Iolani rallies past Maryknoll to punch ticket to states

Greg Yamamoto | SL

One Team is headed back to states.

Iolani got contributions from a myriad of players in a 50-41 win over Maryknoll in a winner-take-all playoff game, locking up the ILH's final berth to the Hele/HHSAA Division I Girls Basketball Championships.

"Marknoll was a tough team to beat, but we played as a team and we played together," said Rayah Soriano of the win.

Hailey Fernandez scored a game-high 15 points and dished out three assists and Soriano added 11 more points and added a rally killing steal turned fast break layup to pace Iolani, who nearly had four players hit double digits, with Justice Kekauoha (11 points, nine rebounds) and Chelsea Lee (nine points, three assists) all doing their part in the scoring department.

"One thing we focused on was playing as a team, no hero ball," said Fernandez. "I think we did that today, we executed not just on offense but defense as well."

That uptick is scoring from Raiders' guards, especially those not named Justice, may not have been the magic bullet, but was at least one clear point of difference between a one point loss four days prior, the other being a more concerted effort to limit the scoring opportunities for Pua Herrington.

"Its really hard to stop her with just one player so its a collective effort," Fernandez said of Herrington. "We all had to help and be in communication because she's always a threat."

The Maryknoll senior guard may have scored just 12 points, but still did all she could and then some, racking up 10 rebounds while leading the team in assists (3), steals (3) and blocks (1).

Early on it was the play of Lee, who scored a quick five points in the early going to help the Raiders establish an early margin. Post Charlotte Galloway, saddled with foul trouble that limited her effectiveness down the stretch, also made her presence felt, pulling down 11 rebounds and blocking three shots, one of them an emphatic swat of a shot in the interior by the Spartans.

"They just played their heart out and Chelsea did a really good job of stopping Pua, we just needed to all do our parts to make sure we got this win tonight," said Soriano.

Maryknoll ended the half with a flurry of threes by Skylyn Moore to take a 25-20 advantage into the break, but Iolani chipped away methodically at the margin through the third quarter, eventually breaking through in the early stages of the fourth on a Fernandez layup. The Spartans tied the contest up again at 38 on two made free throws by Haikela Hiraishi, but the Raiders quickly responded with a Kekauoha jumper followed by a dagger triple by Fernndez to extend the margin out to five.

Soriano's pass interception and three-quarter court sprint to a layup was a back-breaking play that extended the lead out to seven and all but sank the hopes for a rally for Maryknoll.

"When Rayah stepped up with that steal, that just brought up the energy," said Fernandez.

Iolani will host Leilehua in the opening round of the Division I tourney on Monday, Feb. 2, opening tip set for 6 p.m.