The Hawaii Baptist girls basketball team used a strong inside game to power to a 34-29 victory over third seeded Kauai in the quarterfinals of the Heide and Cook Division II Girls State Championships.

Senior Hayley Taka led the Eagles with 14 points, six rebounds, an assist, two steals and a blocked shot. Fellow post player Joey Lin added a double-double, tallying 12 points and 12 rebounds. The junior also added two steals.  HBA's third post, senior Alyssa Young, grabbed seven boards to help the cause.

Following an opening round game victory - where five different players combined to drain eight three-pointers - the Eagles could only muster a lone trey (by junior Trislyn Maeda) against the Kauai Interscholastic Federation Champion Red Raiders.

Both teams struggled to score in the opening quarter.  Then HBA extended a narrow 6-3 lead with a 9-0 run to begin the second quarter.  A basket by Taka gave the Eagles a 15-3 lead with 3:51 left before halftime.  

However, the Red Raiders closed the quarter with a 9-1 run of their own, highlighted by a layup and a triple from freshman guard Denise Alfonso.  Kauai entered halftime down 16-12, but seemingly with momentum.

At the break, the Eagles decided to adjust their game plan slightly. "We knew we were rebounding well, so we told the team to get the ball inside to Joey and Hayley", said HBA Coach Robin Yamaguchi.  "We felt it would benefit us to pepper the basket, especially since we weren't shooting well from the outside."

The plan worked. Taka and Lin combined for 14 of the Eagles' 18 second half points. 

When Taka made a driving bank shot with 2:31left in the game, HBA held its largest lead of the half, 34-27. Kauai answered with a layup by Alfonso, then the Eagles called timeout with 1:04 remaining.

Coming out of the timeout, with Kauai sitting on three team fouls, HBA went to a motion offense. Inexplicably, the Red Raiders chased the ball before finally fouling with 13.4 seconds left.  Kauai would only commit one more foul and the Eagles' Maeda dribbled out the clock as time expired.

HBA coach Robin Yamaguchi was not surprised with the tight, physical game. "On film we saw that number 33 (junior Hema Nakaahiki-Young) was a big who could give us problems.  And we thought their guards showed poise and quickness. We knew it would be a battle…we feel fortunate to get the win."

The win sets up an all-ILH semi-final with Hanalani, a 51-50 victor over 2nd seeded Hawaii Prep.  

The teams split the season series with each team winning on their opponent's home court. The Eagles prevailed 42-37 on January 19, while the Royals won 50-45 on January 27.

Hanalani won the D2 state title in 2020, while HBA was the 2019 titleist. Tip-off is Friday, 5:00 pm at Kalani High School.

Hanalani inches past Hawaii Prep on last gasp shot, 51-50

Hanalani escaped with a 51-50 victory over Hawaii Prep to advance to the Division II semifinals.

Rylee Matsuda's only made basket in the game was also the biggest, as Faith Mersburgh found Maria Ralar with an inbounds pass from the near sideline that narrowly slipped through a trio of Hawaii Prep players.

Ralar somehow secured the pass and spun, then raced down court, two dribbles larer finding a wide open Matsuda, who lofted a layup attempt just barely over the fingertips of a Ka Makani defender.

The ball went off the backboard and touched the front iron before dropping with just four seconds left in regulation.

On the ensuing play, Hawaii Prep tried to inbounds the ball near the top of the circle in the backcourt,, but a Hanalani player deflected it and a scrum of players from both teams trying to retrieve the loose ball as the final buzzer sounder.

The Royals led by 12 at the end of three but saw Ka Makani mount a furious rally in the fourth that was capped off by a pair of free throws by KaiJa Kaahu with 52 seconds left that gave the BIIF champs the lead for the first time in the game.

Down the stretch, Hawaii Prep had a chance to pad the margin, but missed free throws in the final seconds gave Hanalani a chance to win it with a single basket.

Ellana Klemp scored a game-high 21 points in the win. She also pulled down 11 rebounds and added four steals. Faith Mersburgh chipped in 13 points and five rebounds and Chera-Lei Heirs 10 points and 10 boards.

A trio of Hawaii Prep players hit for double figures, led by Kaahu with 18 points, five boards and four steals. Kyana Brucelas added 15 points and 13 rebounds and Brooke Samura 12 points and seven boards.