Abrianna Johnson-Edwards led the way with 13 points, all of them coming in the first half, as Iolani jumped out to a big margin early, then withstood a fourth quarter surge by Maryknoll to come away with a hard-fought 54-46 road win.

Post Alex Masquel and Johnson-Edwards combined for 10 points out of the gate, as the Raiders led 18-5 after the first quarter. Then, Johnson-Edwards exploded for 9 more points in the second quarter, as the lead for the visiting team ballooned to 35-18 at halftime.

"I think now we're really starting to play as a team, and reaching our peak right now." said Johnson-Edwards.

Iolani spread the offensive wealth around down the stretch with Sheyla Kahalehoe, Brooke Maeda and Alyssa Liilii each contributing 4 points in a balanced second-half attack.

"Playing together is a big key for us." said Johnson-Edwards, who did not score after intermission. "Getting everyone the ball because we're all capable."

Not willing to go down without a fight, Maryknoll held even with Iolani in the third quarter, led by a pair of triples by Maile Goodin that kept the margin at 17 heading into the final period.

The Spartans went on a 9-0 scoring run over a 5:38 span to cut the deficit to single digits, as Maia Laboy's running layup down the lane cut the lead to 49-41.

"We knew that they (Maryknoll) would come on strong." said Iolani head coach Eddie Maruyama. "Maryknoll always plays hard with coach Chico."

But the home team would not get any closer. A 4-of-12 performance at the charity stripe in the fourth, including a stretch of six straight misses that could have cut into the deficit even further, certainly didn't help.

Iolani also had their share of troubles at the free throw line, shooting just 5-of-11 in the final period, but made them when they were needed most, hitting 3-of-4 to close the door on any comeback by the Spartans.

"You cannot fall that far behind good teams and expect to come back and win these games." said Maryknoll head coach Chico Furtado. "We just gotta get over the hump as a young Division I program, these are the kinds of teams you gotta bang heads with."

Masaquel and Kahalehoe hit double-digits with 10 points a piece, and Jade Botelho added 9 for the Raiders.

Maryknoll got a team-high 13 points from Crystie Wong, including a trio of triples, the last one coming just prior to the final buzzer.