Kaanoipua Leleiwi and Angelie Molina scored 11 points each as No. 3 Konawaena pulled away early and stymied Clovis East (Calif.) 60-43 on day one of the Pa‘ani Invitational on Thursday night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.
Kaylie Yamasaki added 10 points, Shaileia Hookahi-Bannister chipped in nine and Mikela Salazar-Harrell tallied eight for a balanced Wildcats attack.
With nine state championships under coach Bobbie Awa, the Wildcats were sharp on both ends start to finish even though they were severely outsized by the visitors from Fresno.
“It goes both ways. We know how we play,” said junior guard Kaylie Yamasaki. “Like our coach said, we let our game speak for itself. We just focus on playing. I think we did good. We’re doing new stuff this year and change the way we play. We did a good job on our new press and we did a good job of running the floor.”
Clovis East (1-1) just began game action last week. The Timberwolves were 18-14 last season and ranked 15th in the Central Section of Fresno by MaxPreps.
With 6-foot senior Kaitea Galletes opting out to focus on volleyball, Konawaena’s roster is almost entirely 5-foot-8 and smaller — closer to 5-3 than 5-8. It didn’t matter. Konawaena’s ball movement and 3-point shooting were key, forcing Clovis East to switch from zone to man defense in the second quarter.
The Wildcats used smothering fullcourt traps to stifle the Timberwolves, opening a 33-20 lead by halftime.
“Coach just wanted us to keep the same energy, the same intensity, learning how to keep running the floor and getting touches and deflections,” Yamasaki said.
The Wolves’ fullcourt press couldn’t slow down the Wildcats, who scored the first six points of the second half. Feeding off a flurry of traps and steals, Konawaena opened the lead to 43-22 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
Senior guard Gabby Ramos led Clovis East with 14 hard-earned points. The Philippines junior and senior national team player always faced a second help defender in Konawaena’s man-to-man defense.
“We had a long travel day (Wednesday). We were supposed to come in at 9 a.m. and got in at 9 p.m. We’re still trying to get to know each other,” Ramos said. “We’re going to get there. I’m not worried about that.”
Ramos is a commit to Nevada and spent the summer playing for the Philippines.
“I’m a little underwhelmed with myself, but I feel good about the team. Just taking it stride by stride. Just try to get better every day,” the 5-10 point guard said. “You know, Konawaena reminds me a lot of international play. They’re very organized. They know what to do. They remind me of our Philippines team. They know how to move, constantly moving. Very team-oriented. It’s not a single person dominating. I love the way they move the ball. Just playing team basketball.”
Lolly Gutierrez, a 6-2 junior center, chipped in seven points for the Timberwolves. With just two games under their belt, the Timberwolves gradually got a better feel offensively, with Gutierrez rolling to the basket on pick-and-rolls with Ramos.
Konawaena (5-2) split its team into two groups on Thursday, dropping off a younger unit at Nanakuli for a game. The Wildcats then turned around and returned to town for the game at Punahou. Immediately after the win, they piled into their van and drove back to Nanakuli.
With a low number of junior varsity teams in the BIIF, the extra game at Nanakuli was appreciated.
No. 2 ‘Iolani 52, Mililani 27
Mia Frye scored 17 points as the Raiders (7-1) used a swarming, trapping defense to break open a one-point game.
Justice Kekauoha added nine points for ‘Iolani.
Amelia McDaniel led Mililani (6-4) with eight points.
Senior guard Shania Wilson, Mililani’s second-leading scorer last season, suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and did not return. Last year’s leading scorer, Brooke Kurasaki, has not played in three weeks due to an injury.
No. 8 Punahou 64, No. 9 Moanalua 32
Annastaziah Wright scored all 13 of her points in the first half as the Buffanblu improved to 5-2 overall. Halia Hoapili sank three treys and finished with 11 points, and Pua Saole added nine points.
Rhea Nobleza scored 15 points for Moanalua (3-5).
