Kane scores 19 to lift Buffanblu past Iolani, 55-41
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Punahou School girls basketball team will play Kamehameha for the sixth time tonight, this one for the Hawaiian Airlines State Championship.
Tipoff for the game, which will be televised live on K5, is set for 8:05 p.m.
Punahou (14-2) held off Interscholastic League of Honolulu rival Iolani, 55-41, in last night's semifinals at Stan Sheriff Center.
The ILH runner-up Buffanblu defeated Kamehameha twice in the preseason and once in the league's first round. But the Warriors won their second-round meeting and the playoff between the two teams for the overall ILH crown.
"(After the second loss) we said, 'It's over, let's get right back to work,'" said Punahou guard Rachel Kane, who scored a game-high 19 points last night. "We were looking forward to meeting them again."
Kane made 11 of 14 free throws and added nine rebounds and eight steals. The Buffanblu made 24 of 35 free throws, compared to 11 of 12 for Iolani.
Another key factor was the health of Iolani senior guard Trisha Nishimoto, the Raiders' best player. Nishimoto missed seven weeks of the season with a high ankle sprain and suffered a mild concussion in Tuesday's first-round victory over Lahainaluna.
But the worst of her problems was a stomach flu she picked up Tuesday morning and has yet to recover from. She scored 10 points on Tuesday and had a game-high 19 points in Wednesday's upset of No. 2 seed Kalaheo, but was held to four points on 2-of-13 shooting last night.
She sat out six key minutes in the first half, when Punahou built a 27-16 lead, and two more minutes late in the third period, when the Buffanblu stretched the advantage to 35-23. After exiting the game for good with two minutes left, her illness overwhelmed her and she spent the postgame lying on a training table wrapped in blankets.
"She was just physically drained," Iolani coach Glenn Takara said. "No matter what, she willed herself to play and physically, it just caught up to her."
Her effort, though, did not go unappreciated.
"That girl is so tough," said Iolani sophomore Ginger Gravelle, who led the Raiders with 16 points. "Everyone can learn from her, because even after all she's gone through, she wanted to come through for us so badly and she was fighting 'til the very end. We all look up to her for that."
Iolani, the ILH's third-place team, likely would have had trouble even with a healthy Nishimoto last night. The Buffanblu jumped out to a 9-2 lead and later used an 8-0 run to lead 17-4 late in the first period.
"They came out hard and effort-wise, they got every loose ball," Takara said. "It was like they were two steps quicker than us."
Gravelle banked in a 3-pointer with 55 seconds remaining in the first quarter to cut it to 17-7, and she sank two free throws with 0:00.6 left to make it 17-9.
The Raiders' Fabriann Gin made two free throws to cut the lead to 21-15 with 3:30 remaining in the half. But Becky Hogue and Kane combined for four free throws, and Kane hit a baseline jumper with five seconds left to give Punahou a 27-16 lead at intermission.
The Buffanblu stretched the lead to 35-23 with 3:26 remaining in the third period after Kane's steal and layup. Nishimoto trimmed it to 35-28 with 20 seconds left on her own steal and layup.
Punahou led 41-30 after Elyse Umeda's baseline jumper with 4:13 remaining in the game, but Iolani cut it to 41-33 a half minute later on Lana Young's layup and free throw. Young made two free throws with 2:30 left to make it 41-35.
Free throws by Umeda and Kane widened the lead back to 45-35 with 1:45 remaining, and Umeda made it 47-35 on two free throws with 1:30 left.
Punahou 17 10 8 20—55
Iolani 9 7 12 13—41
Punahou—Rachel Kane 19, Elyse Umeda 10, Shanna-Lei Dacanay 7, Janelle Shin 0, Becky Hogue 10, Eryn Chun 0, Megan Abbot 0, Kristen LaVine 0, Sydney Anderson 0, Kelly Karns 1, Christine Takara 8. Totals 15 24-35 55.
Iolani—Trisha Nishimoto 4, Lana Young 7, Ginger Gravelle 16, Fabriann Gin 8, Diana McClain 2, Jennifer Nagamine 0, Jackie-Lynn Sasaki 0, Jayci Tashiro 0, Kiani Wong 0, Patricia Wong 4, Chelsea Wong 0. Totals 14 11-12 41.
3-point goals—Punahou 1 (Dacanay). Iolani 2 (Gravelle).
