Iolani holds off Punahou in defensive struggle, 41-36

Iolani's Alex Masaquel and Taimane Passi battle for a rebound against Punahou. Evan Asato | SL

Thanks to Sheyla Pua Kahalehoe who scored all five of her team's fourth quarter points, Iolani held off Punahou 41-36 in a fierce ILH defensive struggle at the winners' gym.

Iolani improved to 3-1 in ILH play, while Punahou dropped to 2-3.

Combining a pressing defense that forced 21 turnovers with a tough inside presence that unofficially blocked 5 shots, the Raiders took the games' biggest lead 36-25 on Klein Masutani's basket off a turnover with 1:15 left in the third quarter

Defense ruled in the final quarter with some spectators wondering aloud if it might be scoreless. Punahou finally made a field goal with 2:10 left, while Iolani's first point came on Kahalehoe's free throw with 1:20 to play.

When Iolani missed a couple of free throws in bonus situations and Punahou's Keaupono Fey surprised the Raiders with a layup following a time-out, the Buffanblu were within three, 37-34 with 44 seconds to play. It was the closest Punahou had been since midway in the second quarter when they trailed 14-11.

After an Iolani missed free throw with 37.5 seconds left, Kahalehoe stole a Punahou pass and made a layup to expand the lead to 39-34.

Punahou freshman, Astra Kidani, who led her team in scoring with 10 points - including their only three-pointer - sank a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left to pull the Buffanblu within three 39-36..

But Kahalehoe responded again with a pair of throws with 23.1 seconds left to priovide the final margin.

"Punahou played tough defense and we missed a lot of free throws," said Iolani coach Eddie Maruyama, talking about a fourth quarter in which the Raiders made only 3-of-10 at the charity stripe.

After the teams battled on even terms in the first quarter, Iolani stepped up its pressing defense, forcing 14 turnovers in the middle two quarters to apparently take control of the game. Unable to penetrate the Raiders' inner defense, Punahou-which led only once, 2-0- attempted to shoot from long range, but missed its first 10 three-pointers before Kidani finally made one with 46 seconds left in the third quarter. The Buffanlu ended up 1 for 13 from long range.

To keep up the pressure, Iolani continued its platoon system, substituting an entire five near the midpoint of each quarter. "We like to play uptempo and give a lot the opportunity to play," explained Maruyama. Eleven players saw action for the Raiders, with seven scoring. Alex Masaquel led all scorers with 12 and dominated the inside. Kahalehoe added 11 and Jade Botelho had 8.

Both Iolani and Punahou try to reverse earlier season losses in their next games. Punahou faces Maryknoll on Thursday and Iolani takes on Kamehameha on Saturday.