Hilo's Chailey Cabalis drives to the basket against Roosevelt. Evan Asato | SL

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Hilo's Sharlei Graham-Bernisto goes up for a layup against Roosevelt. Evan Asato | SL

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Roosevelt's Ashley Kiko heads to the basket for a layup against Hilo. Evan Asato | SL

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Roosevelt's Devyn Kauhi drives into the paint against Hilo. Celine Troung | Special to SL

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Hilo's Alexis Pana heads to the basket for a shot attempt against Roosevelt. Evan Asato | SL

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Sat, Feb 8, 2014 @ Blaisdell

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Hilo

62

Roosevelt

61

Final	1	2	3	4
Hilo (11-2, 19-7)	10	16	19	17	62
Roosevelt (13-0, 15-3)	16	13	19	13	61

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

D. Kauhi 16 pts  2/2 FTs

C. Cabalis 18 pts  2 3pm  0/5 FTs

S. Kawakami 8 tot  3 off  5 def

C. Cabalis 9 tot  9 def

S. Rivera 5 ast

S. Guthier 5 ast

HONOLULU – An intense game of traded blows left many Roosevelt fans in a daze after all was said and done at the Blaisdell Center Saturday night.

The visiting, unseeded Hilo Vikings had just enough in the tank to come away with a 62-61 victory over fourth-seeded Roosevelt in the quarterfinal round of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division I Girls Basketball Championships.

“That was a great win for us,” Hilo coach Ben Pana said after the game. “They wanted it (and) they played extra hard at the end of the game.”

The Vikings earned their ticket into the quarterfinal round with a 62-34 win over Leilehua the day before in the opening round. Roosevelt, ranked No. 3 in the ScoringLive/OC16 Girls Basketball Power Rankings, received the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s seeded berth and first round bye with their win over Mililani in the OIA Red title game. This was the Rough Riders’ first loss since Nov. 16, 2013. 

“Coming into the state tournament with the matchups that the HHSAA came out with, we knew that Roosevelt was the hottest team in the state – so it’s a testament to our girls,” said Pana.

Like the two other quarterfinal games off island, this game would go down to the wire. Roosevelt held the lead early, but the Vikings refused to go down. Every swing that the Rough Riders would throw out, Hilo responded. It had the intensity of a heavyweight prizefight.

“Their resiliency – they play every game like it’s the last game of the season, so they never save anything for tomorrow,” said Pana. “Just proud of their composure at the end, (their) leadership and their ability to think under pressure.”

Leading the way for the Vikings was junior forward Chailey Cabalis who finished with a game-high 18 points. Cabalis also finished with nine rebounds and six steals to add to her impressive performance.

“That girl, she’s a fearless player,” Pana said on Cabalis. “From when she was young, she always had that mindset. We’re glad that she came out and had a game like she did.”

To add more significance to her already great performance, Cabalis was dealing with flu-like symptoms prior to the game.

“After last night’s game show came down with the flu so we had her up in bed all day today trying to rest for this important game,” explained Pana.

The Vikings took a 61-57 lead on a Shalyn Guthier three-point play with 3:34 left to go in regulation. Roosevelt’s Sharice Kawakami would answer with a put back to cut the lead to two. Neither team could find the bottom of the net until the 34.1 mark when Alexis Pana made the first of two free throws to push the Vikings’ lead to three.

Pana’s second free throw was off the mark and the Rough Riders were able to take advantage. Devyn Kauhi got past the defense to score on an easy fast break bucket that cut the lead to one. Roosevelt coach Hinano Higa immediately called timeout after the Kauhi basket to make sure the troops were on the same page. The extra discussion time paid dividends as Roosevelt was able to force a five-second call on the inbounds pass, giving the Rough Riders possession with 25.8 left on the clock. 

The next moments of the game could be best described as a blur. After a series of dribble handoffs, Roosevelt was able to get the ball to Kawakami after the ball reversed court from the opposite corner. This allowed Keala Quinlan to receive the pass from Kawakami on the low block. Quinlan was hacked on her shot attempt, but a timeout was called before the foul occurred. 

