Life without big sister hasn’t been too bad for Casey Poe.
She learned to adjust with her larger leadership role. On Friday night, the 5-foot-11 junior guard thrived.
Poe poured in 28 points, including 14-for-16 shooting at the free-throw line, as top-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii rallied past Honokaa 55-46 in the Division II final of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships.
Poe scored 68 points in three tourney games and was a rock-solid source of stability for KS-Hawaii (12-3). Her partner in arms last year, older sister Chelsea Poe, graduated, leaving Casey to carry on the legacy.
"We were down six points, but it wasn’t that much. We knew we could come back," Poe said of coach Garrett Arima’s halftime talk.
It was the second state title in a row for Arima and the Warriors.
"Honokaa’s a great team. We knew it would be a battle," Arima said. "I told them, defense will win the championship game."
The Dragons (10-4) were led by center Hunter Liftee’s 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kizzah Maltezo added 11 points and Keana Kaohimaunu, who played on KS-Hawaii’s state title team last year, added eight points.
Honokaa’s magical ride was unprecedented. This was the first-ever all-BIIF final in the state tourney, but the young Dragons — they have just two seniors — wanted more.
"We just needed to cut down on the turnovers in the second half," coach James Lukzen said. "That cross-court pass, Kamehameha was just too lengthy."
Honokaa outrebounded KS-Hawaii 31-23, but committed 22 turnovers, including nine in the third quarter.
The Warriors’ halfcourt trap, with the long arms of Poe, stifled any momentum Honokaa had after a tremendous first half.
Poe finished with eight rebounds, five blocks and three steals in a superb defensive performance.
"Our press is our strongest defense," she said.
Poe was the trigger, along with defensive whiz Riana Arima, who had four steals to spark the Warriors’ comeback. Down 22-16 at the break, KS-Hawaii went on a 14-0 run to start the second half and never looked back.
Poe had 10 points in the third, including six free throws, to close out the final two minutes. KS-Hawaii got into the bonus at that point, and Poe took advantage, making her last 10 attempts at the foul line.
Chyann Gabriel had 10 points, Namele Naipo-Arsiga added eight and Arima finished with seven.
"We used the halfcourt trap in the second half, same as we did against Hanalani," Arima said, referring to the semifinal win. "Our core, our 1-2 punch came through. They did a great job locking Riana down, but we finished on the free-throw line."
Honokaa had won six of its previous seven games before losing 49-48 to KS-Hawaii in the BIIF final a week ago. The Dragons reached the state final with three wins in the first three days, beating McKinley 58-48, HBA 37-35 and Kauai 58-55.
KS-Hawaii ousted University 54-48 and Hanalani 73-53 to reach the final.
KSH shot 36 percent from the field (16-for-45) and finished at 82 percent from the foul line (23-for-28).
Honokaa shot 38 percent from the field (20-for-53) and was just 1-for-2 at the charity stripe.
Kamehameha Hawaii 55, Honokaa 46
| Dragons (10-4) |
| |
fg-a |
ft-a |
rb |
pf |
pts |
a |
to |
min |
| Bird |
1-3 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
| Daniels |
0-3 |
0-0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
| Kaohimaunu |
3-6 |
0-0 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
29 |
| Liftee |
6-10 |
4-4 |
11 |
3 |
16 |
1 |
3 |
32 |
| Maltezo |
5-9 |
0-0 |
4 |
4 |
11 |
0 |
10 |
19 |
| Ignacio |
2-5 |
0-0 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
30 |
| Castro |
1-3 |
0-0 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
19 |
| Frazier |
2-8 |
1-2 |
4 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
12 |
| TEAM |
|
|
4 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Totals |
20-47 |
5-6 |
35 |
22 |
46 |
4 |
23 |
159 |
| Warriors (12-3) |
| |
fg-a |
ft-a |
rb |
pf |
pts |
a |
to |
min |
| Cas. Poe |
7-17 |
14-6 |
7 |
3 |
28 |
1 |
5 |
32 |
| Ramirez |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0+ |
| Cait. Poe |
0-3 |
0-0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
32 |
| Naipo-Arsiga |
3-9 |
4-6 |
6 |
1 |
10 |
3 |
2 |
32 |
| Arima |
2-5 |
3-5 |
5 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
32 |
| Gabriel |
4-7 |
2-2 |
2 |
3 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
32 |
| Woolsey |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0+ |
| TEAM |
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
|
|
| Total |
16-41 |
23-29 |
23 |
10 |
55 |
9 |
15 |
160 |
Halftime — Honokaa 22, KS Hawaii 16
3-point goals — Honokaa 1-7 (Maltezo 1-2, Daniels 0-1, Kaohimaunu 0-1, Castro 0-1, Ignacio 0-2). KS Hawaii 0-2 (Arima 0-2). Steals — Honokaa 4 (Maltezo, Ignacio, Castro, Frazier). KS Hawaii 9 (Cas. Poe 3, Arima 2, Cait. Poe, Naipo-Arsiga, Gabriel, Woolsey). Blocked shots — Honokaa 1 (Liftee). KS Hawaii 6 (Gabriel 3, Cas. Poe, Naipo-Arsiga, Arima). Technicals — none. Officials — NA. A — NA.
All-Tournament Team
Riana Arima, Kamehameha-Hawai’i
Kristle Henry, Kaua’i
Hunter Liftee, Honoka’a
Sarah Liva, Hanalani
Patria Vaimaona, Kailua
Most Outstanding Player: Casey Poe, KS-Hawaii
THIRD PLACE
Kauai 49, Hanalani 42
At Blaisdell Arena
| KAUAI (10-1) |
9 |
14 |
10 |
16 |
— |
49 |
| HANALANI (9-5) |
13 |
12 |
7 |
10 |
— |
42 |
KAUAI–Sierra "Pili" Chung 0, Grace Peralta 0, Ashley Ramelb 0, Kristle Henry 24, Asia Yasay 0, Marissa Martinez 0, Shaylee Huni 2, Casey Anacleto 10, Kailee Yago 0, Riana Ralston 4, Kawehi Louis Diamond 9, Mariah Dias 0.
HANALANI–Lyna Kehler 4, Catherine Armstrong 6, Brittany Williams 0, Lexi Hee 0, Keani Sato 0, Dylan McCorquodale 12, Kara Tanaka 2, Sabrina Stratton 2, Sarah Liva 16.
3-point goals–Kauai 3 (Anacleto 2, Henry). Hanalani 2 (McCorquodale 2).
FIFTH PLACE
Kailua 47, University 42, OT
At Blaisdell Arena
| KAILUA (10-8) |
13 |
2 |
9 |
14 |
9 |
— |
47 |
| UNIVERSITY (10-4) |
10 |
11 |
6 |
11 |
4 |
— |
42 |
KAILUA–Delcie Williams 12, Kalia Ripley 0, Keala Kaio-Perez 3, Akamulyn Makua 0, Apolonia Fealofani 2, Briana Kassebeer 9, Kahoa Mikaele 2, Patria Vaimaona 19.
UNIVERSITY–Kawai Crisostomo 0, Sue Moraga 2, Malia Parpana 0, Markayisha Masani 18, Kianalei Machida 10, Paige Salavea 0, Skyler Chun Ming 0, Michelle Au 0, Brooke Kodama 12, Meagan Mahiko 0.
