‘Iolani beats Kamehameha for ILH girls basketball title

The last time the Kamehameha Warriors visited ‘Iolani’s campus, they proved to be disruptive guests in a stunning victory.

On Saturday afternoon, the home team turned the tables. No. 1 ‘Iolani got 17 points from Lily Wahinekapu, 12 from Alexsandra Huntimer and 11 from Taylor Wu in a 60-48 win over No. 3 Kamehameha to capture the Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls basketball championship.

When the teams met at ‘Iolani during the regular season, Wahinekapu was sidelined with an ankle injury. She’s quite healthy now.

“Lily carried us for a little while. Kamehameha matched up with us really tight in their man to man, and that opens up the paint,” Raiders coach Dean Young said. “Lily’s one of the best at attacking the rim.”

The Raiders won their first ILH crown since 2012. That squad reached the state final, losing to Konawaena. Last year’s squad placed second in the ILH, routed Kahuku in the opening round of the state tourney, then lost to Lahainaluna in the quarterfinals.

“Our chemistry is way better (this year). That loss to Lahainaluna (in the state quarterfinals) was sad for us. We just wanted to come back stronger,” Wahinekapu said.

“Our girls had really good energy,” Kamehameha coach Pua Straight said. “Hats off to ‘Iolani. They played real well and executed against any defense we were in.”

Kalina Obrey led the Warriors with 16 points and seven rebounds, facing a wall of defenders often.

‘Iolani shot 22-for-26 at the line (85 percent), committed just 11 turnovers and hustled for nine offensive boards. The Raiders shot 43 percent from the field (16-for-37) and limited the visiting Warriors to 16-for-49 field-goal shooting (33 percent).

Kamehameha kept it fairly close by hustling for 14 offensive rebounds, but couldn’t hit the open 3. The Warriors were 1-for-17 from the arc.

Kamehameha (15-6) could have forced a title matchup by winning the second-round playoff tourney, but regular-season winner ‘Iolani was resistant. A season consistent with adversity funneled the Raiders into this contest, which had its share of challenges, as well.

Battling a cold, Wu sat with her third foul in the second quarter after scoring nine early points. Wahinekapu also sat with foul trouble, having scored just five points in the first half.

It took senior Kawai Kahalehoe to provide crucial scoring punch off the bench. She fed Huntimer for a layup, and Huntimer returned the favor with two kick-outs to Kahalehoe for 3-point splashes. The second trey, from 25 feet out, opened ‘Iolani’s lead to 29-14 in the second quarter, capping a 17-3 run.

“Kawai is our smartest player. The highest basketball IQ. Always making the right passes, and then, obviously, you saw her shoot tonight,” Young said. “She’s a big-time player.”

Wahinekapu scored eight points in the third, while Huntimer was key on both ends of the floor.

“Alexsandra did really good. Big applause to her, because without her, we probably wouldn’t have won,” Wahinekapu said.

The visitors never recovered, though they got within 41-36 at the end of the third quarter. The Raiders spread the court in a semi-aggressive four-corners offense with more than six minutes left in the contest. After chewing a minute off the clock and seemingly content to hold the ball, Kyra Tanabe drove and kicked the ball to Alexis Huntimer, Alexsandra’s twin sister, in the right corner for a rainbow 3.

That gave ‘Iolani a 50-37 lead with 5:18 remaining.

Wu sat most of the third quarter with her fourth personal, but returned for the final three minutes and helped the Raiders ice the game at the free-throw line. She was 3-for-4 at the line in the final stretch.

‘Iolani was 14-for-17 (82 percent) at the charity stripe in the final eight minutes to put the game away. Alexsandra Huntimer shot 7-for-8 from the foul line in the fourth stanza.

‘Iolani had already clinched a state-tournament berth by winning the regular season. Kamehameha claimed its state berth on Friday with a 68-64 semifinal win over No. 5 Maryknoll.

BOYS BASKETBALL

No. 1 Maryknoll 51, No. 2 Punahou 39

A tight race for the top spot in ILH boys basketball suddenly could be over by Tuesday.

The Spartans are in control of their push to win the regular season and secure a state tournament berth after beating the Buffanblu at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Makoto Kamata scored 16 points and Liko Soares added 11 for the Spartans (8-1), who suddenly are two games ahead of the Buffanblu (7-3) in the loss column after the defending state champion dropped its second game in three days.

Punahou fell into third place in the ILH behind ‘Iolani (7-2), which defeated St. Francis 70-66 on Saturday. ‘Iolani visits Maryknoll on Tuesday. A Spartans win would clinch the regular season, as Maryknoll has already swept the regular-season series with the Buffanblu and beat ‘Iolani 62-54 on Jan. 5.

Punahou, which lost in overtime to St. Francis on Thursday, was led by Jakob Kimura’s nine points. Tamatoa Falatea and Ryder Hsiung each made two 3s and added eight points apiece.

Punahou played without senior Kaulana Makaula, who is on a football recruiting trip to Southern California. Makaula said on social media Saturday he received a scholarship offer from the Trojans.

Makaula also holds offers from Brigham Young and Hawaii.

In ‘Iolani’s win at St. Francis, Kawika Lee scored 22 points, Frank Felix 20 and Noah Bumanglag 10 to pace the Raiders.

Senior Kameron Ng scored 28 and younger brother Kordel Ng had 20, while Titus Liu added 10 for the Saints.

‘Iolani led after each quarter and then held on.