Kamehameha best in state basketball

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Following an intense final quarter, the Kamehameha Warriors (above) were finally able to let loose after defeating the Punahou Buffanblu (below) for the state high school basketball championship.

Photographs by Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser At Stan Sheriff Center Consolation Waiakea 48, Lahainaluna 43 OT Fifth place Konawaena 49, Baldwin 37 Third place Iolani 67, Kahuku 45 Championship Kamehameha 45, Punahou 42

It was the sixth meeting between the teams this year (including preseason), with Punahou winning the first three and Kamehameha winning the last three.

The Warriors (15-1) never trailed last night, although the Buffanblu (14-3) tied it at 39 with 48 seconds remaining on freshman guard Shanna-Lei Dacanay's 3-point basket from the right wing. Megan Ching got a putback with 40 seconds left to make it 41-39.

Ching added two free throws with 29 seconds remaining to push the lead to 43-39, but Dacanay swished another 3-pointer to make it 43-42 with 16 ticks left.

Kamehameha senior Ashley Ruff, who finished with a game-high 16 points, sank two free throws with 10.7 seconds remaining to make it 45-42, and a 3-point attempt by Punahou just before the buzzer rattled out.

"This was like a boxing match," Warriors coach Clay Cockett said. "We'd hit them, and they'd hit us back."

Despite the loss, Buffanblu coach Mike Taylor was pleased with his team's comeback, especially when two freshmen (Dacanay and Christine Takara) helped them rally from a 36-29 deficit early in the final period.

The two ninth-graders combined for 22 points, all in the second half.

"I'm proud of the way our kids played," Taylor said. "(Dacanay and Takara) are classified as freshmen, but we expect them to play like varsity players. They play with so much confidence, as a staff we're not afraid to put them out there."

Kamehameha started fast, with Amber Carter scoring on a layup after the opening tip and Mounia Nihipali hitting a putback with 3:40 remaining in the first period to give the Warriors an 8-2 lead.

Punahou recovered but Carter's jumper just before the buzzer gave Kamehameha a 14-9 lead.

The Warriors began the second quarter with a 6-2 run and led 24-15 at the half on Ruff's banker with 20 seconds left.

Buffanblu center Becky Hogue finished the first half with 13 points but had only two in the second half.

"We were taking what the defense gave us, and we still had a lot of good shots in the second half," Taylor said.

Warriors guard Lehua Wood did a good job containing the Buffanblu's Rachel Kane in the first half, holding the high-scoring Kane to zero points on 0-for-4 shooting, although Kane did grab six first-half rebounds. On Thursday night, Kane had a game-high 19 points, nine rebounds and eight steals to lead Punahou past Iolani.

The Buffanblu got it down to three points, 32-29, on Takara's putback with a minute left in the third quarter, but Ching's layup with 20 seconds left gave Kamehameha a 34-29 lead heading into the fourth.

"We knew it'd be a dogfight to the very end," Taylor said. "But that's the main reason I coach — not for wins and losses, but to build character."

Ruff, an All-State shortstop on Kamehameha's state title-winning softball team showed character and grit in winning tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. After averaging about 6-7 points per game during the regular season, Ruff scored 19 points in Thursday's semifinal victory over Kahuku and scored six points in the crucial fourth period last night.

"Ashley's always picking us up," Wood said. "Through her, we gain confidence."

THIRD PLACE

Iolani 67, Kahuku 45: Ginger Gravelle and Fabriann Gin each scored 20 points as the Raiders of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu routed the Red Raiders of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association.

Kahuku took a 16-15 first quarter lead, but Iolani outscored the Red Raiders 17-9 to take a 32-25 lead.

Lana Young had 16 points for Iolani. Young and Diana McClain each had seven rebounds.

Iolani (12-8) 15 17 9 26 —67
Kahuku (12-6) 16 9 9 11—45

Iolani—Ginger Gravelle 8-15 3-3 20, Fabriann Gin 8-13 4-5 20, Lana Young 3-6 10-11 16, , Jennifer Nagamine 1-4 2-2 4, Kiani Wong 1-1 0-1 2, Jayci Tashiro 1-2 0-0 2, Diana McClain 0-0 3-4 3, Jackie-Lynn Sasaki 0-1 0-1 0, Raeceen Woolford 0-0 0-0 0, Keri Oyadomari 0-0 0-0 0, Patricia Wong 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-42 22-27 67.

