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Girls' hoops semis will be two very different games


The second weekend of the Hawaiian Airlines/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Girls Basketball State Championships shifts to Oahu with Friday's semifinals at McKinley and Saturday's finals at Blaisdell Center.

All four D1 leagues will be represented, but just two teams are champions of their respective league. The No. 1 seed — Lahainaluna — is still alive, having staved off a second-half rally by Maryknoll in last Saturday's regional final. The Lunas, who have won 99 straight games in the Maui Interscholastic League and the last 10 league titles, are the last remaining undefeated team in the state.

Fans who have yet to see Lahainaluna play are in for a treat. The Lunas constantly push the pace offensively and typically utilize a full-court press defensively — all game long. Against the Maryknoll, Lahainaluna committed 16 fouls in the first half alone, which put the Spartans into the bonus midway through the opening quarter. But, as Lunas' coach Todd Rickard says, "That's how we play defense."

Twin sisters Lindsey and Taylor Bates made eight of the Lunas' 10 3-pointers and finished with 16 and 12 points, respectively.

Lahainaluna has been prolific on offense, averaging a state-best 75 points per game. Its opponent Friday — Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up Hilo — is very much of the same mold.

The Vikings average 64.7 points per game (third most statewide) and are coming off a thrilling one-point win over Oahu Interscholastic Association-titlist and fourth-seeded Roosevelt in a regional final held at the Blaisdell last Saturday. Friday will be the third state-tournament game for Hilo, which easily defeated Leilehua by 28 points in a first-round game at McKinley. The Vikings will have the luxury of familiarity on their side, having played in both venues last week, while the Lunas have yet to play at either this season.

Hilo has a plethora of capable scorers, as evidenced by last week's results. Sisters Aliyah (16 points) and Alexis Pana (14 points) were the high-scorers against Leilehua, but Chailey Cabalis (18 points) and Sharlei Graham-Bernisto (13 points) led the way against Roosevelt.

The Lunas and Vikings play in the 5 p.m. semifinal. Expect a track meet on a basketball court with arena football-like scoring. It should be a fun one for players and fans, alike.

The late semifinal — between Mililani and No. 3-seed Punahou — will have a distinctly different flair.

Both the Trojans — who finished second to Roosevelt in the OIA — and the ILH-champion Buffanblu play to a much slower pace offensively out of half-court sets.

Mililani, which ranks fourth in the state in scoring with 60.5 points per game, likes the high-low game with Mikaela Limper (13.3 points per game) on the perimeter and Sarah Liva (14.4 ppg) and Shantel Appleby (8.0 ppg) in the post.

Meanwhile, Punahou has a pair of twin towers of its own in Tyra Moe (10.5 ppg) and Keau Fey (6.3 ppg). The 6-foot Moe and 6-1 Fey should provide a formidable challenge to the 6-2 Liva and 5-11 Appleby. The Buffanblu rank ninth (51.8 ppg) in the state and had no problems getting by King Kekaulike in a 23-point first-round victory in their regional final. Mililani beat Radford by 15 in an opening-round game on Oahu last Friday, then upended perennial state contender and BIIF-champ Konawaena — the tournament's third seed — in a tightly-contested regional final on the Big Island the following day.

The Trojans and Buffanblu are slated to tip off at 7 p.m. Look for a battle of bigs in this one with far less scoring that the early game.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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