Girls Basketball
Mid-Pacific zooms past KS-Hawaii for first state crown


 



KAKAAKO — This one was over within the first four minutes.

Mid-Pacific jumped out to an early 12-0 lead and never looked back as they blew past KS-Hawaii, 63-38, to win its first state title in school history Saturday night at the Neal Blaisdell Center.

Ciera Kameehonua scored a season-high 25 points on six made 3-pointers and Harley Simon added 22 points to help the top-seeded Owls dominate the Warriors in the Snapple/HHSAA Division II state championship game.

"To see everything that we put in from all the way from summer of last year is such an amazing feeling," said Simon, the team's lone senior.

KS-Hawaii, who was seeking its fifth state crown and first since 2013 in its 10th Division II title game appearance, went 0-for-7 from the field to start the contest and never fully recovered from its slow start.

"We missed a couple of shots and couldn't get out of it and they went on a run and we couldn't quite get back into it, but credit to (Mid-Pacific), they played a great game," said KS-Hawaii coach Weston Willard, whose team eliminated the Owls in last year's semifinals. "Their pace was good, their skill was good and they hit shots."

The Owls' run-and-gun system kept the Warriors on their heels early and often, but it was the sharpshooting ability of Kameehonua that was the icing on the cake.

Kameehonua, a 5-foot-3 junior, knocked down her first 3-pointer of the game from the corner to cap Mid-Pacific's opening 12-0 run. She later sunk another deep shot from the opposite corner with two hands in her face to give the Owls a 20-4 lead.

"I was just feeling it today and I left it all on the court," said Kameehonua, who shot 8 for 10 from the field — 6 of 8 on 3-point attempts — and added 10 rebounds.

Kameehonua, who made just nine 3-pointers during the regular season, came alive at the right time said Mid-Pacific second-year coach Sherice Ajifu.

"She was due for a big one" Ajifu said. "She was our shooter all of last season. She went through a little slump this season, couldn't find her rhythm, but we just kept telling her she's got to shoot the ball. There's no tomorrow so she lit it up at the right time."

Mid-Pacific led 24-6 after the first quarter, but never let up off the gas until the very end and outscored KS-Hawaii in every period.

"We just kept our composure and when (the Warriors) were just running us, we didn't put our heads down and we just kept going for it," said Kameehonua. "We really wanted the koa head (trophy) and that's what we got. We all worked hard together."

Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships All-Tournament Team
as selected by the HHSAA, media and coaches

Harley Simon, Mid-Pacific
Brilie Kovaloff, Mid-Pacific
Jordan Mantz, Kamehameha-Hawaii
Saydee Aganus, Kamehameha-Hawaii
Olivia Vaeatangitau, Saint Francis

Most Outstanding Player: Ciera Kameehonua, Mid-Pacific

Ajifu, who changed her team's style of play to be more up-tempo in the offseason, was pleased with how her team performed over the state tournament.

"We're really proud of of them and we couldn't have asked for a better performance over these last three days from them," Afjifu said.

Jordyn Mantz had 18 points to lead KS-Hawaii in its second straight title game defeat.

The Warriors shot 9-for-21 at the free throw line while Mid-Pacific converted on 17 of its 20 attempts from the charity stripe.



Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].




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