Hilo's Chailey Cabalis led the way with 12 points and 7 rebounds for the Vikings. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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021015_HiloNan3752.jpg - Greg Yamamoto | SL

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SALT LAKE — Hilo's balanced offense and relentless defense were too much for Nanakuli to handle as the Vikings doused the Golden Hawks, 64-41 in the opening round of the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Girls Basketball Championships at Moanalua's gymnasium Tuesday night. 

The Vikings, ranked No. 6 in the ScoringLive/OC16 Girls Basketball Power Rankings, will advance to face Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Maryknoll in the quarterfinals.

Hilo saw six players finish with at least eight points. Forward Chailey Cabalis led the way with 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Also scoring in double figures for the Vikings was Faith Loeak and Shalyn Guthier with 10 points each. Post Alexis Pana added a near double-double of eight points and nine assists.

The Vikings really brought the defensive pressure early and forced 10 Nanakuli turnovers in the first quarter. With Cabalis and Sharlei Graham-Bernisto hounding the Golden Hawks' guards, Hilo was able to take a 21-6 lead after the opening period.

"That was our gameplay knowing that they (have some) talented big players," said Hilo coach Ben Pana. "We decided that we would go after their ball handlers on top and help our post players (with) defending the bigger players they had." 

Cabalis led the first quarter effort, scoring 10 of her team-high 12 points in the frame.

"After a big loss at the (league) championship (against Konawaena), we felt like we had to redeem ourselves," said Cabalis. "My teammates, they pushed me. That's who I play for." 

Hilo started off the second quarter on a 8-0 run to take a 29-6 lead. Pana and Graham-Bernisto each knocked down a trey during this stretch. Nanakuli stopped the run momentarily with four quick points, but a triple from Mandi Kawaha pushed the lead back over 20. The Vikings never strayed away from their gameplan for the remainder of the period and took a 41-17 halftime lead on Guthier's 3-pointer at the buzzer.

"They're just more athletic. They're a really good team," said Nanakuli coach Randy Kauhane. "We knew exactly what they was coming in with. We thought we were prepared and we believed we could compete, (but) they're just a good team. Take nothing away from them. When they banged all their outside shots, you couldn't really do anything." 

Nanakuli committed a total of 30 turnovers in the contest. Hilo led by as many as 32 points in the fourth quarter, 62-30.

Point guard Ciera O'Brien led the Golden Hawks in the loss, finishing with a game-high 15 points and the team's only made 3-pointer.

Tip-off between Hilo and fourth-ranked Maryknoll will follow the conclusion of the Radford-Lahainaluna game before it.

"Didn't get a chance to see them play this year, but from what I understand, they graduated a lot of bigs, just looking at the rosters," coach Pana said on his team's upcoming matchup with the Spartans. "Height wise we match up pretty good with them. They're a quick team – we're a quick team. It's going to come down to who takes care of the ball and who has less turnovers."