Punahou’s defense sinks Kamehameha

With its dynasty on the line, Punahou turned to its watertight defense to lock down yet another title.

The top-seeded Buffanblu jumped out to an early lead and deflected Kamehameha’s best shots to claim the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA Girls Water Polo State Championship for the fifth straight year with a 6-3 victory on Saturday afternoon.

Punahou goalkeeper Courtney Miller was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after her latest defensive masterpiece at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. The UC San Diego-bound senior completed an outstanding career in which she started every possible game for Punahou going back to Grade 7 … and never lost.

This all-Interscholastic League of Honolulu final was a worthy last test, as resurgent Kamehameha brought its best effort. The Warriors corralled Punahou’s counterattack-based offense in the second half, but Miller was masterful in limiting the damage at the other end and preserving the win with big stops.

"It feels really great, and it’s mostly due to the people who came before us, and showed us what needed to be done in order for us to play the best as a team that we could," said Miller, who had 11 saves. "We kind of just carried that through and followed in their footsteps."

Ken Smith has coached Punahou water polo teams for nearly four decades. He said this group, featuring six seniors, kept his job fresh with their memorable personalities.

Case in point, he got an impromptu swim in the Kahanamoku pool when his players tossed him in mid-interview.

"It really is (still fun to coach them)," a dripping wet Smith said. "Just because of these guys. These guys make it fun to be at practice every day. … These guys, I’ve been with for six years now (from intermediate). They really are special to be with for that long."

The Buffanblu struck early and often, then relied on their trademark pressure defense to maintain the lead after Kamehameha buckled down. Senior Sarina Shibata scored a hat trick in the first quarter as Punahou (9-0) surged to leads of 3-0 and

5-2, setting ILH runner-up Kamehameha (6-6) back on its heels.

"We knew we had to come out and set the pace of the game really early, so that we could finish out strong, too," Shibata said.

Punahou now owns seven of nine state water polo titles. ‘Iolani and Kamehameha have the other two.

The Warriors did their utmost to end the Buffanblu’s run, but instead finished as the state runner-up for the fourth time in five years.

They had no quit, attempting to rally in much the same way that allowed them to come back from a

1-5 record to qualify for states. Kiana Yamashiro skimmed a shot past Miller with 3 minutes left in the third quarter to make it 6-3.

That was as close as it got; Kamehameha was awarded two power-play (man-up) possessions in the fourth quarter, but could not capitalize on either.

"We were getting the shots, we were getting the earned ejections," Warriors coach Keala O’Sullivan said. "(Miller’s) a great goalie. She had some great blocks today, big stops. If we could have gotten those goals in, the momentum would have shifted. … She deserves the MVP."

Yamashiro, a sophomore, led Kamehameha with two goals.

"Each girl stepped up tonight and gave it their all, and that’s all I could have asked for my last game," said Kamehameha’s lone senior, Brittney Garrigan, who is bound for Azusa Pacific. "I’m happy this is the team I played for in my last year."