Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) used a stifling defense and efficient offense last night to deny Punahou, 45-35, and win the inaugural 'Iolani Girls Prep Classic.

A crowd of about 700 at 'Iolani watched Redondo's UCLA-bound forward, Atonye Nyingifa, score 14 points and help limit the Buffanblu's University of California-bound forward, Shawna-Lei Kuehu, to five points.

Sea Hawks point guard Joylyn Ichiyama, whose grandmother is a McKinley High School graduate and still has many relatives on O'ahu and Maui, added 11 points and withstood Punahou's trademark pressure defense throughout the game.

With the Hawai'i girls basketball season being played in the winter for the first time, Redondo Union became the first Mainland team to win an in-season tournament here. The Sea Hawks are coming off a 21-9 season in which they advanced to the fourth round of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs.

"I was thoroughly impressed with Punahou all week — they're well-coached, disciplined and they have some great basketball players," said Redondo coach Marcelo Enriquez. "This tournament was incredible, the hospitality was great. And as far as the basketball, Hawai'i hasn't missed a beat. All three Hawai'i teams we played — Punahou, 'Iolani and Kamehameha — are quality teams and gave us a tough game. They definitely can play with the California teams; they showed it."

The Buffanblu led 12-7 after Shaena-Lyn Kuehu's steal and layup with 5:31 remaining in the first half, but the Sea Hawks answered with a 7-0 run capped by Nyingifa's short jumper for a 14-12 lead with 2:28 left.

Redondo led 18-17 at the half, then shut out Punahou for all but six seconds of the third period. Shawna-Lei Kuehu's three-point play cut it to 31-20 heading into the fourth.

The Sea Hawks stretched the lead to 37-23 with 5:20 remaining and the Buffanblu could get no closer than the final margin.

The 5-foot-10 Shawna-Lei Kuehu was guarded closely by the 5-11 Nyingifa throughout the game and did not score until making a left-handed layup with 1:58 left in the half.

"They just played great team defense," Punahou coach Mike Taylor said. "They're long and physical, and just played good help defense. We had our fair share of shots, we just couldn't buy a bucket at times."

Nyingifa said her goal on defense was to keep Kuehu away from the basket.

"I just tried to push her outside and not let her get quick shots in the key," Nyingifa said. "She's a good player, but on defense we've got each other's back. I give (Punahou) credit, they played hard and gave us a run."

Junior guard Janelle Nomura led the Buffanblu with 17 points.

Read Wes Nakama's blog on prep sports at http://blogs.honoluluadvertiser.com.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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