‘Iolani overwhelms Campbell

Mele Sake powered her way to 23 points and 13 rebounds as top-seeded ‘Iolani rallied for a 41-33 win over third-seeded Campbell on Thursday in the Division I semifinals of the Heide & Cook/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships at the McKinley High School gym.

‘Iolani (22-8 overall), the three-time defending state champion. will meet Konawaena for the crown tonight at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center.

“I’m very tired,” said Sake, a 6-foot-1 sophomore. “It wasn’t too good in the beginning. Flip the switch and play tougher.”

Sake had six offensive rebounds as Campbell contended with her as well as 6-foot post Callie Pieper. Sake shot 8-for-15 from the field and 7-for-10 at the free-throw line, adding two blocks. Pieper tallied nine points and eight rebounds. ‘Iolani outrebounded Campbell 31-23, offsetting a night of struggle from the field — 39 percent (13-for-33), including 0-for-7 from the 3-point line.

Aliyah Bantolina and Taysia Molina-Schulte led OIA champion Campbell (16-7) with eight points each. Bantolina’s normally prolific scoring production was limited against ‘Iolani’s 2-3 matchup zone. Bantolina shot 3-for-10 and spotted up for 3-pointers only twice, making both.

“We only played zone once this season,” Raiders coach Dean Young said. “We have two zones that we think are pretty good. Mia (Frye) did an amazing job.”

A sophomore guard, Frye played forward and had four rebounds, rotating to cover the win.

Campbell shot 33 percent from the field (14-for-42), including 4-for-13 from beyond the arc. ‘Iolani had a major edge at the free-throw line, shooting 15-for-25. Campbell was 1-for-5.

Sake had just one point in the first quarter against the Sabers’ scrappy, quick man-to-man defense. The Raiders trailed 16-13 at the half, the combination of Sake’s relentless energy on offense and Campbell’s inefficiency against the zone.

Sake scored eight points in the third quarter to fuel the Raiders. Frye’s steal and layup brought ‘Iolani within 18-17, and Pieper scored inside for the lead.

Jaynalyn Sotelo’s layup pushed the Sabers ahead 20-19, but Sake scored on back-to-back layups for a 23-20 ‘Iolani lead.

Molina-Schulte’s 3 from the top tied the game, but Campbell never regained the lead. The Sabers opened the fourth quarter with 1-for-4 shooting from the field with three turnovers, and ‘Iolani capitalized by opening a 33-25 lead. Sake scored five more points during the 10-2 run.

When ‘Iolani and Campbell previously met on Nov. 12, it was the third preseason game of the season for the Raiders and the Sabers. ‘Iolani won the game 49-39 behind 17 points (and three treys) from Abby Tanaka. The Raiders also played man defense that day.

“Their drive is really good, so we had to make sure we closed that up,” senior guard Haylie-Anne Ohta said. “We kind of worked on zone. We did a good job executing today.”

Tanaka, a senior guard, later suffered a PCL injury and was sidelined for weeks. There was hope in the Raiders camp that she will get on the court at states, and sure enough, Tanaka played eight minutes in the quarterfinal win over Maui on Wednesday. She did not play against Campbell.

Campbell had won 14 games in a row. The last time the Sabers lost was to Konawaena at the ‘Iolani Prep Classic on Dec. 12.