Relying on a balanced offense and trademark stingy defense, Punahou held off visiting 'Iolani, 47-36, last night to clinch its third straight Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls basketball championship and eighth in the past nine years.

The Buffanblu, ranked No. 2 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, improved to 10-1 in the ILH with one regular season game remaining. 'Iolani, ranked No. 5, fell to 6-3.

"We lose good players every year (to graduation), but we also get new players who step up," said Punahou junior forward Jennifer Ching, who scored a team-high 13 points last night. "The team has really come together, even in practice."

'Iolani came out strong, taking an 11-7 lead in the first five minutes, but Ching sank two free throws with four seconds remaining in the first period to close it to 11-9.

After Lori Yamashita's short jumper put the Raiders up, 15-14, with 3:34 left in the half, Punahou shut them out the rest of the period and Janet Li's three-point play with 1:05 remaining gave the Buffanblu a 20-15 lead at intermission.

'Iolani closed it to 20-19 with two quick baskets to start the second half, but then went almost six minutes without scoring as Punahou stretched the lead to 28-19 after Ching's two free throws with 1:11 left in the third quarter.

"I thought our defense did OK, but we just couldn't score," Raiders coach Eddie Maruyama said. "You gotta give (the Buffanblu) credit."

Shauni Watanabe's runner in the lane with 25 seconds remaining cut it to 28-21 heading into the fourth, but Punahou began the final period with a 6-0 run capped by Hailey Maeda's putback to extend the lead to 34-21.

'Iolani cut it to 40-33 after Kaitlyn Shikada's 3-pointer with 2:50 left, but the Buffanblu sank seven of eight free throws down the stretch to seal the victory and the title.

Khaliyah Thompson added 10 points for Punahou, and Maeda contributed six points, five rebounds and two blocks.

Lahela Usui — who left the game briefly late in the third period with a knee injury — led the Raiders with 12 points, and Alex Masaquel — who drew her fourth foul with 3:25 remaining in the third quarter — added 11 points.

"I'm very proud of our girls," Buffanblu coach Mike Taylor said. "After the first quarter, they settled down, especially on defense, and started communicating better. Give credit to Eddie and his staff, because I saw 'Iolani in the preseason and they've improved remarkably since then. But we got contributions from everybody, and that's been our concept this season.

"There's no one star."

'IOLANI (6-3) 11 4 6 15—36

PUNAHOU (10-1) 9 11 8 19—47

'IOLANI — Saphyre Rezentes 0, Kryn Masutani 0, Kylie Maeda 0, Lori Yamashita 7, Georgette Lopes-Liutolo 0, Kaitlyn Shikada 3, Mahina Haina 0, Lahela Usui 12, Shauni Watanabe 3, Alyssa Li'ili'i 0, Alex Masaquel 11, Brittany Barnes 0, Taimane Passi 0. Totals 14 5-16 36.

PUNAHOU — Kaylin Okuma 7, Khaliyah Thompson 10, Janet Li 3, Brittnie Lau 0, Demi Suzuki 0, Mysha Sataraka 2, Julia Brand 4, Ashley-Anne Feria 0, Jennifer Ching 13, Kysa Ludviksen 2, Hailey Maeda 6. Totals 11 24-39 47.

3-point goals — 'Iolani 3 (Yamashita, Shikada, Usui). Punahou 1 (Okuma).

Reported by Scott Metcalf

DIVISION II GIRLS

PUNAHOU 66, UNIVERSITY HIGH 47

Daena Mau scored 18 points, Ashley Choy added 11 and Sarah Ann Ota had 10 as the Buffanblu beat the Jr. Rainbows at Klum gym. Quynne Eharis scored 23 points for UHS, which trailed just 26-25 at halftime.

