Lunas-Spartans' game was a big draw on Maui


The first ever regional finals were held over the weekend in the Hawaiian Airlines/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Girls Basketball State Championships.

Top-seeded Lahainaluna played Maryknoll on Maui, No. 2-seed Konawaena met Mililani on the Big Island, while third-seeded Punahou and fourth-seeded Roosevelt played King Kekaulike and Hilo, respectively on Oahu.

The Punahou and Roosevelt regional finals were played at the Blaisdell Center, as part of a triple header that included the Division II state title game. That site drew an official attendance of 1,126 fans, according to the HHSAA.

Konawaena and Mililani played at Kealakehe High School, but went up against a Big Island Interscholastic Federation boys' basketball game between Konawaena and HPA, which was played at the Wildcats' home gym that same evening. As a result, less than 500 fans — 482, to be exact — were on-hand for the regional final.

Over on the Valley Isle, the Lahainaluna regional final drew an estimated crowd of 1,500 fans. The game was technically played at a neutral site — the Lahaina Civic is several miles away from Lahainaluna High School — but the Lunas have played several regular-season games there because they have so many fans.

"Look around," Lahainaluna coach Todd Rickard said after his team beat Maryknoll Saturday, 61-57. "I don't think any place else can pack it in like this, so I kind of wish they can bring the whole tournament here one day."

The final four of the tournament converge on Oahu this week. The semifinals will be played at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium Friday and the third-place and championship finals will shift to the Blaisdell Saturday.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].