, and perhaps the rest of the tourney. Ale, still ailing with a bad ankle, returned to the floor in the second half, helping Kahuku fight off Punahou, 37-29.

Wily, fortunately, was firing on all cylinders. After dominating Lahainaluna, the senior center scored 20 points and grabbed 20 boards, outrebounding the entire Punahou squad.

With Tailele and Ale ailing, the weight of scoring points began to fall on Wily.

With Konawaena waiting in the wings, there was no room for error. Yet, Kahuku came out flat in the title game against the Wildcats. Tailele, unable to walk early in the day, was sidelined in the first half, and Kahuku’s ballhandling was iffy against Konawaena’s swarming man defense.

Tailele took to the court early in the third quarter with her team down 23 points. The result was immediate. Konawaena, with key scorer Jazzmin Williams sitting on the bench with foul trouble, struggled to get points. Kahuku, with its starting five on the floor, methodically pounded the ball into the low posts to Wily and Aisha Ale.

“In the morning, she couldn’t even walk,” Anae said of Tailele. “By halftime, I think she realized that she wanted to be on the court.”

The Lady Raiders got within 35-32 with complete momentum—and the support of several hundred boisterous Kahuku fans—on their side.

That’s when the bubble burst. Kahuku’s shooting went cold, and Nancy Hoist hit 9-of-10 shots from the line in the final 5:32 to preserve Konawaena’s victory.

Tailele struggled to find solace in the circumstances that affected her. With her ankle swollen to grapefruit size, Tailele wasn’t sure if she would be a help or hindrance to her team. So, she chose to sit, at least in the first half.

“They had a lot of faith of me, but I didn’t have faith in myself,” she said.

The images, though, of Tailele and Mona Ale playing through pain, limping up and down the floor, won’t be forgotten. Nor will the tight thread sown by the 2004 Lady Raiders.

“We’re proud of them. We just had some challenges to overcome. We got in too deep a hole,” Anae said. “The community support has been huge. They’ve been very supportive all year long.”

The Lady Raiders, however, have that superglue effect, and that won’t be forgotten. “I’ll miss the way we practiced so hard together. The laughing,” Tailele said.

“I’m gonna miss how this year’s team bonded,” said Mona Ale, who transferred from Utah to play for her aunt, former head coach Mona AhHoy, two years ago. “I love this team.”

Aisha Ale will return next season for her final year. “We’re gonna work hard. Us underclassmen are gonna have to step it up,” said Ale, who scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in the title game.

The 2004 Lady Raider squad may well have been the most talented, if not the most unique, in Kahuku’s storied history. “There’s never gonna be a team like this,” Ale said.