No. 5 ‘Iolani trips No. 3 Punahou
'Iolani's Kylie Maeda drove to the basket while being guarded by Punahou's Jennifer Hwang in the second quarter. Maeda had 16 points and four steals to lead the No. 5 Raiders past the No. 3 Buffanblu.
Kylie Maeda scored 16 points as No. 5 ‘Iolani pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 51-41 win over No. 3 Punahou last night at the Raiders’ gym.
A boisterous crowd of about 400 saw ‘Iolani climb back into a first-place tie with the Buffanblu in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu at 6-2.
"It gets us tied with them for first," said Maeda, who shot 6-for-11 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line. "Bottom line is, we know we can beat ’em. It gives us a boost of confidence."
Forward Alex Masaquel had 14 points and eight rebounds for ‘Iolani (11-6 overall) after a slow start.
"We finally beat them. It’s my first time beating them," the 5-foot-10 sophomore said. "We had more motivation, and our chemistry is better now."
Maeda also had four steals as the Raiders’ fullcourt and halfcourt traps forced 34 turnovers by the visitors. Punahou prepared for ‘Iolani’s tortuous defensive pressure by going five against seven every day.
"We worked hard in practice. We wanted to be perfect attackers, but we weren’t even patient for two passes before we tried to dribble through traps," Punahou coach Mike Taylor said. "But they don’t trust each other enough to give up the ball. We’ve got to do some soul-searching."
Though Punahou outrebounded ‘Iolani 41-25, the Buffanblu had just four offensive boards in the second half after hustling for 15 before the break.
"Hailey (Maeda) got in foul trouble. That was big down the stretch," Raiders coach Eddie Maruyama said of Punahou’s center.
Masaquel was clutch at the foul line, hitting eight of her nine tries. As a team, the Raiders were 24-for-33 (73 percent). Saphyre Rezentes added 10 points.
Guard Mysha Sataraka had 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Punahou (11-2 overall). Hailey-Ann Maeda had nine points, 11 boards and five blocks before fouling out. Julia Brand finished with seven points and five caroms.
Along with the giveaways, Punahou shot 59 percent at the foul line (16-for-27) and 26 percent from the field (12-for-47).
Despite early turnover trouble, Punahou broke ‘Iolani’s press enough to take a 12-6 lead midway through the second quarter. The Raiders kept attacking Punahou’s man-to-man defense and started their parade to the free-throw line, hitting six of seven charity shots.
Free throws by Lahela Usui and a tough bank shot by Maeda gave ‘Iolani a 20-16 lead before the half, and Punahou never led again.
The Buffanblu were within 38-35 on a pair of foul shots by Jennifer Hwang with 2:51 remaining.
Usui followed with a layup on a fastbreak, then fed Kaitlyn Shikada in the left corner in transition. Shikada hit her only bucket of the game, a 3-pointer, to give ‘Iolani a 43-35 lead with 2:28 remaining.
"A 3 is gonna bury the other team more than a 2 would," Kylie Maeda said.
Two foul shots by Kylie Maeda on Hailey-Ann Maeda’s fifth foul stretched the lead to 10 points. Punahou got no closer than seven the rest of the way as ‘Iolani finally pulled the ball out with about 90 seconds to go.
The Raiders had 21 turnovers, but the uptempo show is winning games for the Raiders.
"We go uptempo all four quarters. Our drills, our philosophy is ‘fast don’t lie.’ Go to the hole or shoot the 3," assistant coach Rodney Veary said.
Many teams opt to hold the ball with a small lead and less than 3 minutes left, but Maruyama’s Raiders won’t be going that route.
"Two minutes, that’s a lot of basketball left with Punahou. They know how to lengthen a game," he said.
‘Iolani shot 13-for-18 from the foul line in the final quarter.
| Punahou (6-2) | 4 | 12 | 9 | 16 | — | 41 |
| ‘Iolani (6-2) | 6 | 14 | 9 | 22 | — | 51 |
PUNAHOU–Julia Brand 7, Mysha Sataraka 15, Jennifer Ching 3, Kaitlyn Waki 0, Turner Wong 2, Hailey-Ann Maeda 9, Jennifer Hwang 0, Reina Furuya 3, Daena Mau 2, Michelle Parke 0, Stacey Lin 0, Liana Lau 0.