PUNAHOU (11-2) 13 12 25 16—66

UNIVERSITY HIGH (6-7) 16 10 13 8—47

PUNAHOU — Kourtney Wong 0, Brittany Pacarro 0, Ashley Choy 11, Kayla Murata 0, Elisabeth Ushigome 0, Sarah Ann Ota 10, Kira Bayley 4, Jasmine Kauka 2, Rashelle Nagata 0, Natalie Portwood 7, Daena Mau 18, Stacey Lin 1, Michelle Tam 6, Nicole Shelton 4, Hilary Nakaya 3. Totals 25 8-12 66.

UNIVERSITY HIGH — Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence 1, Shannon Lee 5, Anuhea Memea 14, Quynne Eharis 23, Quirena Natividad 2, Crystal Wang 0, Lei Wanstead 0, Janae Rasmussen 0, Bernadette Maumalanga 0, Kianalei Machida 2. Totals 17 13-19 47.

3-point goals — Punahou 8 (Choy 3, Mau 2 Ota 2, Portwood 1). University High none.

Reported by Wendi Chong-Viernes

'IOLANI 41, HAWAIIAN MISSION 26

Jelene Wong scored 12 points and the visiting Raiders used a 16-9 third quarter for a 29-20 lead entering the fourth.

'IOLANI (10-3) 7 6 16 12—41

HAWAIIAN MISSION (2-10) 4 7 9 6—26

'IOLANI — Ashlyn Yokoyama 8, Teru Okamoto 0, Khaydan Gabriel 8, Dana Gibson 0, Jelene Wong 12, Malia Ma 6, Mele Halaifonua 0, Alisha Kodama 7, Stasha Eliu 0, Aimee Taniguchi 0, Katie Sakumoto 0. Totals 18 1-2 41.

HAWAIIAN MISSION — Jana Sauder 7, Jessie Tsukuyama 0, Alana Muller 0, Melissa Mishima 2, Samantha Ramos 5, Caroline Kim 6, Erika Tsubokura 2, Paris Rollins 0, Hope Leao 0, Stephanie Valencia 4. Totals 9 6-13 26.

3-point goals — 'Iolani 4 (Wong 2, Gabriel 1, Kodama 1). Hawaiian Mission 2 (Kim 2).

Reported by Robert Leal

WORD OF LIFE 54, ST. ANDREW'S 29

Rachel Tokuda, Alexis Villa and Elaine Naulu each scored 10 points and the Firebrands took a 26-13 halftime lead in beating the Pride at Mānoa Rec Center gym. Haley Dixon scored 12 to lead St. Andrew's.

ST. ANDREW'S (2-11) 5 8 6 10—29

WORD OF LIFE (10-3) 8 18 14 14—54

ST. ANDREW'S — Amber Tejiri 4, Kerri Inoshita 2, Joy Winslow 1, Rebecca Kleinschmidt 8, Hayley Dixon 12, Tamika Woody 2. Totals 10 7-11 29.

WORD OF LIFE — Faith Zerba 2, Rachel Tokuda 10, Alexis Villa 10, Phoibe Fetu 2, Chanelle Maldonado 8, Monique Jackson 8, Adaiah Hanakahi 4, Elaine Naulu 10. Totals 22 10-23 54.

3-point goals — St. Andrew's 2 (Dixon 2). Word of Life none.

Reported by Mike Chu

SACRED HEARTS 41, ST. FRANCIS 39

Vanessa Freitas scored 15 points and the Lancers made three free throws in the final minute, including two by Freitas, to hold off the Saints at Mānoa Rec Center gym. Kiana Jones scored 11 and Aja Gamble 10 for St. Francis.

SACRED HEARTS (13-0) 9 10 15 7—41

ST. FRANCIS (5-8) 7 10 14 8—39

SACRED HEARTS — Kara Vause 0, Rayna Munos 8, Lynsey Overstreet 3, Vanessa Freitas 15, Sara Souza 9, Basha-Lei Almadova 4, Tess O'Connor 2. Totals 16 8-14 41.

