Raiders rally to shock No. 3 Maryknoll in ILH playoffs


Shawn Sueoka | ScoringLive
January 31, 2015, 4:08pm

Iolani's Brooke Maeda looks for room to drive past Maryknoll's Chase Milne. Maeda hit a corner three with less than a minute left in regulation to lift the Raiders over the Spartans. RIchard Nguyen | Special to SL

MAKIKI – With 47 seconds remaining in regulation, Iolani junior Brooke Maeda came off a screen and received the pass from teammate Skylar Nakata for a 3-point shot in the corner to help the Raiders stun the Spartans, 50-47.

"We needed a three and it wasn't there the first time. So we ran it again and I was open the second time around. Thanks to Skyla Nakata, she hit me for the open shot," Maeda said about the big play.

From start to finish, the Iolani Raiders (7-5) had the lead for a total of four minutes and three different times at Clarence T.C. Gymnasium. The visiting Raiders outscored Maryknoll 20-11 in the final quarter to complete the comeback and pull off the upset Saturday afternoon.

Heading into the game Maryknoll was untouchable with a 10-0 record in league play and had not lost a game in the state of Hawaii this year.

"I'm just really proud of our girls. We were down most of the game, but we kept fighting back, fighting back, fighting back," said Iolani head coach Dean Young. "They never gave up and they stayed together.

Maryknoll was led offensively by forward Maegen Martin who dominated with a double-double performance of 16 points and 12 rebounds, but was held to a single point in the final stanza.

Maeda had the go-ahead shot, but throughout the game the Raiders were fueled by junior forward Sierra Buscher's performance of 16 points and four rebounds.

Although the lost hurts Maryknoll, they have already qualified for the state tournament starting in two weeks.

Iolani will play Punahou, who defeated Kamehameha, 39-23 in the other semifinal, next week Tuesday in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu postseason final. The winner of that game will claim the second league berth into the state tournament.


Reach Shawn Sueoka at [email protected].