Posted on: Friday, May 21, 2004
Inspired Punahou defeats Kalaheo, 41-28
| • | Baseball: ILH teams reach final |
| • | Basketball: Baldwin stuns Iolani, 48-26 |
| • | Konawaena trounces Kamehameha, 64-34 |
| • | Kahuku tops Lahainaluna, 66-40 |
| • | Golf: Damien's Nino wins boys state golf title |
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
Punahou preserved the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's presence in the HHSAA/Hawaiian Airlines Girls State Basketball Championships last night, holding off Kalaheo, 41-28, in a quarterfinal game at Stan Sheriff Center.
The ILH has won 23 of the past 27 state championships, including 16 of the past 17. But members Iolani and Kamehameha were eliminated last night, leaving the defending champion and No. 3 seed Buffanblu as the lone ILH representative in a semifinals that often has had two ILH teams involved.
Punahou (12-2) will play No. 2 seed Kahuku (14-1) tonight at 8; No. 4 Baldwin (15-1) will face No. 1 Konawaena (15-0) in the other semifinal at 6:15.
"When we found out that Kamehameha and Iolani lost by significant amounts, it kind of woke us up and made us hungry," said Buffanblu guard Shanna-Lei Dacanay, who had nine points and five rebounds. "It shows that all these other teams come to play, so we said, 'We gotta represent the ILH.' "
Punahou's victory was not a pretty one, as the teams combined to shoot just 27 percent (25 of 93) from the field and had 37 turnovers between them. The Buffanblu, who won the ILH title on May 7, went 13 days between games and the rust often showed despite a hot 14-2 start.
The Buffanblu led 10-2 after one period in spite of 3-of-9 shooting and five turnovers. But Kalaheo (11-5) was worse, shooting 1 for 7 with seven turnovers in the first eight minutes.
The Mustangs closed to 14-8 on Taylor Smith's layup with 5:15 remaining in the half, but that was as close as Kalaheo would get. A 7-2 run made it 21-10 with 2:46 left, and Punahou maintained its lead in the third quarter to lead 28-18 entering the fourth.
Punahou went on a 10-0 run, only to see the Mustangs answer with a 9-0 spurt to close it to 38-27 on Shanadee Canon's layup with 3:30 remaining. But Punahou was able to run out the clock.
"Kalaheo's a good team and (coach) Chico Furtado does a good job with them," Buffanblu coach Mike Taylor said. "They played hard for 32 minutes."
Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.
