First-half burst carries Punahou

They came to the championship game thinking defense, but the Punahou Buffanblu brought an offensive arsenal that was unstoppable.

Tyra Moe scored 11 of her game-high 19 points in the first half as third-seeded Punahou upset top-seeded Lahainaluna 60-48 in the title game of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division I Girls Basketball State Championships at Neal Blaisdell Arena.

"Our mantra today was, ‘Who’s got your back?’ You’ve got to back up your sisters," Punahou coach Kevin Velasco said.

It was quite a rematch, and much different from the first battle of the year, when Lahainaluna edged Punahou 51-50 at the Kaiser Invitational. Moe went off in a big way, getting plenty of nice feeds from Hailey Motooka.

"After that one-point loss to them, we came out a better team. We got closer," said Moe, a 6-foot sophomore who hauled in seven rebounds.

Sophomore guard Kamaile Kandiah was one of many keys for the Buffanblu, using her speed and handles to offset Lahainaluna’s tenacious fullcourt press. Another soph, forward Vae Malufau, was instrumental during a tremendous first-half run. Malufau scored nine of her 11 points while Punahou took command with a 26-3 burst.

"The seniors who are graduating inspired us," said Malufau, a 5-11 sophomore.

"Vae started to feel real confident about herself the night before," Velasco said. "She made three or four big buckets and a steal. It’s something you can’t measure, but everybody bought in."

The Buffanblu led 34-12 after Kandiah turned a steal into a bucket midway through the second quarter.

"We told our kids you have to come out and play.," Velasco said. "They’re a tough team and tough teams don’t go away. Sam (Alakai) played big tonight. She’s a little bit longer and she can handle the ball."

Buoyed by Aloha Salem’s back-to-back 3-point bombs, the Lunas made a run in the second half and cut the lead to 51-46 with 3:44 to play, but got no closer.

Moe was selected the tournament’s most outstanding player. Motooka was also picked to the all-tournament team. Lahainaluna’s Lindsay Bates and Matafolau Hafoka were selected along with Hilo’s Alexis Pana and Mililani’s Sarah Liva.

For Punahou, it had been a drought — by their standards — since its last state girls hoops crown. Current assistant coach Mike Taylor was the head coach when they won it in 2008, capping a run of four first-place trophies in a span of six seasons.

But since Taylor stepped down three years ago, Punahou had two other coaches before hiring Velasco this season. The Punahou lifer spent the previous two years on the bench at Kamehameha under Darold Imanaka, who guided that program to the state title last year.

"One of the things that helped us is we got to play here last week, getting used to the depth perception. That was a plus for us," said Velasco, whose team shot nearly 60 percent from the field in the first half. "We diagrammed where Lahainaluna’s shooters would be. 33 (Hafoka) is tough. We tried to imagine every possible scenario."

The Lunas, who were hoping to win their first title since 2010, won’t hang their heads. The talented roster includes just one departing senior.

"I’m proud of the way our girls came back. They showed character. They didn’t give up. We started off a little bit slow, but it is what it is. I give credit to Punahou. They won the game, flat out," Lunas coach Todd Rickard said. "It’s disappointing, but all in all, we had a great season. We’ll work extra hard in the offseason and see what we can do next season."

For Velasco, the circular route away from Punahou, then back home was remarkable enough. Winning a title with the Buffanblu wasn’t in the picture just a year ago.

"I, uh, I don’t know yet. It’s surreal. To have the pleasure of doing it at Kamehameha last year and coming home to Punahou now, somebody was on our side. I thank the man upstairs. Things work out for a reason," he said. 

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.

Halftime — Punahou 39, Lahainaluna 25

3-point goals — Punahou 2-8 (Motooka 1-2, Uyeda 1-5, Alakai 0-1). Lahainaluna 4-20 (Salem 2-4, L. Bates 1-4, Fernandez 1-4, F. Hafoka 0-1, Basques 0-2, T. Bates 0-5). Steals — Punahou 6 (Motooka 4, Kandiah, Malufau). Lahainaluna 11 (M. Hafoka 5, F. Hafoka 2, Basques 2, L. Bates, Fernandez). Blocked shots — Punahou 6 (Moe 3, Fey, Uyeda, Malufau). Lahainaluna 2 (F. Hafoka, Koloi). Technical foul — none. Officials — Wil Palchalski, Jason Justes, Champ Johnson. A –1,047

THIRD PLACE

Mililani 64, Hilo 60

MILILANI–Jerika Dacuycuy 3, Mikaela Limper 610 Shantel Appleby 13, Summer Bolibol 6, Sarah Liva 16, Kayla Torres 3, Velisa Maleisea 8, Kristen Tamagawa 4, Jamie Yuki 1.

HILO–Sharlei Graham-Bernisto 8, Alexis Pana 17, Shalyn Guthier 9, Chailey Cablalis 14, Aliyah Pana 7, Cierra Kelii 0, Alyssa Perreira 0, Kaily Harris 0, Kaiana Seguban-Yamabe 0, Cherish Quiocho 0, Faith Loeak 2, Kaily Harris 0, Amber Vaughn 3.

3-point goals–Mililani 4 (Limper 2, Dacuycuy, Torres). Hilo 7 (Alexis Pana 3, Graham-Bernisto 2, Guthier, Cablalis).