ST. FRANCIS — Aja Gamble 10, Kiana Jones 11, Kamaka Silva 6, Jasmine Soon 3, Pitisi Tualau 6, Nicole Yuen 3. Totals 16 7-12 39.

3-point goals — Sacred Hearts 1 (Overstreet). St. Francis none.

Reported by Mike Chu

HANALANI 42, LE JARDIN 13

Ashley Stamm scored 11 points and Mariah Schoniwitz added 10 as the host Royals routed the Bulldogs. Tori Natividad scored six points to lead Le Jardin.

LE JARDIN (0-13) 2 3 6 2—13

HANALANI (8-5) 12 14 14 2—42

LE JARDIN — Kelsey Tanouye 3, Kea Olaso 0, Brittany Daniels 0, Tori Natividad 6, Alana Manley 0, Jade Nguyen 2, Ashley Abraham 0, Alessandra Rodriguez 0, Samantha Gabreleik 0, Kara Singson 0, Hannah Sherrill 2, Natalie Strong 0. Totals 5 3-7 13.

HANALANI — Jade Gonzalez 0, Sarah Hyde 2, Samantha Hyde 4, Kira Oyama 2, Mariah Schoniwitz 10, Kim Feng 3, Chelsea Kido 0, Jody Shimabukuru 3, Christina Armstrong 0, Ashley Stamm 11, Niki Gonzalez 0, Jackie Earl 4, Jessica Zhar 0, Jessica Clanton 3. Totals 16 6-7 42.

3-point goals — Le Jardin none. Hanalani 4 (Schoniwitz 2, Feng 1, Clanton 1).

Reported by Rob Araki

DIVISION I BOYS

KAMEHAMEHA 59, MARYKNOLL 37

Micah Christenson scored 15 points and Frank Ho added 11 as the visiting Warriors beat the Spartans. Jacob Mayer scored 13 points for Maryknoll.

KAMEHAMEHA (6-1) 11 16 24 8—59

MARYKNOLL (1-7) 5 4 9 19—37

KAMEHAMEHA — Chris Bright 2, Frank Ho 11, Micah Christenson 15, Brandon Orpillia 4, Brent Achong 6, Davis Achong 9, Devin Kuhns 4, Charlton Tang 6, Dyrbe Enos 2, Shane Yoshida 0. Totals 25 6-16 59.

MARYKNOLL — Andrew Wu 0, Masashi Uematsu 7, Chad Sumulong 2, Trevor Ventura 0, Isaiah Dowdell 9, Jacob Mayer 13, A'I Cashman-Fernandez 3, Kekoa Welsh 0, Jordan Tomos 0, Nua Iuvale 3. Totals 12 10-16 37.

3-point goals — Kamehameha 3 (Ho, Christenson, Orpillia). Maryknoll 3 (Uematsu 2, Cashman-Fernandez 1).

Reported by Maryknoll Athletics

PUNAHOU 66, DAMIEN 33

Taylor Crabb scored 11 points and the host Buffanblu raced to a 31-13 halftime lead in cruising past the Monarchs.

DAMIEN (2-4) 6 7 6 14—33

PUNAHOU (6-1) 17 14 24 11—66

DAMIEN — Mark Baay 8, Nephi Tuitele 0, Dylan Yonamine-Baysa 2, Matt Labaguen 4, Breysen Lee 2, Kevin Aganos 1, Jeremy Torcuato 4, JB Ferriera 5, Tyler Tamayo 1, Jacob Cachola 0, Lonn Iwashita 6. Totals 12 7-14 33.

PUNAHOU — Taylor Crabb 11, Patrick O'Neill 8, Bryan Matsukawa 2, Henry Cassiday 6, Sean McFadden 6, Noah Hammond 3, James Dowsett 0, Dylan Hudson 2, Malik Johnson 7, Matthew Feldman 7, James Duncan 7, Kyle Tu'umalo 4, DeForest Buckner 3, Kaiwi Crabb 0. Totals 28 7-11 66.

