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Brandon Ching | ScoringLiveJanuary 29, 2024, 11:56pm
Mon, Jan 29, 2024 @ Iolani
The Warriors were looking to force another game, but the Raiders had other ideas.
No. 1 Iolani rallied from a third quarter deficit and pulled away in the fourth to beat No. 4 Kamehameha-Kapalama, 45-34, in the ILH Division I single-elimination final at the Father Kenneth A. Bray Center Monday.
The Raiders (9-0) concluded an undefeated ILH season for the first time since the 2021-22 season to claim their fifth-straight league title and a seeded berth in the HHSAA/Heide & Cook Girls Basketball State Championships.
"This one feels rewarding. The other ones were good games, but we weren't down to have to come from behind," said senior Mele Sake, who won three ILH championships.
After beating Punahou (1-8) on Saturday, 61-37, to reach the single-elimination final, the Warriors finished 4-6 in league play. Five of the six losses came against Iolani and a forfeit to Punahou for a make up game on Jan. 26.
Justice Kekauoha scored eight of her 13 points in the fourth quarter to lead Iolani. Mia Frye was the next leading scorer with eight, Hailey Fernandez added seven, and Keiki McGee and Kanoe Hanohano each with six.
Nihoa Dunn led all scorers with 16 points and put the team on her back in the third quarter to score 10 of the team's 14 points in the period.
Iolani ended the third quarter on a 8-2 run. Kekauoha hit a jumper to tie the game at 31 and Hanohano gave the Raiders the lead with a triple.
"When we were down, we did not panic. We did our game, that helped a lot. No one was getting mad at each other when we missed shots," Sake said.
Rylee Cabuyadao-Caswell hit a wide-open 3-pointer from the left wing, but that was the only field goal the Warriors would hit in the fourth.
"They hit some tough shots. They were able to connect on some. We weren't able to swing back. Game of runs, here, there, couldn't get really fully get it swung back," Kamehameha coach Pua Straight said.
Iolani closed out the final quarter on a 12-0 run sparked by Kekauoha. She hit converted a dump off from Callie Pieper on the right block then hit a running layup over Dunn to make it, 40-34 to force a Warrior timeout.
Mikylah Labanon went to the free throw line with 2:15 to go but came away empty-handed. McGee nailed a 3-pointer from the wing and Kekauoha put on the finishing touches with a drive for the final points of the night.
Kekauoha scored in double figures in four of the five matchups against the Warriors.
Dunn averaged 10.6 points per game in the five games against Iolani. Despite the loss, the Warriors make it to the state tournament for the second year in a row and plays in the first round starting Monday, Feb. 5.
"We have a week to prepare for our first state tournament game. We are looking at the matchups we'll have, focusing on ourselves a little bit too. The ILH is game-plan heavy and focusing on what we need to get better at. We feel good, we're happy to be representing the ILH, it's a tough league. Clawing at it year after year and to make it two years in a row, we're proud of our girls for being able to represent the ILH in the state tournament," Straight said.
Iolani jumped out to a 9-3 lead after the first quarter after Callie Pieper found McGee backdoor. Fernandez put the Raiders up seven off a 3-pointer, but Kamehameha answered with Ariana Ferreira-Torralba's triple and Dunn's free throws to get within two. Frye hit a floater in the lane for a 14-10 lead.
"We tried a few different combinations that we weren't able to do the first few times. We liked some of those things. Kept it close," Straight said.
Kamaka Fonoti gave the Warriors the lead from a tip in from the baseline inbounds and Rylee Paranada put back her own miss to keep a one point lead. Frye tied the game with a free throw at 15 after taking a hard fall. Dunn went bank, but Kekauoha hit a floater to deadlock the game at 17 that held up into halftime.
"Boxing out. They got their points off offensive rebounds. We emphasized boxing out," Sake said.
Kamehameha got to the free throw line, but converted four of their 10 attempts. The Warriors finished 5 for 13 from the charity stripe.
"That was the emphasis for us. The past few games they've been pretty physical with us, full court on the ball, handsy, on the block very physical. We wanted to be aggressive and attack the paint. Our free throw percentage wasn't great, but we definitely got some aggressive looks, which I'm happy about," Straight said.
Iolani attempted two free throws in the first half, but made seven of their 11 attempts in the second half.
Labanon went coast-to-coast and hit a left-handed layup. Fernandez could not convert the 3-point play but her shot gave Iolani a 21-19 lead.
"We tried our best to push, but they're a fast team and they get back really well. They try to push too. That's a big emphasis for us, we love to crash, but if you're crashing and you're not getting the ball, you have to get back. They're a team that likes to push in transition too," Straight said.
Dunn went to work to score the next 10 points. She hit a jumper to tie the game at 21 then followed up with a 3-point play. Dunn canned a triple and scored from the left block that forced an Iolani timeout for a 29-21 lead with 2:50 left in the third.
"The third quarter was the big one we wanted to try and solidify coming out strong in the third which we did, but as they started to gain momentum back toward the end of the third I think we weren't able to get it back in our favor in terms of momentum," Straight said.
Fernandez hit a pair of free throws, but Makenzie Alapai answered by going glass to go back up eight.
"In the first half, they were calling it consistently. They were the ones getting the drives and foul calls. We started to attack more, it started to open up more for us," Sake said.
Kekauoha and McGee each split free throws to get within six and Mele Sake hit a 3-pointer near the top after Kekauoha kicked it out back to her to cut the deficit in half. Frye was fouled on a drive, but split her pair of free throws to trail, 31-29 going into the fourth quarter.
"The coaches told me I have the green light," Sake said of shooting 3s. "Also my man wasn't coming out to me on the 3, so I just knew to be ready to shoot."
The Warriors were seeking its first win over the Raiders since Jan. 24, 2023. A win on Monday would've forced a tie-breaker game on Wednesday. Kamehameha was seeking its first ILH title for the first time since 2013.
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