‘Iolani stops Konawaena’s dominance in Division I

The mighty streak of the Konawaena Wildcats has come to an end.

Top-seeded ‘Iolani broke open a close game after halftime for a 43-22 win over Konawaena, ending the Wildcats’ run after four consecutive state titles.

Senior Taylor Wu scored 15 points and Lily Wahinekapu tallied 14 for the Raiders (22-6). The Interscholastic League of Honolulu champions will meet their nemesis, ILH runner-up Kamehameha, in the final tonight at Stan Sheriff Center.

“I don’t think it’s possible to put any type of new game plan in,” ‘Iolani coach Dean Young said. “We’re just going to have to battle each other like we’ve been doing.”

Kamehameha and ‘Iolani met three times in league play. Kamehameha won the first, and the Raiders won the next two.

Konawaena’s tough but young squad made it very interesting in the second period.

“We had some breakdowns in the second quarter that shouldn’t have happened. We gave them some offensive rebounds that we weren’t happy with, but overall, yeah, good effort,” Young said. “One of our goals was to keep our legs. Playing three games in three days is tough for everybody.”

The Raiders are on a quest to win their first state title since 1996, when the late Bernie Ching led them to back-to-back crowns.

Junior Caiyle Kaupu led Konawaena (13-5), the Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up, with nine points and 14 rebounds. Tonight’s final will be the first all-ILH title game since 2008, when Punahou edged ‘Iolani 46-41.

Konawaena is one of the few teams statewide with a roster that is without a senior. The Wildcats suited up six freshmen, three sophomores and three juniors, but the loss with a young group was no consolation to longtime coach Bobbie Awa.

“Youth doesn’t matter. We’ve won before with three starting freshmen,” said Awa, who has guided Konawaena to nine state championships in the past 15 years.

The game turned in the third quarter as ‘Iolani grew a three-point lead into a 14-point cushion behind its fullcourt press.

“We didn’t run our pressbreaker. They didn’t press us any more than they did in the first half,” Awa said.

Konawaena was back on the court just 24 hours after a tough 46-42 win over Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Kahuku.

“I knew after watching the Kahuku-Kona game their main players played a tough game to the end. Didn’t sub out, so I knew that legs might become an issue for them,” Young said. “Whereas we were able to sit most of our starters in the fourth quarter (against Maui).”

‘Iolani was able to use its versatile defenders to switch on Konawaena’s high screens.

“We pride ourselves on being versatile. We game-planned to switch on their stagger screens and elevator screens,” Young noted.

‘Iolani finished with 11 turnovers, forcing Konawaena into 22 giveaways.

“We had a little fatigue, a little inexperience,” Awa said. “ ‘Iolani played hard the whole game. They were aggressive and handled the ball well. They took it to the basket and played harder than we did.”

‘Iolani surged to a 9-2 lead as the Wildcats struggled. Konawaena was able to break the fullcourt press, however, and rallied. Kayla Pak’s follow shot gave the ’Cats a 15-14 lead with 4:50 left in the second quarter. The lead held until the final minute of the half.

Wahinekapu’s bank shot put the Raiders ahead for good, 16-15. Wu came up with a steal and a layup for an 18-15 lead with 16 seconds to go before the half.

‘Iolani took command in the third quarter with a 17-4 run. Wu scored on two drives to open the lead to nine points, and after a steal and layup by Alexis Huntimer, the margin was 11.

Wahinekapu ended the quarter with a wing 3 for a 33-19 Raiders lead.

Their 2-2-1 press continued to stymie Konawaena, and after Huntimer’s corner 3, ‘Iolani led 42-20 with 3:53 remaining.