‘Iolani girls basketball pulls away late to beat Punahou

Even with a week of inactivity, top-ranked ‘Iolani can rise to the occasion.

A hot Punahou squad rallied from 16 down to within four, but ‘Iolani used a 10-1 run to pull away for a 54-47 win over the Buffanblu on Saturday afternoon at Father Bray Athletic Complex.

Sophomore Jaety Mandaquit had 16 points and five rebounds, and senior Jovi Lefotu tallied 15 points, five rebounds and three steals.

“Definitely, second half, Punahou came out with bang. They’re a good team this year,” said Lefotu, who signed with Hawaii. “We try to be more physical, more aggressive, more strong with the ball.”

‘Iolani is 1-0 in ILH Division I play (4-2 overall) after playing its first game since Dec. 20. Canceled preseason games along with the ILH’s brief COVID-related shutdown — followed by finals week — had coach Dean Young concerned. ‘Iolani does not practice during finals week with the exception of one practice the day before a game.

The Raiders got solid play from their guards, as well as posts Callie Piper and Mele Sake. The latter had five blocked shots.

“The ILH, I’ve seen so far this season, a lot of people pounding in the paint. We’re lucky we’ve got a couple of bigs who can play defense,” Young said.

Junior Shania Moananu led Punahou with 13 points and nine rebounds. Senior Kuualoha Lloyd had 10 points and five boards, and junior Laynee Torres-Kahapea pumped in 12 points.

Punahou lost for the first time in league play after winning its first two games. The Buffanblu had just one preseason game, a win over Sacred Hearts, but have looked sharp, fast and physical.

“If we played the game that we played in the third and fourth quarter, with that consistency, it would be a different game. Where we lost it was the first two quarters not getting back in transition. ‘Iolani, that’s their game. That’s their whole game. They love that transition,” Punahou coach Gary Pacarro said. “They’re No. 1 in the state for that reason. They understand their game. They play with that swagger.”

A slow start by the visiting Buffanblu created a big deficit. ‘Iolani jumped to a 20-10 lead by the end of the first quarter and extended it to 31-17 by halftime. Sophomore Sake had four of her five blocks in the second quarter, including a swat on Torres-Kahapea just before the end of the first half.

Punahou was energized in the third stanza, getting 3-pointers from Torres-Kahapea, Lloyd and Moananu. The 3-pointer by Moananu cut the lead to 37-33 late in the third quarter.

‘Iolani was up five early in the fourth quarter when Haylie-Anne Ohta fed Abby Tanaka in the left corner for a 3 and foul. Tanaka’s 4-point played bumped the Raiders’ lead to 47-38 with 4:55 remaining.

After Ohta scored off a steal and Lefotu scored on a pass from Ohta, ‘Iolani led 51-38 with 2:50 left.

The Buffanblu got within 51-45 after a 3 by Torres-Kahapea and a follow shot by Koen Makaula with 45 seconds left, but Tanaka hit two free throws and Lefotu added another to close out the game.

‘Iolani plays at Kamehameha on Tuesday. Punahou will make the short walk across the street to play Maryknoll, also on Tuesday.