Fresh off an historic performance at the inaugural 'Iolani Girls Prep Classic, Punahou is headed to another groundbreaking event for Hawai'i basketball this week.

The Buffanblu (6-2) departed Honolulu yesterday for Phoenix, where they will be among 72 teams participating in Session I of the Nike Tournament of Champions — generally recognized as the nation's premier girls basketball event. Session I is broken up into five brackets, and Punahou will be competing in the "Black Division," which appears to be the toughest by far.

The Buffanblu open play at 10:20 a.m. tomorrow against Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa.), which is coming off a 23-8 season and is regarded as one of the top programs in the Philadelphia area. If Punahou wins, it will advance to Thursday's 3:40 p.m. quarterfinal, most likely against Long Beach (Calif.) Poly, ranked No. 4 in USA Today's Super 25.

Also in the Buffanblu's bracket are No. 1 Notre Dame (Middleburg, Va.) Academy, No. 8 Ursuline (Wilmington, Del.) Academy, No. 12 Southridge (Beaverton, Ore.), No. 24 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) and No. 25 Sequoyah (Tahlequah, Okla.).

"Archbishop Carroll is ranked No. 24 by SI.com, and they're considered to be the top team in Pennsylvania," Punahou coach Mike Taylor said. "The 'Iolani tournament was great, we played three great Mainland teams in three nights. But this is even a step higher. This is the best of the best."

The Buffanblu lost to Los Angeles area power Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 45-35 in Saturday's 'Iolani Prep Classic championship game. They defeated another Los Angeles power, Narbonne (Harbor City, Calif.) 47-39 in Friday's semifinals.

"Our main goal is to play to our potential," Taylor said. "We'd love to win and advance, but mainly we want to represent our school and the state of Hawai'i well."

Punahou forward Shawna-Lei Kuehu, one of the nation's top college prospects, was held to five points by Redondo Union, but Taylor said fatigue was a factor.

"People have to remember, she didn't play for one year (due to a knee injury)," Taylor said. "All of our girls learned that against these great teams, the margin for error is small, and they will capitalize on every single error."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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