Kahuku—Michelle Peters 7-10 0-0 14, Karla Tailele 3-8 1-2 8, Kelci Naihe 2-13 2-2 7, Charlotte Leitupo 2-6 0-0 4; Annie Soliai 2-2 0-0 4, Lesina Funaki 2-3 0-1 4, Krisha Kai, 1-1 0-0 2, Mereani Lewenilovo 0-3 2-2 2; Nicole Pouha 0-1 0-0 0, Nancy Vave 0-0 0-0 0, Tanya Alo 0-0 0-0 0, Alberta Fotu 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-47 5-7 45.

3-point goals—Iolani 1 (Gravelle). Kahuku 2 (Tailele, Naihe).

FIFTH PLACE

Konawaena 49, Baldwin 37: Konawaena of the Big Island used a 13-2 third quarter run to defeat Baldwin of Maui.

Konawaena's Kara Taniyama, and Nancy Hoist combined for 11 points in the surge that saw the Wildcats turn a 23-22 deficit into a 37-27 lead with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.

Hoist scored 19 points. Kami Kapaku led Baldwin with 16 points.

Konawaena (15-1) 15 7 15 12—49
Baldwin (14-3) 15 8 6 8 —37

Konawaena—Nancy Hoist 9-11 1-3 19, Kara Taniyama 6-7 1-2 15, Elizabeth Palau Chung-Hoon 1-3 4-4 6, Kristin Kitaoka 1-2 1-2 4, Jessica Hanato 1-4 0-0 2, Shawna-Marie Gomes 1-2 0-0 2, Jennifer Tayamen 0-2 1-2 1, Tiare DeAguiar 0-1 0-0 0, Noelani Yamamoto 0-0 0-0 0, Keala Kaupu 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-32 8-13 49.

Baldwin—Kami Kapaku 5-12 5-5 16, Isabeau Waiau 2-3 3-4 7, Mahie Atay 2-5 1-3 5, Kapua Atay 2-4 0-0 4, Jenna Mailou 1-3 1-1 3, Crystal Manuel 0-5 1-2 1. Chantilly Mers 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 12-32 12-17 37.

3-point goals—Konawaena 3 (Taniyama 2; Kitaoka 1), Baldwin 1 (Kapaku).

CONSOLATION

Waiakea 48, Lahainaluna 43: Waiakea senior Amy Kaaiakamanu scored a game high 15 points and hit a key 3-pointer in overtime to lift the Warriors over the Lunas.

Kaaiakamanu's 3-pointer with 2:05 to go gave Waiakea a 40-39 lead and put the Warriors ahead for good. She then made a key steal with about a minute to go, after which teammates Ashley Kualii and Jobette Nabarro made a pair of free throws.

Lahainaluna (12-5) 4 14 16 7 2—43
Waiakea (12-5) 13 9 9 10 7—48

Lahainaluna—Fatai Halaapiapi 5-17 5-11 15, Monika Vehikite 6-12 0-2 12, Missy Kaina 3-13 1-1 7, Hannalore Cabrera 1-6 2-2 4, Sherlyn Yadao 1-10 0-0 3, Jessica Maielua 1-1 0-0 2, Kele Fushikoshi 0-1 0-0 0, Krystle Omlan 0-2 0-0 0, Janet Bilog 0-0 0-0 0, Bianca Schwarz 0-0 0-0 0, Monique Blando 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-62 8-16 43.

Waiakea—Amy Kaaiakamanu 5-11 4-6 15, Stacey Yanagihara, 4-9 0-1 11, Jobette Nabarro 3-12 2-4 8, Genevieve Girdner 1-6 3-4 5, Kristine Irvine 2-7 0-0 4, Ashley Kualii 0-2 2-2 2, Katie Morigaki 1--3 0-0 2, Jessica Yeh 0-1 1-1, Lena Hamakawa 0-1 0-0 0, Adrienne Ohashi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-52 12-19 48.

3-point goals—Lahainaluna 1 (Yadao). Waiakea 4 (Yanagihara 3, Kaaiakamanu 1).