Punahou's Hailey Motooka puts up a shot against Maryknoll. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Maryknoll's Lexi Delovio puts up a shot against Punahou. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Punahou's Abby Aplaca drives to the basket against Maryknoll. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Punahou players and coaches celebrate after defeating Maryknoll. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Sat, Jan 11, 2014 @ Maryknoll

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Punahou

38

Maryknoll

36

Final	1	2	3	4
Punahou (11-1, 16-2)	6	10	11	0	38
Maryknoll (9-3, 19-5)	10	6	9	0	36

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

C. Ochoco 14 pts  3 3pm  1/1 FTs

H. Motooka 8 pts  1 3pm  1/3 FTs

M. Martin 6 tot  3 off  3 def

T. Moe 4 tot  2 off  2 def

K. Cambra 1 ast

T. Moe 1 ast

Punahou held off Maryknoll in the final seconds to upset the Spartans, 38-36 at the Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium on Saturday night. Maryknoll's 3-point attempt came too late as the buzzer sounded and the Buffanblu avenged an earlier 55-45 loss to the Spartans on Dec. 18.

"Putting two games like that, usually the kids are down, but they pulled through and it was our team---our bench was so supportive and it fed energy to our kids who were tired and they still fought through it. Credit to Chico (Furtado) and his group for all their hard work. That group has been together over a year playing, so they're tough. To beat them we're really happy with the win," said Punahou coach Kevin Velasco.

The Buffanblu, ranked No. 8 in the ScoringLive/OC16 Girls Basketball Power Rankings knocked off No. 3  Kamehameha (4-2) at Kekuhaupi'o Gymnasium 50-42 on Jan. 8 and tonight they toppled No. 2 Maryknoll (5-1) in their own gym.

"I think that was the big thing for us," said Velasco, on the two big victories over Kamehameha and Maryknoll. "I think because we haven't been like this as a team in this kind of situation. We found something about their character that I was really proud of. They stepped forward and knew it was a one point lead, yet they kept fighting and Maryknoll is a damn good team and to pull out a win tonight, it's a credit to the kids and what they've done. I think it taught our kids when it gets tight, even in the Kamehameha game we were up 17 and Kamehameha as good as they are, closed the gap and we had to learn how to win that. It gave us a little bit of confidence that we can win in a tight situation."

Prior to tonight, Maryknoll has not lost a game since Dec. 12 when they played Long Beach Poly in the 'Iolani Classic and since then, they went on a seven-game winning streak. The Buffanblu at 5-1, is tied for first in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I standings and since their opening league loss to Maryknoll, the Buffanblu have won five straight games.

"I don't think so much adjustments, I think our kids are starting to believe. In that first game, it was our first big game out of the box and our kids were nervous and they played really well. But I think they are starting to believe that they can play with anybody and I think that motivation for them is where we want to be, we still have a long way to go but I'm pleased with our progress so far," said Velasco.

It was a team victory for Punahou as Hailey Motooka scored eight points and had four steals, Kamaile Kandiah also added eight and Astra Kidani scored seven and had four rebounds. They made three out of Punahou's four 3-pointers for the game.

With the score 37-36, the Spartans had a chance to take the lead after Punahou's Hailey Motooka missed a one-and-one free throw attempt and Maia Laboy grabbed the rebound and Maryknoll called timeout with 20.4 seconds remaining. Following the timeout, Lexi Delovio drove it into the lane and passed it to Laboy, who could not handle the pass and the ball went out of bounds at the baseline. Punahou called timeout with 5.3 seconds and after the timeout, they inbounded the ball to Kandiah who was fouled immediately.

With 4.1 seconds remaining Kandiah made the first free throw to put Punahou up 38-36, but missed the second free throw. Maryknoll secured the rebound and pushed it ahead and a 3-point attempt from the left wing came too late as the buzzer sounded.

Maryknoll's Cianna Ochoco scored all nine of Maryknoll's third quarter points as she buried two 3-pointers, one near the left wing and another near the top of the arc. With 41.5 seconds remaining in the quarter, she converted a 3-point play as she was fouled driving to the basket. She sank the free throw to tie the game at 25. Ochoco had a game-high 14 points and sank three 3-pointers. In transition, Tyra Moe found Astra Kidani for a fast break layup to put the Buffanblu up two 27-25 heading into the fourth.  

The second quarter was tight as toward the end both teams traded 3-pointers as Ellie Uyeda drained one from the left wing and Ochoco nailed one from the right corner to tie the game at 16 heading into halftime.

In the first quarter, Punahou took the lead after Moe tipped the ball from the opening tipoff to Kandiah for the layup. Kandiah hit a 3-pointer in the left corner to tie the game at 6. However, Maryknoll responded scoring four points to close out the quarter to take a 10-6 lead.

It doesn't get easier for Maryknoll as they have to travel to Kamehameha-Kapalama on Jan. 14 at 6 pm while Punahou goes to Mid-Pacific on Jan. 15 at 5 pm.