There’s no replacing Rhea Nobleza.
Instead, No. 10-ranked Moanalua found solace in the rebounding tenacity of Akilah Bell. The 6-foot senior got the start and hauled in 13 rebounds as Na Menehune staved off Kailua 51-35 in the opening round of the Pacific Century Fund Team Aloha/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships.
Sophomore Serenity Tacgere hustled for 16 points and 14 rebounds, while senior Shailoh Liilii, playing through an illness, tallied 10 points and nine boards for OIA runner-up Moanalua (14-9 overall). Nobleza, their scoring leader, suffered a concussion in the OIA championship game on Friday and has been ruled out for the state tournament. Coach Kirk Ronolo went with a big starting lineup, starting Bell for a front court of the 6-foot Liilii, 6-foot Bell and 5-11 Tacgere.
“We just worked through it. Being down a good player, we just have to work as a team and find a way,” said Tacgere, who shot 7-for-12 from the field and blocked two shots. “Everyone comes out hard and contributes. We weren’t surprised that Kailua came out hard.”
The visitors relied on 3-point shooting through the OIA season, but couldn’t get it going against Moanalua’s man-to-man defense, shooting 1-for-20 from the arc for the game.
“We were definitely focused on closing out. Coach said to close out on everybody, make sure you stay on your man,” Tacgere said. “We have full confidence. If we control the pace of the game, we got it. We definitely could’ve done better. There were some mistakes, but it’s OK.”
Myah Galdeira led Kailua (16-14) with 23 points on 9-for-21 shooting from the field. The senior guard shot 4-for-7 from the foul line and hustled for five steals, but also had six turnovers against a swarming defense. As a team, the Surfriders shot 23% from the field (14-for-60) and 40% at the charity stripe (6-for-15).
“We had a little break because one of their top players got hurt. Our girls played hard and played through adversity,” Kailua coach John Iwashita said. “The last few games, our top 3-point shooters have been a little bit off. I don’t know. They’re just a little rusty on their shooting. Moanalua’s a good team. To beat them, we had to be at the top of our game.”
When the teams met on Jan. 17, Moanalua won 67-49.
On Monday, what Moanalua lacked in shooting efficiency — 32% from the field (20-for-62) — Na Menehune made up for it with a 67-35 edge in rebounding. Thirty-three of those caroms were on the offensive glass.
“I like that. Hopefully, we can continue that,” Ronolo said. “Akilah played well tonight. She had three blocks? There’s a whole bunch of ways we can mix it up. We can go three guards, or start Shailoh with Akilah and Shailoh comes up to be a guard.”
Tacgere alone had 10 offensive caroms, while Liilii had eight and Bell hustled for six, including five in the first half.
Moanalua clearly missed Nobleza early in Monday night’s game. After Galdeira scored off a steal, and then on a jumper in the lane, the Surfriders had a 9-2 lead with 3:42 left in the first quarter.
It looked similar to Moanalua’s OIA playoff game last week, when Nobleza sat the first quarter and her team struggled to score, committing nine turnovers. This time, Moanalua had just three turnovers in the first eight minutes. After Liilii connected on two free throws, Moanalua had a 10-9 lead with 1:55 remaining in the first quarter and never trailed again.
Kailua managed to stay within a single-digit deficit for most of the second quarter until Bell hustled for a putback 10 seconds before the half. Moanalua led at the break, 29-18.
Kailua was within 36-26 going into the final quarter.
The length of Liilii and Bell, and the athleticism of Tacgere, who is 5-11, stymied Kailua’s shooters to the final buzzer. Moanalua opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run for a 42-26 lead and played most of the final five minutes with three reserves.
Liilii rested for much of the second half with cold symptoms.
Moanalua will face top-seeded Kamehameha at 5 p.m. Thursday in Kekuhaupio Gymnasium.
“It’s going to take a lot of discipline. They’re deep,” Ronolo said.
Other state games
Campbell 53, Waiakea 28
Jaynalyn Sotelo scored 15 points and Kamai Lei Ringor had 11 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Sabers past the Warriors at Waiakea’s gym.
The Sabers move on to play No. 4 seed Maui at 7 p.m. Thursday at Kamehameha.
The Sabers pulled away early, outscoring the Warriors 15-2 in the first quarter. They led 25-9 at halftime.
Kaya Texeira had 11 points and eight rebounds for Waiakea.
Mililani 47, Kamehameha-Maui 27
Brooke Kurasaki scored 15 points and Alexandria Manuel grabbed 12 rebounds as the Lady Trojans trounced the Warriors in a first-round game played at Kamehameha-Maui.
The Trojans advance to play No. 2 seed Konawaena on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Damien.
Mililani led 19-14 at halftime but pulled away for good in the third quarter, outscoring the Wariors 17-7.
Ava Akahi had eight points and eight rebounds and Haven De Silva scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds for Kamehameha-Maui.
‘Iolani 82, Nanakuli 33
The Raiders advanced with a blowout win and will play No. 3 seed Kahuku at 5 p.m. Thursday at Damien.