“We wanted to get the ball inside one way or another,” explained Higa. “The ball was already on the opposite end in our guards’ hands. There was pressure on the basketball – calling that timeout was early. It just so happened (that) the ball moved a few passes (after) the referee heard me call time.”

Unlike the timeout that was taken just a few moments ago, this one with 15.1 to go did not pan out. Roosevelt narrowly got the inbounds pass to Starr Rivera, who passed it on to Kaohi Kapiko after receiving tight man-to-man pressure from Hilo. With the time running down, Kapiko nearly threw it away on an errant pass, but Quinlan was able to save the ball and pitched it to Kauhi under the basket. Kauhi’s shot attempt bounced off the rim and Cabalis was able to come up with it at as time expired.

“I just was proud and happy for my team,” said Cabalis. “We pushed ourselves (and) never gave up.”

Roosevelt opened up the game with a little flair that excited their fans in attendance. After the Rough Riders won the tip, Kawakami threw a long pass over the top to Tavae Sina Sofa, who mimicked a volleyball spike to get the ball to Kauhi for the first points of the game.

The two teams traded baskets throughout the first quarter until Rough Rider reserve Ashley Kiko went on a little scoring spree of her own. Kiko connected on a 3-pointer and completed a three-point play to give Roosevelt a 16-10 lead heading into the second quarter. In total, Kiko finished with 13 points, good for second best behind Kauhi’s team-high 16 points.

Roosevelt continued to control the pace during the second quarter, but Hilo showed resiliency and composure in order to cut the lead down to three at the half. Kaily Harris’ reverse scoop shot at the buzzer made the score 29-26 heading into halftime.

A trip to the locker rooms did nothing to dispel the frenzy of the high-octane game. Any time Roosevelt threatened to go on a mini-run, Hilo would always have the right answer to silence the crowd. 

“They’re a close bunch. They feed off each other’s energy,” said Pana. “They try to encourage each other to do the best that they can and that’s all we can ask as coaches.” 

“We have confidence in each and everyone of us,” added Cabalis.

Doing the most answering for the Vikings was Sharlei Graham-Bernisto. The sophomore point guard was a marksman from deep, going 4-for-6 from the land of three, all coming in the second half. She finished with 13 points, the second most on the team.

“Just a firecracker,” Pana said on Graham-Bernisto. “We put a lot of trust in her controlling the team out on the court as far as being a point guard. Just her making those shots was huge for us.

“She practices that a lot during her free time. After practices she stays for a long time and works on her game. That’s a tribute to her and all the effort she puts into her game.” 

Both teams each scored 19 points in the third quarter, making the score 48-45 heading into the final period of regulation.

The fourth quarter was neck and neck between the two squads. Cabalis connected on a 3-point shot to tie the game at the start of the fourth, but Roosevelt came right back with a Kauhi bucket to retake the lead. No spectator in attendance can question either team’s heart in this action-packed game.

To illustrate the example of “laying it all on the court,” Cabalis went for broke and leaped over the official scorer’s table and the public address announcer trying to save a ball from going out of bounds. She stayed down a bit after the fall, but was able to walk off the court on her own power and remained in the game.

“(This) game meant a lot to us,” said Cabalis. “We trained all summer, we trained every day. This is why we are here.” 

Cabalis’ leap of faith did not save the turnover from happening; instead, it provided the Vikings with just enough of a spark to give them the edge in the closing minutes. After Cablis got up from her fall at the 4:26 mark, Graham-Bernisto was able to knock in a 3-point shot to give Hilo the lead for good and the Vikings were able to come away with a thrilling one-point victory on the road.

Hilo moves on to take on top-seeded Lahainaluna, who defeated Maryknoll by the score of 61-57. That game is slated for Feb. 14 at the McKinley’s Student Council Gymnasium. 

“I’m just excited for what (it) bring us. I’m excited for my team and me next week. I can’t wait. I’m happy where we are right now,” said Cabalis.