Cameron Fernandez puts up a shot in the paint against Mililani. Fernandez scored 23 points and pulled down six rebounds in a win over the Trojans. Sylvia Lee | SL

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02111639_5X0A7745.jpg - Sylvia Lee | SL

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Lahainaluna up-tempo offense and pressure defense overwhelmed Mililani in a 77-38 win in the quarterfinals of the OC16/HHSAA Division I Girls Basketball Championships.

Post Keleah-Aiko Koloi went inside and guard Cameron Fernandez took it outside, with each scoring 23 points each to pace the Lunas, who shot 51.7 percent from the floor and hit 10 of 11 free throws.

"I think we can play both styles, we can play a power game on the inside, we can shoot the ball from the outside pretty decently, we can slash to the basket," said Lahainaluna head coach Todd Rickard. "That's what I'm talking about being well balanced and things. It's just a matter if the shots are going to fall or not."

The Lunas built a 20-0 lead to seize control early, which was exactly the kind of start they were looking for.

"We tried to come out with a bang, get the flow of the game going as best as we could," said Fernandez. "(Coach Rickard) wanted us to come out and get our legs warm since they were already warmed up and this was our first game. We just tried to get our job done and we did."

The bang to start things off came courtesy of the Lunas' defense, forcing eight straight Trojans' turnovers through a blend on full-court pressure and healthy doses of on-ball defense in the half court.

"That's definitely how we play. We play with a fast pace with a lot of pressure on ball," said Rickard. "For the full court we put some pressure and was fortunate to come away with some turnovers to build a decent lead. For the half court sets we just played position D, got our hands, deflected some balls that led to some easy layups on the other side."

Mililani regrouped and made a push in the second, notching the first five points in the quarter and outscoring the Lunas 16-13 in the period, led by 8 points by Jazmina Lafitaga. The Lunas still led 43-23.

But the Lunas came out firing the third quarter, just as they did to open up their account in the first.

"If our outside shots are dropping then that's what gets us in the flow," said Fernandez of what the Lunas try to do offensively. "If it's not, then we always look to Keleah since she's such a big threat in the low post."

And look to Koloi they did. The 6-foot-1 scored the first ten points of the quarter to extend the lead to 30, part of a 24-8 scoring run in the third that pushed the lead to 67-31.

Both teams emptied their benches in fourth quarter with the game well out of reach.

The Lunas forced 33 Trojans' turnovers while turning the ball over just 17 times, but committed 25 fouls to the Trojans' seven.

"We are, we just need to be smarter, we need to stop," said Fernandez when asked about the agressive play on defense. "We reached too much and we ride a lot too and get our hands off the players as well. We just have to be smarter and give the player a lot more space."