The ’Iolani girls basketball team’s strategy against Punahou on Monday was simple and effective: get the ball to Jovi Wahinekapu Lefotu and let her do her thing.
Wahinekapu Lefotu scored 24 points, with most of her field goals coming off drives to the basket, as the host Raiders beat the Buffanblu 56-40 in the final of the ILH girls Division I single-elimination tournament.
“It’s all to my team. They helped me out,” said Wahinekapu Lefotu, the Raiders’ lone senior. “All my points were team points, so it’s all up to them and the coaching staff.”
No. 1 ’Iolani (11-0) will receive the ILH’s seed and receive a first-round bye in the HHSAA tournament set for Feb. 14-19. No. 8 Punahou ( 5-6) will be the league’s other representative in the tournament.
“We’re possibly peaking at the right time, so that’s good,” said ‘Iolani coach Dean Young. “Our conditioning is getting better. A lot of good things are happening at the right time, but we can still get a lot better. We were really bad on the defensive boards today.”
Wahinekapu Lefotu often caught the ball on the perimeter with the Buffanblu choosing not to run another defender at her. Wahinekapu Lefotu preferred driving left and was even able to score with her left hand despite absorbing contact.
“I’m a righty, but I like to go to the left,” Wahinekapu Lefotu said.
She also contributed four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“The little things, it all adds up — the rebounds, steals. The defense leads to our offense,” Wahinekapu Lefotu said.
‘Iolani started the game on a 10-0 run, with Wahinekapu Lefotu scoring eight of the points.
“We definitely wanted to come out fast and set the tempo, set the tone with our pressure and wear them out,” Young said.
The Raiders went up 26-9 on a steal and layup by Jaety Mandaquit with 4:28 left before halftime. The Buffanblu got within 28-17 with one minute to go on a field goal by Tanea Loa, but the Raiders took back control with a 7-0 run. Haylie-Anne Ohta had five points during the Raiders’ late surge and Wahinekapu Lefotu had a pair of assists.
“She’s a coach’s daughter, so we rely on her a lot IQ-wise,” Young said of Ohta. “She’s very athletic and great on the ball. We expect a lot of her defensively pressing the ball and running the offense.”
Wahinekapu Lefotu scored 14 points and Ohta added 11 in the first half for ‘Iolani, which made 14 of 23 field-goal attempts.
The Buffanblu had six made field goals and nine turnovers before halftime.
Punahou played better in the second half, but was still outscored 21-20.
“We played the best team in the state,” said Punahou coach Gary Pacarro. “We battled back in the second half. We kept the margin to where it was the whole game and that’s all I can ask of these girls.”
Wahinekapu Lefotu left to a nice ovation with 1:18 remaining and ‘Iolani leading 56-38.
“This girl is awesome. We’ve seen her four years and she’s gotten better every year,” Pacarro said. “Not just her play, but her personality. She’s the kind of player you want. She looks for her teammates, and when she has an opportunity to take the ball up the court, she’s there.”
Mandaquit added 13 points and Ohta had 11 for the Raiders. Keilani Stewart scored 12 for the Buffanblu.
‘Iolani defeated Punahou in four meetings this season by an average of 14.8 points.
