Hawaiian Electric Game of the Week
Saints, Eagles to face off for first place




First place in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's Division II standings will be up for grabs when unbeatens Saint Francis and Hawaii Baptist face off this weekend.

The Saints (7-0) and Eagles (6-0) bring perfect league records into Saturday 5 p.m. matchup at HBA's Dan Liu Gymnasium.

Saint Francis, the No. 7 team in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Girls Basketball Power Rankings, has been nothing short of a dominant force so far this year. It is averaging 60 points per game in league play, while holding opponents to just 27.4 points each time out.

"To me, it's better than what I expected," Saints coach Chris Hoe said. "The way our team is playing together and sharing the ball, it surprises me, but that's what we want from our team: to share the ball, work together and not be selfish with individual play. If our team goes individually, we weren't going to be good, so we had to stick together and work as a team."

Guards Nani Santos (17.6 ppg in ILH games), Kealani Neves (15.2 ppg) and Kaimi Kalei (8.0 ppg) have paced the Saints, along with 6-foot-2 center Mata Sagapolutele (8.0 ppg) — the lone sophomore on the roster.

"Last year we didn't have guards — we weren't deep there — (but) this year we added two more and it's been a lot better," Hoe said. "It relieves pressure from Kaimi from handling the ball. Mata is our big and she's in for defense, rebounding, put backs on offense and blocking and changing shots of the other team, so I feel like she's one of our keys, too. She's stepped up a lot, but she goes under the radar because the three guards usually take all the praise."

Saint Francis has largely gone unchallenged through the first half of the season, winning each of their seven ILH games by no fewer than 22 points.

"I think we bring an up-and-down, run-and-gun style on offense and that's where we get most of our points: off fast breaks and that's what we thrive on," Hoe said. "We're really aggressive on defense, which leads to our offense and those easy scores."

The Eagles are no pushover in their own right. They are averaging 52.5 points scored and 23.8 points allowed per game in ILH play. Their closest margin of victory was a 13-point win over Iolani II to open the league season back on Dec. 9.

However, HBA has maintained its preparations on each day's task at hand.

"With such a busy preseason and league schedule, it seems as though we've only had time to focus on what's in front of us that day," Eagles coach Keith Sugiura said. "We've been fortunate to play a solid mix of teams up until this point and each game, regardless of outcome, has revealed aspects of our game that needed immediate attention."

HBA is led by guard Ally Wada (11.5 ppg in ILH games), one of just three seniors on the roster.

"The way Ally plays, it's hard to defend because she can either score or she can create for somebody else, so they really play unselfishly," Hoe said.

Kyley Nakagawa (8.2 ppg), Alexis Dang (8.0 ppg) and Katelyn Nakagawa (6.3 ppg) have also contributed in the scoring column.

"We've been pleased with our seniors and their efforts to lead this year's team," Sugiura said. "For our underclassmen, we know it's a process to understand what's expected. I believe we are still becoming a team that, in time, realizes its potential."

Sugiura said keeping pace with the Saints will be a tough task.

"Saint Francis is playing with a lot of confidence and momentum. They're able to put a balanced lineup on the court with skilled guard play as well as physical post players," Sugiura said.

It will be the first of two regular-season meetings between the teams. Saint Francis will host HBA on Jan. 20.

The Saints beat the Eagles, 47-46, in their lone meeting last season, when they went on to a fourth-place finish in the state tournament.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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