‘IOLANI–Kylie Maeda 16, Saphyre Rezentes 10, Klein Masutani 0, Katie Tom 0, Jelene Wong 0, Erin Napier 0, Kaitlyn Shikada 6, Abrianna Johnson-Edwards 0, Lahela Usui 5, Loxley Keala 0, Alyssa Li’ili’i 0, Alex Masaquel 14, Taimane Passi 0.
3-point goals–Punahou 1 (Furuya). ‘Iolani 1 (Shikada).
Kamehameha 58, No. 6 Mid-Pacific 42
Kennedi Akana tallied 15 points for the Warriors and Brachelle Nueku added 10 in an upset over the Owls.
Kiki Robertson and Ashley Yamachika scored 11 and 10 points for Mid-Pacific.
At Kekuhaupio Gym
| Mid-Pacific (4-4) | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | — | 42 |
| Kamehameha (3-5) | 8 | 18 | 9 | 23 | — | 58 |
MID-PACIFIC–Nicole Sato 0, Tasha Luis-Hirata 0, Kiki Robertson 11, Mahina Docktor 3, Taylor Babbitt 6, Ashley Yamachika 10, Pua Kanekoa 0, Camille Ganahl 1, Chandler Arce 5, Kirstie Sugimoto 0, Jordan Joy 3, Megan Kinoshita 3.
KAMEHAMEHA–Brooke Rickard 3, Haley Paakaula 0, Sanoe Burgess 0, Deja Tafiti 9, Manuhaaipo Noa 8, Krystal-Lei Mills 2, Brachelle Nueku 10, Taira Robins-Hardy 5, Kennedi Akana 15, Puuwainui Ah Puck 0, Lilia Maio 6.
3-point goals–Mid-Pacific 3 (Kinoshita, Yamachika, Arce). Kamehameha 1 (Rickard).
ILH Division II
Lutheran 43, No. 10 University 39
Lexi Kaneshiro scored 13 points as the Lions handed the Junior ‘Bows their first loss. Although University struggled without impact player Quynne Eharis, who was ill, Channelle Maldonado led the team with 15 points, followed by Kianalei Machida with 11.
At Manoa Park gym
| Lutheran (5-4) | 8 | 8 | 15 | 12 | — | 43 |
| University (9-1) | 11 | 3 | 16 | 9 | — | 39 |
LUTHERAN–Lexi Kaneshiro 13, Kayla Suganuma 3, Aja Komine 0, Kailyn Osaki 0, Kiana Tom 1, Vikatolia Naulu 4, Kaleihiwa Ah New 5, Kamalei Ah New 8, Briannah Cadiz 0, Aja Keyes 9.
UNIVERSITY–Anuhea Memea 6, Kassandra Sanchez 0, Tiffany Ulep 0, Kianalei Machida 11, Querena Natividad 5, Skyler Chung-Ming 0, Bernadette Maumalanga 0, Crystal Wang 2, Channelle Maldonado 15, Janse Rasmussen 0, Ashlee Ai 0.
3-point goals–Lutheran 2 (Kaneshiro, Suganuma). University 2 (Machida, Maldonado).
Maryknoll 40, St. Francis 23
Ashley Agcaoili led all scorers with 19 points as the Spartans pulled away from the Saints early and cruised to victory. Kiana Jones was the high scorer for St. Francis with eight points in the loss.
At Maryknoll gym
| St. Francis (3-5) | 3 | 5 | 5 | 10 | — | 23 |
| Maryknoll (7-1) | 12 | 7 | 8 | 13 | — | 40 |
ST. FRANCIS–Tori Keliiaa 0, Kiana Jones 8, Kayla Jones 0, Alissa Pacarro 0, Jedidah Hanakahi 4, Jasmine Soon 2, Jessica Rossi 0, Rachael Carlos 2, Ashley Kupau 7.
MARYKNOLL–Maile Goodin 0, Amanda Busmente 0, Taylor Wong 6, Kimiko Mitchell 3, Ashley Agcaoili 19, Alexis Vila 2, Cianna Ochoco 0, Ashlee DeSantos 3, Athena Adora 5, Trinity Alualu 0, Kylie Teramoto 2.
3-point goals–St. Francis 1 (Jones). Maryknoll none.
