Taimane Faleafine-Auwae scored 16 points and Ciera Tugade-Agasiva added 13 as No. 3 Maryknoll walloped No. 9 Waiakea 50-27 on Friday at the I Mua Invitational girls basketball tournament.
The Spartans improved to 7-1 in nonconference play with a surprisingly easy win over a Waiakea team that pushed Kamehameha to the limit one day earlier. At 6-foot-1 with a strong low-post game, Faleafine-Auwae was a tough matchup for the smaller Warriors. Tugade-Agasiva was a big spark plug when Maryknoll turned a 5-all game into a 22-8 halftime lead.
“We didn’t know anything about this team. We knew they had Jolie (Mantz),” Tugade-Agasiva said. “But we just came out as a team with good energy today. We executed when we were supposed to. When you step on the court, you have to have a different mindset.”
Pua Herrington led Waiakea with 17 points. Mantz, a returning All-State Fab 15 selection, was limited to three points by Maryknoll’s defense.
“It’s a good experience. The girls kind of had to transition through a lot — a new coach, last minute,” Waiakea coach Shawn Fuiava said.
He was a coach at Keaau for eight seasons. When Alika Smith stepped down before the season, he put his name in the hat. Expectations remain high, but there is a learning curve.
“I expect them to be here (at states in Honolulu) in the end. The opportunity for them to play the No. 3 and No. 7 (Kamehameha) in the state, we’re not going to get that in the BIIF,” Fuiava noted. “I’m happy for them.”
The 57-53 loss to Kamehameha on Thursday took a toll.
“The exciting games are awesome for experience, but they also drain you not just physically, but emotionally,” Fuiava noted. “I think a lot of it was they were emotionally drained. We’ve got a freshman, a bunch of juniors. They’re excited to be here. It was the experience drained a lot out of them.”
The Maryknoll-Waiakea game was a crawl at times during the first quarter, tied at 5. Then Maryknoll went on a 17-3 run to close the half, sparked by Tugade-Agasiva on defense and in transition. Faleafine-Auwae’s bounce pass to Tugade-Agasiva for a layup opened the lead to 19-8. Maryknoll also used the 6-foot-1 center, Faleafine-Auwae, as a primary passer on the press breaker.
After Tugade-Agasiva lateraled a pass to Madison Guillermo for a wing 3, the lead was 22-8 going into the half.
“We had a wake-up call, like, this is not our game,” Faleafine-Auwae said about the first quarter. “Let’s put more energy onto the floor, and we excelled. We played our game.”
Tugade-Agasiva then scored six points during an 8-0 run by Maryknoll to begin the second half that extended the Spartans’ run to 25-3. Two buckets were in the paint, including one on a smooth spin move to the left, and she sank two foul shots as the Spartans extended the lead to 30-8 with five minutes to go in the third quarter.
After Isabella Arrisgado went coast to coast on a steal, the lead was 24 points.
Herrington’s corner 3 with 3:45 left in the third gave Waiakea its first points since the first quarter.
Waiakea will play Kahuku on Saturday to close out their trip.
“It’s finding the right system to put them in. At this level, a lot of it has to do with trust. I’ve got to gain their trust and go from there,” Fuiava said. “We’ve got about four girls who could average 20 points.”
Kamehameha-Hawaii 45, Radford 43
Maela Honma pumped in 20 points and Keanu Huihui tallied 13 as the Warriors edged the Lady Rams.
Mailana Mattos led Radford with 12 points, McKenzie McCormick added 11 points and Jirah Villanueva finished with 10.
No. 7 Kamehameha 65, Kaiser 27
Freshman center Nihoa Dunn scored 18 points to lead the Warriors over the Cougars. Kya Kanoho and Mikylah Labanon chipped in 10 points each.
Jaime Kimura led Kaiser with eight points.
Kamehameha I-AA vs. Kahuku, 6:30 pm
Saturday’s games
I Mua Invitational (Kamehameha)
No. 7 Kamehameha vs. Kamehameha-Hawaii, 2:30 pm
No. 9 Waiakea vs. Kahuku, 4 pm
Kaiser vs. No. 3 Maryknoll, 5:30 pm
Radford vs. Kamehameha I-AA, 7 pm
