Punahou's Kamaile Kandiah puts up a running shot against Iolani. Kandiah scored 14 points in a win over the Raiders. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Thu, Jan 21, 2016 @ Iolani

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Punahou

50

Iolani

41

Final	1	2	3	4
Punahou (12-3, 19-10)	12	12	14	12	50
Iolani (6-7, 8-11)	10	12	8	11	41

T. Wu 15 pts  2 3pm  5/6 FTs

K. Kandiah 14 pts  1 3pm  1/3 FTs

Lexie Taylor stepped into the starting lineup and stepped up for the Punahou girls basketball team Thursday night.

Taylor hit three first-half 3-pointers and scored a season-high 14 points in her first start of the season to help fourth-ranked Punahou to a 50-41 win over sixth-ranked Iolani before a crowd of about 150 at the Raiders' lower gym.

Kamaile Kandiah also had 14 points and Elle Uyeda added 10 for the Buffanblu, who improved to 8-1 in the Division I standings of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and 12-7 overall.

"It was really tough because we had to come back harder because we knew that they wanted to beat us but we just had a fire to just keep it up and we worked hard and we got a team win tonight," said Taylor, whose previous season-high was seven points.

Taylor, a 5-foot-5 junior guard started in place of senior Abby Aplaca, who injured her knee in practice last week. She missed her first attempt from behind the arc before draining a 3-pointer from straight away to break a 7-all tie late in the first quarter.

"That was huge for her. She's been working hard at practice," Punahou coach Elizabeth Kam said. "The last couple of games she's had solid, consistent games. She really plays well within herself and her role for the team; She really understands it and it was nice to see her come through."

The Buffanblu allowed a 8-2 run by the Raiders to fall behind, 22-16, but closed out the first half by scoring the final eight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers from the left corner by Taylor.

"I was just trying to hit it for the team," Taylor said. "I was just running the plays and if I was open I was just going to try and make the 3 for them."

Punahou stretched a 24-22 lead at halftime to 33-26 following a bucket by Kandiah. Iolani got within 33-30 after a outback by Kelsi Ikeda, but Kandiah quickly stretched her team's lead to eight with a layup and buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the third quarter.

"That was huge because it gave us a spark and it also gave us energy," Kam said. "I think our team overall is coming together well. Now we've got to keep working inside-out."

Conversely, Iolani coach Dean Young said the final 28 seconds of the third quarter hindered any chance of a comeback.

"That was a big, big, big basket," Young said of Kandiah's trey. "That really swung the momentum. Being up eight points going into the fourth it's a different kind of ball game for them and us. We had to press a little bit more, they could run flex and burn some clock, take their time on offense so it really changed the dynamic of the fourth quarter. Five points? It might have been a little different, it might have been a little tighter and we may not have had to press so much, so that was a big shot."

The Raiders got no closer than six points the rest of the way and struggled to find consistent offense against Punahou's 1-2-2 zone.

"That really helped us," Kam said. "We definitely practiced identifying their shooters on the outside and not letting shooters get off, because once they get off and in a rhythm, Iolani hits from out there."

Punahou's inside duo of Tyra Moe (four points) and Vae Malufau (eight points) were mostly held in check, but Young credited Taylor for filling their scoring void.

"She was huge for them," Young said. "We know we've got to game plan for their two bigs, we know we've got to game plan for Kamaile, but when other players step up like that it's difficult. You can only take away so much with how small we are."

The Raiders fell to 4-5 in league play and 6-9 overall. They will host No. 3 Maryknoll Saturday.

The Buffanblu, who will host Sacred Hearts Saturday, swept all three regular-season meetings against Iolani.