HHSAA Girls Basketball
Kamehameha pulls away to roll Lahainaluna


  



Thu, Feb 7, 2019 @ McKinley


Final 1 2 3 4  
Kamehameha (9-4, 18-7) 6 11121847
Lahainaluna (14-0, 19-6) 6 8 7 930
S. Namoa 15 pts  7/8 FTs
M. Marfil 12 pts  4 3pm  0/0 FTs
S. Namoa 8 tot  2 off  6 def
N. Sua-Godinet 11 tot  5 off  6 def

KAKAAKO — A balanced scoring effort and timely shots helped unseeded and No. 2 Kamehameha beat third seed and No. 4 Lahainaluna, 47-30, in the nightcap of the Snapple/HHSAA Division I Girls Basketball State Championship quarterfinals at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium.

Kamehameha crushed Mililani in the opening round Monday and after taking care of the Lunas, will face off against unseeded Kalani in the semifinals at the Stan Sheriff Center at 5 p.m. followed by top seed and No. 1 Iolani and four-time defending state champion Konawaena.

The Warriors and Falcons, each runners up in their own respective leagues, played each other in the preseason back on Nov. 9 with Kamehameha winning, 69-65.

"They (Kalani) looked like they had a good game and a good offensive game. Our focus, which has been our focus will be defense," Kamehameha coach Pua Straight said of the Falcons.

The Warriors avenged a preseason loss to the Lahainaluna on Nov. 10, 46-39, and fast forward almost three months later on the same floor, the Warriors got payback in convincing fashion.

"It's been a long season and when I think back to the beginning of the season, we came a long way. It was a new system and the preseason was rocky for us because they were just getting to know the offense. Because they're good with the offense, now they can just play," Straight said.

Haley Masaki (left) had 10 points and came up big with a huge 3-pointer in the third quarter to extend the Warriors' lead. Greg Yamamoto | SL    Purchase image

Kalina Obrey, who averaged 17.9 points per game on the season, scored a season-low eight points on 1-for-8 shooting from the field and picked up two fouls in the first quarter.

Despite Obrey's struggles, Kamehameha got big contributions from Malie Marfil, who scored a team-high 12 points, made a 3-pointer each quarter and Haley Masaki added 10 points to fill the void. Noelle Sua-Godinet and Camille Feary (six points each) provided much-needed baskets.

"We have been talking about it a lot that everyone has to step up. Kalina scores most of our points and it's not a secret. Everyone keys in on her. When everyone crashes in, people have to step up and hit shots," Straight said.

Both teams were tied at 6 after the first quarter until Kamehameha created separation in the second with a five-point lead following Sua-Godinet's putback. The Lunas got within three twice and trailed, 17-14, at halftime.

The Lunas were held to single digits for all four quarters.

"We did a good job on the defensive side. That has been our focus as of late. That's what you can control. You can always control how you come out on defense. Some nights our shots don't fall so that's been our focus and we did a good job on the defensive side tonight," Straight said.

Lahainaluna brought the game within one to open the third quarter, but Marfil answered with a 3-pointer. Obrey was 0 for 6 from the field until she hit her only field goal to put the Warriors up 24-19. Masaki splashed a big 3-pointer from the right corner and Obrey followed up with two free throws to put Kamehameha up 10.

Susi Namoa, who scored a game-high 15 points, gashed the Warriors in the first half with 10 points. Kamehameha made defensive adjustments to limit her to five in the second half by throwing multiple defenders and fronting her when she got to the post.

"Coming out in the second half, we tried to fully deny her the ball the whole time. Even if she's in the corner and if she's in the corner and if the ball is in the opposite corner, we had to stick to her like glue," Straight said of defensive adjustments guarding Namoa. "We put smaller girls on her to try and deny her and when she went to the post, everyone helped in. She is a great player, you can tell they look a lot for her so we tried to not let her get the ball."

The Lunas cut the deficit to seven 16 seconds into the fourth quarter, but Alize Pratt came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer from the right corner, Feary made a pair of foul shots and Kaylee-Brooke Manuel drained a mid-range jumper to spark a 7-0 run to go up 14 to put the game out of reach.

The Lunas play Waiakea at 3 p.m. in the consolation bracket at the Stan Sheriff Center.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].




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