With everything at stake, Kalina Obrey was fully prepared.
The senior poured in a state-tournament-record 38 points as Kamehameha outlasted Kalani 62-49 in the semifinal round of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships at Stan Sheriff Center.
Kamehameha, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up, will meet ILH champion ‘Iolani in tonight’s final.
Obrey shot 11-for-21 from the field against Kalani’s long, athletic defenders, and was also 15-for-23 from the free-throw line to break the record of 37 set by Shawna-Lei Kuehu of Punahou in the 2006 state final. Seven of her 17 rebounds were on the offensive glass as the Warriors continued to dominate opponents in the paint. Kamehameha outrebounded the short-handed Falcons 50-23.
All those points by Obrey, though, were much needed.
“We knew they were longer, but we would dominate the inside game. Now we’re going to the final and it’s amazing,” said Obrey, who also had three assists and a steal.
It wasn’t easy. Kalani’s talented 5-foot-11 senior, Kamalu Kamakawiwo‘ole, blocked her first shot. Obrey had just one bucket in the first quarter, but hit five of her first six foul shots. Eventually, Obrey and teammate Noelle Sua-Godinet proved too powerful and relentless for the Falcons. Sua-Godinet finished with 10 rebounds and four blocked shots to go with four points.
“I play with her in volleyball and basketball, and we have each other’s backs. The rest of my teammates are amazing. I can’t do anything without them,” Obrey said.
Camille Feary added 10 points for Kamehameha (18-6 overall), which has not won a girls basketball state title since 2013.
“They’re long and we’re so used to seeing Kalina get double-teamed more,” Kamehameha coach Pua Straight said. “We knew Kamalu and Shelby (McDaniels) picked two fouls pretty quick, so we told all our bigs to go in strong.”
Kalena Halunajan had 14 points and Kamakawiwo‘ole had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Kalani (21-7), the Oahu Interscholastic Association runner-up. Heidi Kishaba, playing on an injured ankle, scored 13 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the 3-point arc. Lilehina Oyama added eight points.
Kalani missed guard Alayna Akiona, who injured her left knee in a quarterfinal win over Waiakea on Thursday.
“We missed her rebounding, her shots, her length,” said Kalani coach Chi Mok, whose team abstained from fullcourt pressing again due to the short-handed lineup. “When we press, she’s on the point. She means a lot to the team.”
Kalani had already lost center Kandyce Woods, who left the team before the opening game of the tourney.
The Warriors were cohesive from the start. Feary’s 3-pointer on a pass from Malie Marfil opened Kamehameha’s lead to 25-15. After Obrey drove hard for a lefty layup, the Warriors led by 11, and after Obrey splashed a 25-foot 3 from the top, they had a 30-16 lead late in the first half.
Kalani rushed several shots against Kamehameha’s tough man defense, but Kamakawiwo‘ole gave her team a boost with a hook shot at the buzzer to cut the lead to 31-22 at the half.
Then came a remarkable 19-7 run in the third quarter, even though starting wing McDaniels had to sit with her third foul. Guards Oyama (six points) and Kishaba stepped up. Kishaba’s NBA-range, straightaway 3 gave Kalani a 39-38 lead with 18 seconds left in the third quarter. Oyama then picked Obrey in the paint and hit two foul shots for a 41-38 lead.
Kamehameha opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, getting a 3 and a reverse layup from Feary. Kamakawiwo‘ole did not take a shot for the first three-plus minutes of the fourth.
Obrey’s coast-to-coast drive, again on the left side, opened the lead to 49-42. Halunajan answered with a 23-foot trey for Kalani, but Sua-Godinet used a drop-step move on the block against McDaniels and Kamehameha led 53-45 with 3:15 remaining.
Kamakawiwo‘ole finally took her first shot of the fourth period moments later, but Kamehameha extended the lead on a free throw by Haley Masaki and a putback by Obrey, making it 56-45 with two minutes to go. Kalani got no closer than nine the rest of the way.