3-point goals — Damien 2 (Baay, Ferreira). Punahou 3 (T. Crabb 2, Hammond 1).

Reported by Scott Metcalf

'IOLANI 57, MID-PACIFIC 46

Kainoa Chu scored 17, Trevyn Tulonghari added 13, and Andrew Skalman and Jarrett Arakawa each had 10, leading the visiting Raiders past the Owls. Andrew Swanson scored 15 points and Patrick Matthews 14 to lead the Owls.

'IOLANI (6-2) 11 9 14 23—57

MID-PACIFIC (2-5) 9 14 9 14—46

'IOLANI — Andrew Skalman 10, Ammon Baldomero 0, Reid Saito 5, Jarrett Arakawa 10, Josiah Sukumaran 2, Kainoa Chu 17, Trevyn Tulonghari 13, Kainoa Scheer 0, Jourdan Simmonds 0, John Foy 0, Gabriel Vega 0. Totals 14 26-34 57.

MID-PACIFIC — Jordan Doi 0, Shaun Dobovan 3, Shane Kurihara 5, Keola Brown 0, Patrick Matthews 14, Marcus Doi 2, Matthew Reyes 2, Ty Kono 5, Andrew Swanson 15, Dayton Uchiyama 0, Matthew Carland 0. Totals 14 15-19 46.

3-point goals — 'Iolani 3 (Tulonghari 2, Chu 1). Mid-Pacific 3 (Kurihara, Matthews, Swanson).

Reported by Sean Aoyagi

DIVISION II BOYS

PUNAHOU 59, WORLD OF LIFE 33

Lowell Tong hit four 3-pointers en route to 14 points and the host Buffanblu broke away from a 24-17 halftime lead with a 20-9 third quarter to beat the Firebrands, who got 10 points from Keawa Poggi.

WORD OF LIFE (3-7) 6 11 9 7—33

PUNAHOU (10-0) 8 16 20 15—59

WORD OF LIFE — Ryan Alvarado 4, Keawa Poggi 10, Keoki Holloway 6, Josh Ramos 0, Javison Caires 0, TJ Russell 0, Isaac Iwamoto 6, Alex Robinson 2, Ben Siania 5. Totals 13 5-7 33.

PUNAHOU — Jeremy Lee 0, Devon Wong 4, Jeff Pedrina 8, Stephen Alterado 8, Lowell Tong 14, Daley King 7, Chris McLaren 4, Nick Hirata 2, Ryan Uyehara 2, James Portwood 2, Kevin Chung 4, Lokahi Matsuo 2, Tim Moody 2, Liloa Travis 0. Totals 24 5-9 59.

3-point goals — Word of Life 2 (Poggi 2). Punahou 6 (Tong 4, Alterado 2).

Reported by Scott Metcalf

LANAKILA BAPTIST 45, MARYKNOLL 34

Chase Hazelwood scored 17 points as the visiting Warriors surged past the Spartans. Kevin McLain scored 15 points for Maryknoll, which led 24-22 at halftime.

LANAKILA BAPTIST (3-8) 10 12 10 13—45

MARYKNOLL (2-7) 11 13 2 8—34

LANAKILA BAPTIST — Zack Ramos 9, Aaron Ono 2, Matt Kakilala 5, Micah Miranda 2, Josh Pananganan 3, Chase Hazelwood 17, Marcus Takahashi 3, Richard abbley 4, Joseph Lawson 0. Totals 18 7-23 45.

MARYKNOLL — Wade Gushikuma 3, Devan Uyeda 8, Bradford Lum 0, Kevin McLain 15, Mitchel Mizuchi 0, Paul Paz 2, Cameron Whalen 2, Justin Koo 1, Justin Lee 3. Totals 14 2-4 34.

3-point goals — Lanakila Baptist 2 (Ramos, Hazelwood). Maryknoll 4 (McLain 3, Gushikuma 1).

Reported by Maryknoll Athletics

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