‘Iolani clubs Kahuku to move into quarters

The freshman revolution is in full effect for the ‘Iolani Raiders.

Junior Tori Maeda scored 16 points and senior Kellie Okamura finished with 15 as ‘Iolani raced past Kahuku 88-47 on Monday night in the opening round of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships.

A crowd of about 300 at Father Bray Athletic Complex also saw three ninth-graders contribute heavily to the Raiders’ cause. Alexis Huntimer had 12 points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists, and Lily Lefotu Wahinekapu tallied 11 points and two steals. The biggest surprise was Kyra Tanabe, who exploded with three first-half 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.

The Raiders played without Taylor Wu, a junior guard who returned to campus in January and rejoined the team. ‘Iolani asked for an exemption for Wu, but by HHSAA rule, she is not eligible for the state tournament because she was not enrolled at ‘Iolani on the official start date for basketball season in November.

It didn’t matter on Monday. The young Raiders have matured immensely in these past two months.

“Now that Taylor’s out, everybody needs to step up,” Maeda said. “Tonight, they showed it.”

‘Iolani (10-4), the runner-up in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, will face Maui Interscholastic League champion Lahainaluna on Thursday at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium. That quarterfinal matchup will tip off at 7 p.m.

“Their ball pressure is a concern,” ‘Iolani coach Dean Young said of the third-seeded Lunas. “They’re tough and they’re going to be a huge challenge.”

Unseeded ‘Iolani is actually one of the top teams in the state, ranked No. 4 in this week’s Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10. It was a tough matchup for a Kahuku squad that is also one of the youngest in the state. Junior Sisila Kaufusi led the Lady Raiders with 25 points on 11-for-19 field-goal shooting plus nine rebounds. The 5-foot-11 center did all she could, driving from halfcourt and finishing with spin moves for layups when possible. She scored 14 points in the second quarter alone on 7-for-7 shooting, but her team barely put a dent in ‘Iolani’s massive lead.

“We didn’t help enough defensively in the second quarter. She’s really tough,” Young said.

Most of the night, however, ‘Iolani bottled up the talented scorer. The Raiders played man-to-man defense all night, but kept double and triple teams hovering on Kaufusi most of the time.

The home team scorched the nets in the first quarter, taking advantage of five Kahuku turnovers in the first three minutes. By then, Huntimer and Maeda had already swished 3-pointers. Young implored his team to push the ball and take the first open 3, forcing Kahuku to keep up. By the end of the first quarter, Lefotu Wahinekapu and Tanabe hit their first treys and ‘Iolani led 21-10.

Kaufusi scored inside twice to keep the visitors within 11 points, but Lefotu Wahinekapu sank two foul shots and Huntimer and Tanabe splashed 3-pointers as ‘Iolani opened the lead to 33-14 with 6:03 left in the first half.

By halftime, Kahuku had 21 turnovers and ‘Iolani led 50-28. The Raiders finished the game 33-for-65 from the field (51 percent), including 11-for-33 from the arc.

Freshman Leiah Naeata added nine points and Tatianna Kamae added eight for Kahuku (10-4), the third-place team from the Oahu Interscholastic Association. Kahuku won the battle on the boards 31-26, and shot 50 percent from the field (18-for-36), but finished with 31 turnovers against ‘Iolani’s fullcourt pressure. The home team had just nine giveaways.

Waiakea 77, Campbell 56

Jazelle Dorser scored 21 points and the host Warriors (10-3) forced 33 turnovers in a victory over the Sabers (10-5).

Zaelynn Lui-Cabinatan added 15 points, Keeli-Jade Smith had 13 and Kelsie Imai contributed 12 for Waiakea, which will play No. 4 seed Kalani on Thursday at 5 p.m. at Moanalua.

Dorser and Smith each had seven steals.

Campbell’s Gieani Balino scored 24 points, Danielle Silva added 12 points and Kimberlee Ung grabbed 12 rebounds.

Moanalua 42, Kaiser 34

Delylah Sanerivi finished with eight points and 12 rebounds and Kylie Casinas added nine points as host Na Menehune (11-4) beat the Cougars (9-6).

Moanalua will play No. 2 seed Konawaena on Thursday at 5 p.m. at McKinley.

Na Menehune took a 27-14 lead after Manu Itula’s field goal with 5:59 left in the third quarter. The Cougars responded with a 10-0 run, capped by Taeya Blakeney’s layup with 2:48 remaining in the quarter.

Kaiser got as close as 29-27 with 5:41 left before Moanalua pulled away.

Blakeney and Kylee Mahiko each finished with nine points and eight rebounds for the Cougars.

Kamehameha-Maui 34, Mililani 27

Ashley Taylor Peralta scored 16 points and led a late surge as the host Warriors (9-6) went on a 7-0 run over the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds to beat the Trojans (11-3).

Taylor Peralta scored six points during the Warriors’ run.

Kimani Fernandez-Roy and Angel Pauole each added eight points for Kamehameha-Maui, which will play No. 1 seed Maryknoll on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Moanalua.

Mililani led 18-10 after a 3-pointer by Dahlis Sablay with 3:29 left before halftime. She finished with 10 points.