‘Iolani advances with ease; Konawaena ekes by Mililani

The glass eaters in fire-red uniforms are devouring everything in sight for the ‘Iolani Raiders.

Those rebounding machines would include Alex Masaquel, who scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Sheyla Pua Kahalehoe added 14 points as ‘Iolani snuffed out fourth-seeded Lahainaluna 60-39 on Wednesday night.

"I feel more competitive because this is states," said Masaquel, a 5-foot-10 senior. "We play unselfishly and look for each other."

Masaquel and Jade Botelho, the posts, were instrumental in ‘Iolani’s pressbreaker, using their height and court vision to manage the pressure. ‘Iolani finished with a reasonably low 14 turnovers, while Lahainaluna (26-8) committed 23.

"We knew we couldn’t let up against their press ’cause they can catch up," Masaquel said. "Me and Jade developed our ballhandling a lot over the summer."

At McKinley Student Council Gymnasium, coach Eddie Maruyama’s Raiders opened a 10-point lead by halftime and seized command with a 22-12 third quarter.

‘Iolani (15-6), the ILH runner-up, will play top-seeded Konawaena in tonight’s semifinal round at Neal Blaisdell Arena.

"‘Iolani played well. You can tell they had good leadership," Lunas coach Todd Rickard said. "Their three bigs are seniors with (Botelho), they’re experienced. We don’t have enough experienced bigs to match up with them. It’s a learning experience for us, especially our guards being a freshman and a sophomore."

The Raiders went deep into their bench, as usual, though not necessarily with the same approach. They subbed in one or two players at a time in the first half, but went to their normal platooning in the second half to wear down the quick, but error-prone Lunas.

Their uptempo game worked for a quarter; both teams were in the bonus by the end of the first stanza and the Lunas were down just 15-14 after Fa-Ko-fiemea Hafoka scored on a lefty drive.

But ‘Iolani went on a 9-0 run with Masaquel dominating in the paint.

The Lunas got within 27-22 late in the second quarter, but Masaquel scored underneath off a pass from Botelho (nine points, four assists), and Kahalehoe rained in a trey before the halftime buzzer for a 32-22 lead.

Lahainaluna never got the margin smaller than 10 the rest of the way.

Chanelle Molina’s backdoor pass to a cutting Ihi Victor gave the Wildcats the lead for good as the two-time defending state champs hung on for a gutty win over the Trojans.

Konawaena (17-1) trailed for much of the game after posts Courtney Kaupu and Victor each picked up two fouls in the opening quarter. Konawaena stayed in a 2-3 zone — a highly unusual tactic for a team that traditionally plays man defense — and began to close out on Mililani’s hot shooters.

Molina, a freshman, led the Wildcats with 18 points and backcourt mate Hoku Liftee added eight in an ironman performance by the two.

Nayla Long led Mililani (17-3), the OIA Red runner-up, with 12 points and Kira Arruda tallied 10.

It was a flip-flop from preseason, when the Trojans sliced and diced Konawaena’s man defense for a victory on the Wildcats’ home court.

"We wanted revenge. We had to play smarter on defense, being in the passing lanes, taking the charge," Molina said.

"We had to protect the backdoor," said Liftee, a senior who played on the past two Konawaena teams that won state titles.

The Wildcats went back to man defense late in the game.

"Once we went to the man, we got easy steals and layups," Liftee said.

Coach Bobbie Awa credited her team’s leaders for keeping the team composed.

Now the Wildcats take on ‘Iolani in a rematch of last year’s state final. The teams met in Lahainaluna’s preseason tourney in a game won by Konawaena.

"We all know that was just preseason and a lot of things can change since then," Awa said. "There won’t be any overconfidence on our part. We have great leaders in Courtney and Hoku and our seniors."

Kaupu knows how dangerous the running Raiders can be.

"We have to take care of the ball. We did a pretty good job against their press (in preseason), boxing their bigs out," she said. "I feel relieved about winning tonight, but not satisfied. This year, it’s anyone’s game."

MILILANI—Kaylee Torres 4, Kapili Amamalin 7, Jamie Yuki 0, Mikaela Limper 3, Kira Arruda 10, Summer Bolibol 0, Nayla Long 12, Shantelle Apppleby 2.

KONAWAENA—Hokulani Liftee 8, Chanelle Molina 18, Mercedes Victor 10, Taylor Awa 0, Melissa Simon 0, Katie Andrade 0, Courtney Kaupu 4.

3-point goals—Mililani 4 (Arruda 2, Limper, Long). Konawaena 3 (Liftee 2, Molina).