Campbell wins back-to-back titles

Campbell made it back-to-back OIA championships under coach Jazmine Corpuz.

Julien Parado had eight points and 11 rebounds as the No. 4-ranked Sabers (15-6 overall) stifled No. 10 Moanalua 28-22 on Wednesday night to capture the Division I girls basketball title.

“It was a different type of game today. The girls really challenged themselves to control the pace, really control the boards. It’s a super proud moment of execution and that’s what we’ve been trying to work so hard on every day, every practice,” Corpuz said. “It’s us versus us. We’ve got the skill, we’ve got the players, we’ve got the speed. The things we work on is between the ears.”

Leading 28-22, Campbell ran the clock from 1 minute down to 26 seconds before Moanalua was able to put the Sabers in the bonus. Moanalua got a rebound, but Jaynalyn Sotelo came up with an acrobatic steal near halfcourt and the Sabers put the game away with two offensive rebounds.

Akaecia Mateo paced Moanalua (18-7 overall) with 10 points. The East’s top seed committed 18 turnovers.

When the teams met at the ‘Iolani Prep Classic on Dec. 9, Campbell won 76-35. Moanalua was short-handed that day due to injuries and improved significantly since. So did Campbell.

“We have a lot of good assets this year like Faith Mersburg,” said Parado, a senior. “This year there was a more pressure on our backs because we won last year, but that upped our skills and our perseverance. We’re 11 strong.”

Moanalua coach Kirk Ronolo was happy with his team’s defense.

“Twenty-eight points, I can live with that. These girls came a long way from day one,” he said. “Campbell is a tough team. They play tough defense. Their stifling defense on our guards put us in a bind.”

Moanalua struggled offensively against Campbell’s tough man-to-man defense, but the Lady Sabers didn’t get much going against a 2-3 matchup zone. Campbell led after one quarter, 6-4.

Campbell kept its fast break going and went on an 8-0 run in the second quarter. Vaelua Fatu scored in the paint, and Taysia Molina-Schulte splashed a 23-foot straightaway 3 to open the lead to 15-7 going into the half.

Parado’s tough drive for a bucket sparked an 8-2 run to begin the second half. Moanalua stuck with its zone, but the Sabers worked patiently and got a corner 3 from Sotelo to open a 26-10 lead with 1:50 left in the third quarter.

Campbell’s quickness and physicality nullified any offense by the home team in the paint.

After losing the ball earlier against double and triple teams, Shailoh Liilii stopped looking to score on defenders who were 4-6 inches shorter, preferring to pass instead. She finished with two points.

Moanalua narrowed the margin to 10 points going into the fourth stanza. Campbell switched to a 1-2-2 zone.

Akaecia Mateo’s 3 chipped the lead to 26-19 with 5:40 left.

Moanalua switched to man-to-man defense in the final 4 minutes, After Jamie Smith hustled for a layup off a tipped pass to Liilii, Moanalua was within 28-22 with 3 minutes to go.

However, Na Menehune turned the ball over twice and Campbell spread the court and killed the clock with one minute left.