Maryknoll stuns Punahou, 41-34

Maryknoll's Maile Goodin attempts to steal the ball from Punahou's Kaitlyn Waki. Sylvia Lee | SL

Overcoming a poor start, host Maryknoll made a triumphant return to Division I by defeating Punahou 41-34 in the ILH opener for both teams.

After Maryknoll scored the first basket 30 seconds into the game, Punahou scored 11 straight points-8 of which came directly off turnovers-holding the Spartans without a field goal the rest of the quarter. During that stretch Hailey Motooka scored six of her game-high 11 points.

"It was nerves in the first quarter. This is a big boost from Division II." said Maryknoll head coach Chico Furtado, who also made a successful return to Division I after being a D2 assistant last season.

"Our goal is to minimize turnovers" added Furtado. Maryknoll did just that with no turnovers in the second quarter, took the lead 16-15 with 1:44 left on a basket by Siena Shupe and extended it to 21-15 at the half.

Punahou hit a pair of 3-pointers to start the third quarter, tied the score at 23 midway through and took a 31-30 lead into the final quarter when Motooka made a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left.

After missing its first five shots, Maryknoll took the lead for good 32-31 on Crystie Wong's basket. Siena Shupe finished with a team-high 10 points, while Wong added 8.

Against a pressure defense, Punahou could manage just 1 of 11 field goal attempts in the fourth quaeter and committed 7 fouls trying to catch up. The Spartans pulled away gradually, but made it interesting by hitting just 5 of 14 last quarter free throws.

"We almost let them back in by not capitalizing on free throws" said Furtado. "But, I am proud of the way we came back. We put on our hard hats and controlled the glass. We spend a whole lot of time on defense. We want to keep the score in the 30's or 40's"

Punahou had better shooting percentages - 14 of 39 (36%) and 3 of 9 treys (33%) to Maryknoll's 13 of 42(321%) and 2 of 11 treys(18%). The Spartans' win came as a results of making 13 free throws (of 29) to only 3 (of 8) for the Buffanblu. Punahou committed 19 fouls and 21 turnovers to only 7 fouls and 10 turnovers for Maryknoll.