A rematch with the young, resurgent Punahou Buffanblu wasn’t ideal for the No. 1 ‘Iolani Raiders. Especially after a busy road trip to the East Coast and an illness for leading scorer Taylor Wu.
But the Raiders got 11 points from Wu and another 11 from Lily Lefotu Wahinekapu, pulling away for a 59-36 win over No. 7 Punahou on Saturday afternoon at the Father Bray Athletic Complex.
‘Iolani (15-6 overall) improved to 6-1 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. Punahou (9-3 overall) dropped to 4-3 in the ILH.
Tara Kaneshiro, Melody Lum, Tati Burciaga-Reyes and Tama Fonoti tallied six points apiece for the Buffanblu.
“Punahou’s a tough team. We’re just happy to come out of here with a win in the ILH after our trip,” Raiders coach Dean Young said. “We went through a cold spell in the second quarter. I think that might be some of the legs as a result of the jet lag. Taylor was sick today. She tried to fight through it. She’s a gamer. She was giving out some beautiful assists, some defense.”
Punahou’s young team trailed by just six points early in the third quarter. ‘Iolani then went on a 28-10 run to finish the game.
“We’re just growing up,” Buffanblu coach Gary Pacarro said. “We get inside, then we have a hard time getting over.”
The host Raiders came out firing from long range, launching 12 3-pointers in the opening quarter. The lead was 11-3 after Wu swished a 3, and a corner 3 by Kawai Kahalehoe extended the lead to 14-5 late in the period. After Alexis Huntimer and Wu drove for layups early in the second quarter, the home team led 26-11.
Punahou pounded the ball inside and got back-to-back baskets from the 6-foot-4 Fonoti to pull within 28-22 with less than a minute left in the first half.
Wu drew a foul with 2.7 seconds to go as Buffanblu fans complained that it was a jump ball. Wu sank the first free throw, but missed the second. Kahalehoe then tipped the offensive rebound to Wahinekapu, whose layup gave ‘Iolani a 31-22 lead at the break. That was ‘Iolani’s first offensive carom of the game.
Punahou was within 31-25 early in the third quarter, but the Raiders used full-court pressure to take command. They limited Punahou to 5-for-20 shooting in the second half and forced the visitors into seven turnovers after the break.
The Raiders got a dish from Jovi Wahinekapu Lefotu to Kahalehoe for a layup, and after Wu drove by her defender for a lefty layup at the buzzer, they led 40-28 entering the fourth quarter.
In the final stanza, they got a major spark from Alexsandra Huntimer, who had six points, five rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in the final eight minutes.
ILH Boys
No. 4 Maryknoll 62, No. 2 ‘Iolani 54
Makoto Kamata scored 18 points, including 9-for-11 at the free-throw line, as the Spartans edged the Raiders in a key road game. Maryknoll improved to 2-0 in ILH play (16-1 overall), hitting 31 of 34 free-throw attempts. Marcus Tobin added 12 points (6-for-6 at the line).
Frank Felix bombed seven of ‘Iolani’s 14 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 23 points for the Raiders (9-6, 0-1). Six of his treys came in the first half as the home team held a 34-31 lead.
‘Iolani was within 53-48 with 4 minutes to play, but missed an open 3, a layup and the front end of a one-and-one — twice. Meanwhile, Maryknoll did enough, including two foul shots by Niko Robben, for a 56-48 lead with 1:25 to go. ‘Iolani got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
