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Brandon Ching | ScoringLiveFebruary 7, 2022, 10:29pm
Mon, Feb 7, 2022 @ Iolani
ALA WAI — Top-ranked Iolani started strong and got a big performance from Jovi Wahinekapu Lefotu to roll by No. 7 Punahou, 56-40, in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I single elimination final at the Father Kenneth A. Bray Athletic Center Monday night.
Lefotu, a University of Hawaii commit, finished with 24 points, added four boards, three assists, and three steals to help the Raiders win their third ILH title in a row and end the league season with an 11-0 record.
"She's been the ultimate leader for us. Just creating baskets for everyone, attacking the rim and putting pressure on the defense, setting the tempo," Iolani coach Dean Young said of Lefotu.
"It's all to my team, they helped me out. It was all team points, it's all up to them and the coaching staff," Lefotu said.
Iolani played a condensed schedule and faced Punahou, Maryknoll, and Kamehameha three times in the regular season.
"It was not easy at all. It seems easy on paper at 11-0, but every game was a battle. All these ILH teams were tough and we had to bring our A game every night so it was difficult and exhausting. The team is battle-tested. There were games where we had to close it out in a smart way. You get that when you're challenged. It's a good experience for us going into the state tournament," Young said.
The Raiders got strong scoring performances from Jaety Mandaquit who had 13 on 6-for-6 shooting from the field, Haylie-Anne Ohta added 11 and was 3-for-4 from the 3-point line, and Mele Sake hauled in seven rebounds.
Keilani Stewart led the Buffanblu (5-6) with 12 points and Kuualoha Lloyd had eight in the loss but Punahou reaches the state tournament for the first time since 2016.
Lefotu fueled an early 10-0 run to open the first quarter with seven early points and had 10 of the team's 15 quarter points as the Raiders went into the second quarter with a nine point lead.
"We wanted to come out fast and set the tempo and tone with our pressure and just try to wear them out. So whenever we can get out like that the plan is working," Young said.
Tanea Loa went 1 for 2 from the free throw line 50 seconds into the second quarter, but Ohta hit a 3-pointer from the left corner and Mandaquit had a steal and fast break layup to cap a 7-0 scoring run and forced a timeout from Punahou at the 5:58 mark.
"She's our point guard, a coach's daughter, we rely on her a lot IQ wise. She's athletic and great on ball. We expect a lot of her defensively and running the offense," Young said of Haylie.
Loa made the Buffanblu's first field goal from an inbounds pass from Shayna Suzuki, but Lefotu got to her spot and hit a jumper and Mandaquit had another steal and layup in transition to go up, 26-9.
"The little things, the rebounds and steals, it all adds up. It's all on defense, it leads to our offense. Prioritizing our defense helps push into our offense," Lefotu said.
Punahou put together a 9-2 scoring run to get within 11, 28-17 with under two minutes to go in the quarter. Ohta scored the next five points and Lefotu led the fast break and dished it to Keiki Mcgee to help Iolani close the quarter on a 7-3 run to go up by 18.
"It's really helpful to have someone who can rebound and push the floor. Team chemistry, I know when we get down, they're coming down to help out and they're there when we need a dish so it's really helpful," Lefotu said about getting in transition.
Lloyd was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1.5 seconds to go and hit all three free throws but trailed, 35-20 going into halftime.
"It's unfortunate, but we learned from that to give the refs a chance to blow the whistle on a Hail Mary shot like that. It's a good teaching moment for the whole team that you can't let that stuff happen. We gave them three easy buckets and momentum going in the half," Young said.
Lefotu scored off a curl from Ohta and scored the next four points to put the Raiders up, 41-24. Stewart scored eight of her 12 points in the third quarter.
The Raiders led by as much as 18 in the final stanza. Both teams emptied the bench late in the game.
Punahou shot 11 of 13 (84.6 percent) from the free throw line while Iolani shot 6 of 11 (54.5 percent).
The Buffanblu won the battle of the boards and out rebounded the Raiders, 24 to 17.
"I feel really good. We're possibly peaking at the right time. Our conditioning is getting better. A lot of good things are happening at the right time. But we have work to do, we could get better. We were really bad on the defensive boards today so there's a lot we can work on," Young said.
Iolani won the previous three matchups against Punahou, 54-47 on Jan. 15, 54-34 on Jan. 22, and 53-37 on Jan. 27.
Both teams clinch spots in the Heide & Cook/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships starting on Feb. 14 with seeding to be determined.
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