Updated at 6:01 p.m., Wednesday, May 16, 2007
State basketball: Punahou rips Lahainaluna, gains semi
By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer
Punahou forced 29 first-half turnovers and its bench finished with 50 points in a 66-47 rout of fourth-seeded Lahainaluna today in the quarterfinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball Division I State Championship at the Stan Sheriff Center.
"When we're disciplined and we play with a sense of purpose I think our defense is pretty good," Punahou coach Mike Taylor said.
Punahou, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up, will play the Honoka'a-Roosevelt winner in the semifinals tomorrow at 8.
Janelle Nomura scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half and fellow reserve Tressa Torres had all 13 of her points before halftime for Punahou, which had 10 players score.
Punahou (11-6) pressured full-court and had 22 steals by halftime. It finished with 29 steals and forced 40 turnovers.
"They played outstanding defense, but this has got to be the worst game this team has played. There is no doubt about it," Lahainaluna coach Todd Rickard said. "They put on a lot of pressure; Punahou's a great team, but we helped in a lot of ways by throwing the ball away and not bringing the ball up the court. It got ugly. What can I say?"
