Moanalua's Jamaal Willis and Kamehameha's Kiani Halushka led their respective teams to big victories last week. ScoringLive photo illustration

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MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Jamaal Willis, Moanalua basketball
Moanalua boys' basketball coach Byron Mello makes it clear to Jamaal Willis what he expects from him and the senior has answered the call more often than not.

Willis certainly did last week when he scored game-highs of 14 and 23 points in playoff wins over Kapolei and Mililani, respectively.

"We count on him to score, we count on him to defend on the perimeter and we count on him to hit tough shots when we need him to and he's been able to do that so far," Mello said of Willis.

The 5-foot-10 wing is averaging a team-best 15.1 points per game, which ranks him fourth in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference and fifth in all of Division I.

"Jamaal is a slasher and when he looks to take the ball to the rim and find a rhythm, he's a really nice player," Mello said. "When he shoots jumpers early and misses those, he tends to stress and his game spirals, but lately he's been doing a good job of shooting good shots and pushing the ball in transition."

Na Menehune finished third in the Red East with an 8-3 record, which included overtime wins over Kahuku and McKinley.

"Part of it is I think these guys really enjoy the challenge of close games, being down, going to overtime and having to make plays," Mello said. "They can make plays when they need do, which in turn, gives us self confidence."

A seven-point loss to Kailua in the regular-season finale proved to be a blessing in disguise for Moanalua.

"In hindsight, it definitely was a good loss because we came out on fire against Kapolei and got a really good win against Mililani to get into states," Mello said. "As disappointing as it was to lose on senior night, it added some fuel to our fire."

Although Na Menehune lost to Farrington in the semifinals of the OIA Red Tournament Tuesday night, they already achieved of their major goals this season.

"We wanted to compete for the OIA championship and wanted to make the state tournament," Mello said. "To get it done on Thursday instead of having to go through the consolation side of the bracket was definitely a huge sense of relief. We're looking forward to representing ourselves well in the state tournament."

If Moanalua is to do well in states, they will count on a heavy senior class that includes Willis, Antoine Hines, Aaron Stuart and Elo Badua.

"They've played together for a while and I think they're playing this season with greater sense of urgency because they obviously recognize they're seniors now and a 13- or 14- week season goes by in the blink of an eye," Mello said. "They're able to bear down when things get tough and bring themselves together. We've been winning a lot of close games, coming back versus really good teams and we're tough on the road and all of that is reflective of the level of maturity and leadership that we have from our seniors."

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Kiani Halushka, Kamehameha soccer
Kiani Halushka made her final high school soccer game one to remember.

The senior forward scored three goals — all in the first half — to lead Kamehameha to their eighth state championship with a 4-1 win over Aiea Saturday night.

"She played absolutely amazing," Warriors' coach Missy Moore said. "We all know she has it in her, but for her to do it in a big game on such a big stage, was phenomenal and I couldn't be happier for her."

Halushka, the Warriors' leading scorer, found the goal in the 12th, 27th and 37th minutes after failing to score in each of her team's previous two state-tournament games. She was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

"It was coming, it was definitely coming and I told her that," Moore said. "The thing is she does so much more than score goals. She had several assists in those games. She makes things happen up there with high pressure, work rate and her distribution skills."

Kamehameha was unseeded in the 12-team tournament after dropping their Interscholastic League of Honolulu-finale to Iolani on a late goal.

"I'm not going to lie, that was definitely a hard one for not only the girls, but the coaches to get over," Moore said. "We took Sunday and Monday off, Tuesday we talked for about 75 minutes on mental toughness, Wednesday we talked again on tactical training and then finally that day we started touching a soccer ball again, so really it was a blessing in disguise."

The Warriors' road to the state championship started off on a shaky note. They were knotted in a 2-2 tie with Castle in Wednesday's first round before scoring seven unanswered second-half goals to run away with it.

"We had some nerves, that's for sure," Moore said. "We got the early lead, made a lot of subs and we just kind of let down a little bit after that and allow them to come back. The players that were out saw what was going on, got their opportunity in the second half and then there was no stopping them."

Moore said the loss to Iolani, coupled with the up-and-down first half against Castle, provided a spark for the rest of the week.

"I think definitely, when you experience some challenges, it's always going to help you get back on track and make you realize that you need to pick up here," Moore said. "Of course, we don't like to get scored on, but we can learn from those mistakes and see what we can do better in future, which i think they did."

Moore describes Halushka as a coach on the field, which helped make her job easier this season.

"Kiani is probably one of our most vocal captains," Moore said. "She's very coachable, understands what we need from her and what we need the team to do and she's able to relay that to her teammates on the field. It's a huge advantage to have a player that understands what the coaches want and can convey that during the game to the rest of the team."

Saturday's hat trick culminated a busy week for Halushka, who signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Hawaii on Wednesday.

"I was ecstatic for her, it was a great feeling, and she signed with UH so we get to keep watching her," Moore said. "Then to score three in her last high school game just made everything so much more special for her. It was a great week."

