Kamehameha hands Punahou first loss, 50-46

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Kamehameha Schools girls basketball team, after stumbling through two less-than-inspiring practice sessions, put on its game face last night and knocked off previously unbeaten Punahou, 50-46, in Interscholastic League of Honolulu action.

Punahou's Milia Macfarlane beats Kamehameha's Krystalynn Ontai to the basket in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu game last night. The Warriors handed the Buffanblu their first loss, 50-46. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

The host Warriors used a 9-0 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter to build a 40-31 lead. Punahou closed the gap to 48-45 on two Becky Hogue free throws with 11 seconds left, but Megan Ching sank two free throws with eight seconds remaining to seal the win.

"We wanted to show people that Kamehameha can play basketball," said Ching, who scored a team-high 14 points. "We knew we could play with Punahou."

In the 48 hours prior to the game, Warriors coach Clay Cockett may not have been fully convinced of that. The Buffanblu won the first-round game over Kamehameha, 51-48, and could have clinched the title outright with a victory last night. They entered with a 17-game winning streak, including preseason.

"We had two days to prepare for this, and those weren't two of our best practices," Cockett said. "In fact, it was rather disturbing."

But last night it was clear from the outset, when Kamehameha matched Punahou basket-for-basket in a high-intensity first quarter, that the Warriors came to play.

"I think the magnitude of the game finally made an impression on them," Cockett said.

The Warriors took a 15-13 lead into the second quarter but the Buffanblu led 25-23 at halftime behind 10 points from All-State guard Milia Macfarlane. Both teams stepped up the defensive pressure in the third quarter, which ended tied at 31 after neither team scored in the final 3:10.

But in the fourth quarter, Kamehameha kept up the pressure on defense while finding openings on the other end. Megan Kanoa's turnaround jumper put the Warriors up 40-31 with 4:38 left, and Kamehameha made nine of 12 free throws in the period to withstand Punahou's late rally.

Guard Tiffiny Shim made six of those free throws and finished with 11 points.

"Kamehameha is a championship-type team," Punahou coach Shelley Kahuanui Fey said. "They've got a lot of tradition and pride, and it shows up in the big games."

Macfarlane had a game-high 17 points and four steals, and Hogue added 10 points and three blocked shots for the Buffanblu.

Punahou (10-1) 13 12 6 15—46
Kamehameha (11-1) 15 8 8 19—50

PUNAHOU—Rachel Kane 9, Elyse Umeda 2, Darci Murakawa 0, Megan Abbott 2, Milia Macfarlane 17, Misha Lam 0, Caroline Ane 6, Kira Kashiwa 0, Becky Hogue 10.

KAMEHAMEHA—Tiffiny Shim 11, Ashley Ruff 4, Lehua Wood 0, Tai Soo 11, Krystalynn Ontai 0, Megan Kanoa 3, Megan Ching 14, Noelle Russell 7.

3-point goals—Punahou 1 (Kane). Kamehameha 2 (Shim, Russell).

• Iolani 66, Sacred Hearts 45: Monica Tokoro scored 20 points and Trisha Nishimoto added 10 as the Raiders defeated the Lancers.

Samanta Alapa scored 16 points to lead Sacred Hearts.

Sacred Hearts (4-7) 7 7 11 20—45
Iolani (8-4) 14 19 9 24—66

SACRED HEARTS—Kelly Figueira 0, Christina Boncales 2, Cherise Madriaga 0, Kathryn Rutland 0, Brittney Aiwohi 12, Nicole Raiola 7, Kimberlee Young 0, Puaolena Reis 5, Jennilee Dowda 1, Samanta Alapa 16, Lani Faumuina 2.

IOLANI—Trisha Nishimoto 10, Jennifer Nagamine 0, Monica Tokoro 20, Lana Young 9, Janna Young 5, Fabrian Gin 8, Raeceen Woolford 0, Ginger Gravelle 8, Jackie Sasaki 0, Elyssa Street 2, Emma Prince-Wilson 4.

3-point goals—Sacred Hearts 3 (Aiwohi 2, Raiola 1). Iolani 2 (Gravelle 2).

• Maryknoll 36, University 24: Shannon Riley scored 16 points as the Spartans defeated the Jr. Bows.

Diane Okubo scored nine points to lead University.

University (4-8) 3 2 10 9—24
Maryknoll (2-9) 6 10 5 15—36

UNIVERSITY—Litiana Vakasausau 0, Iwalani Yamaguchi 0, Shalee Lumpkin 0, Ka'ula Atisanoe 8, Jeanal Souza 0, Kamaile Durrett 0, Janeen Waialae 2, Karlee Ka'iliehu 5, Diane Okubo 9.

MARYKNOLL—Pauline Chan 0, Elizabeth Kam 4, Kanani Medeiros 2, Shalei Bissen-Kealohi 2, Michelle Baduria 9, Diana Samson 0, Shannon Riley 16, Jenna Castillo 1, Jessica Ho 0, Whitney Wong 0, Carla Donlin 2, Stacey Doran 0.

3-point goals—University 2 (Atisanoe 2). Maryknoll 1 (Baduria).

Division II Tournament

Hawai'i Baptist 54, Kamehameha 48. High Scorers: HBA—Jessica Choy 13, Kara Morita 10. Kamehameha—Alicia Lave 19, Joanna Mahiai 11.

Lutheran 49, Punahou 34. High Scorers: Lutheran—Allison Perry-Tagata 13, Melissa Chan 11, Shannon Nagasako 10. Punahou—Janelle Shin 12.

St. Andrew's 59, Iolani 49. High Scorers: St. Andrew's—Alexis Reed 17, Jennifer Lazaro 14, Lehua Sanborn 12, Amanda Wang 10. Iolani—Kristin Kutara 19, Jennifer Marishige 11.

BASEBALL

• ILH gets one state berth: The ILH double-elimination tournament took on added importance Thursday when the league's entries in the state championships were reduced from two to one.

Action moves to Aloha Stadium today for the second round with first-round winners playing in the first two games and first-round losers playing in the last two. The winners' games are being played earlier to accommodate other school events.

The schedule, with ILH records in parentheses:

Kamehameha (9-6) vs. Mid-Pacific (12-3), 11 a.m.; Iolani (11-4) vs. St. Louis (11-4), 1:30 p.m.; Pac-Five (4-11) vs. Maryknoll (3-12), 4:30 p.m.; Damien (2-13) vs. Punahou (8-7), 7 p.m.

Admission today is $5 for adults and $3 for students. The tournament continues Tuesday at Ala Wai Field.

• MIL starts today: The first public-school athletes to resume playing after the teachers' strike will be the Maui baseball teams, which play a tripleheader today at Iron Maehara Stadium in Wailuku.

The purpose of the games is mainly "to shake off the cobwebs" and to determine seeding for the league's double-elimination tournament that starts Thursday, according to Stephen N. Kim, the league's executive secretary.

Baldwin and Maui had 6-0 records when teachers went on strike April 5. The winner of their game at 5:30 p.m. will be the No. 1 seed in the tournament, which will determine Maui's single entry into the state championships.