Hawaii Baptist's Hayley Dixon made two threes against Hanalani. Brien Ing | SL

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Hawaii Baptist's Rylie Wada goes up for a shot attempt as Hanalani's Lyna Kehler defends. Brien Ing | SL

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Hanalani's Sarah Liva soars over Hawaii Baptist's Jenee' Brown for a rebound. Brien Ing | SL

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Hawaii Baptist players celebrate after a win over Hanalani. Brien Ing | SL

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Sat, Jan 19, 2013 @ Hawaii Baptist

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Hanalani

36

Hawaii Baptist

44

Final	1	2	3	4
Hanalani (7-3, 9-5)	8	12	3	13	36
Hawaii Baptist (10-0, 12-3)	8	12	8	16	44

H. Dixon 11 pts  2 3pm  1/4 FTs

S. Liva 23 pts  1 3pm  4/8 FTs

On senior night, Hawaii Baptist Academy rode balanced scoring and an effective game of keep-away down the stretch to a 44-36 win over Hanalani.

The victory improved the Eagles' ILH Division II record to a perfect 8-0 and opened a commanding two-game lead with two games to play in the battle for the league's automatic state tournament berth.  The Royals dropped to 6-2, falling to third place behind University High (7-2).

Four HBA starters scored 8 points or more and the Eagles made 6 three-pointers.  Hayley Dixon and Rylie Wada had 11, Jenee Brown 10 and Stephanie Dang 8.  The Eagles "held" Hanalani's high scoring Sarah Liva to 23 points. No other Hanalani player scored more than five.

When Hanalani's Lyne Kehler scored her team's first three-pointer, the game was tied for the fourth time at 33 with 4:30 left.  Forty seconds later, Brown stole a pass, drove the length of the court, was fouled and made one of two free throws to put HBA ahead for good.  Brown added a layup to put HBA ahead 36-33 and the Eagles called time out with 2:39 left.

HBA smartly passed the ball around Hanalani's zone, and the Royals were unable to force a turnover despite their coach Charles Hiers constantly urging his team to "get the ball".  Hanalani was forced to foul and HBA sealed the win by making 8 of 12 free throws in the final 57 seconds, including three front ends of 1 and 1s.

"We practice that set to finish out quarters" said HBA coach Keith Sugiura of the Eagles' taking the air out of the ball.

The game was tied 8-8 after the first quarter in which HBA made only 1 of 8 from beyond the arc against Hanalani's zone defense.  Liva converted 3 offensive rebounds into 6 of her team's points.

In the second quarter, HBA suddenly found the range from long distance, making its first 3 treys, two by Dixon.  When she made another field goal, HBA had the game's biggest lead, 19-10 with five minutes left in the first half.  But LIva added six more points in the final 2:41 to lift the Royals to a 20-20 halftime tie.

Both teams shot poorly from the field in the third quarter - HBA was 3 for 11 and Hanalani 1 for 10 -  but Dang
excited the home crowd with a buzzer beater to put the Eagles up 28-23.

After Brown opened the final quarter with a trey, HBA led by eight, 31-23, only to see Liva score her team's next seven points to
keep the outcome in doubt until HBA revailed down the stretch.

HBA double and tripled-teamed Liva, who averaged 34.7 points in her last three games.  "We addressed her early.  We wanted to  cover her from behind and prevent her first step to the basket.  She is so strong and athletic."  said Sugiura.

Said Hanalani coach Hiers,  "We couldn't get shots to drop.  They tripled-teamed Sarah.  She missed some shots that she normally makes.  That was the difference."

HBA honored five seniors - Dixon, Kelsey Bajet, Torie Miyoi, Lauren Sumida and Hailey Chong. - with a post-game ceremony.

"They can celebrate tonight.  But then we look ahead to our next game and not pay attention to the standings.  I want to especially mention Hayley (Dixon).  She is a hard worker and our team leader."  said Sugiura.