BOYS BASKETBALL

Shyrome Batin, Honokaa — Scored 20 points in a loss to Hilo Wednesday

Elijah Butler, Mililani — Scored 17 points in a loss to Moanalua Thursday

Anthony Canencia, University High — Scored 22 points in a loss to Saint Francis Tuesday

Cjay Carvalho, Honokaa — Scored 19 points in a loss to Hilo Wednesday

Jalen Carvalho, Hilo — Scored 32 points in a win over Honokaa Wednesday

Austin Dante, Hilo — Scored 24 points in a win over Honokaa Wednesday

Tevarua Eldridge, Baldwin — Scored 56 points in a win over Lahainaluna Tuesday

Moses Espaniola, Molokai — Scored 17 points in a loss to St. Anthony Friday

Kealen Figueroa, Kohala — Scored 18 points in a loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii Wednesday

Kevin Foster, Roosevelt — Scored 19 points in a win over Waianae Wednesday and 29 points in a loss to Farrington Thursday

Keanu Furtado, Castle — Scored 17 points in a win over Waialua Wednesday

Frederick Harris III, Christian Academy — Scored 22 points in a win over Lanakila Baptist Wednesday and scored 15 points in a loss to Hawaiian Mission Thursday

Kupaa Harrison, Kalaheo — Scored 19 points in a win over Radford Thursday

Malcolm Hill, Radford — Scored 23 points in a win over Kahuku Wednesday

Kyle Husslein, Mid-Pacific — Scored 21 points in a win over Saint Louis Wednesday

Kobe Ikari, Damien — Scored 24 points in a win over Hanalani Wednesday

Seth Jackson, Hawaiian Mission — Scored 20 points in a win over Christian Academy Thursday

Mikala Jordan, Kohala — Scored 24 points in a loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii Wednesday

Chance Kalaugher, Kaiser — Scored 24 points in a win over Aiea Thursday

Cameron King, Seabury Hall — Scored 21 points in a win over Lanai Friday

Joseph Lilio III, Castle — Scored 19 points in a win over Waialua Wednesday

Joshua Luna, Christian Academy — Scored 19 points in a loss to Hawaiian Mission Thursday

Jerrold Mariano, Lanakila Baptist — Scored 24 points in a win over ASSETS Tuesday and scored 18 points in a loss to Christian Academy Wednesday

Preston Masanda, St. Anthony — Scored 17 points in a win over Molokai Friday

Jacob McEnroe, Farrington — Scored 20 points in a win over Roosevelt Thursday

Matthew Nuumanaia, Saint Francis — Scored 23 points in a win over University High Tuesday and scored 15 points in a win over Damien Saturday

Ikaika Phillip, Iolani — Scored 19 points in a win over Punahou Wednesday

Tobias Powell, Radford — Scored 19 points in a win over Kahuku Wednesday

David Rapanot, Molokai — Scored 22 points in a win over St. Anthony Saturday

Brandon Roberts, Kalani — Scored 18 points in a win over Castle Thursday

Roycen Routt, Lanakila Baptist — Scored 17 points in a win over ASSETS Tuesday

Jeff Schaake, Hanalani — Scored 18 points in a loss to Damien Wednesday

Ian Schumaker, Island Pacific — Scored 19 points in a win over Christian Academy Monday

Jaycob Smith, Kamehameha — Scored 24 points in a win over Saint Louis Saturday

Danton Tominaga, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 24 points in a win over Le Jardin Wednesday

Mark Valencia, Hawaiian Mission — Scored 18 points in a win over Island Pacific Wednesday and 19 points in a win over Christian Academy Thursday

Micah Vanaistine, St. Anthony — Scored 22 points in a win over Molokai Friday

Pukana Vincent, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored 32 points in a win over Kohala Wednesday

Kyle Wong, Maryknoll II — Scored 17 points in a win over Iolani II Tuesday and 17 points in a loss to Saint Louis II Thursday

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Riana Arima, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored 24 points in a win over Farrington Thursday and scored 16 points in a win over Hawaii Baptist Friday. Named to Division II All-Tournament Team.

Lindsey Bates, Lahainaluna — Scored 16 points in a win over Maryknoll Saturday

Chailey Cabalis, Hilo — Scored 18 points in a win over Roosevelt Saturday

Brandi Carillo, King Kekaulike — Scored 17 points in a win over Moanalua Friday

Stephanie Dang, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 17 points in a win over Castle Thursday

Lexi Delovio, Maryknoll — Scored 24 points in a loss to Lahainaluna Saturday

Penina Faumui, Farrington — Scored 28 points in a loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii. Named to Division II All-Tournament Team.

Chancis Fernandez, Honokaa — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team.

Eliyah Fernandez, Honokaa — Scored 18 points in a win over Kalani Thursday

Carly Kakuda, Kalani — Scored 18 points in a win over University High Wednesday and scored 18 points in a loss to Honokaa Thursday. Named to Division II All-Tournament team.

Devyn Kauhi, Roosevelt — Scored 16 points in a loss to Hilo Saturday

Brooke Kodama, University High — Scored 20 points in a loss to Kalani Wednesday and scored 17 points in a win over Saint Francis Thursday

Hunter Liftee, Honokaa — Scored 24 points in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii Saturday. Named Most Outstanding Player of Division II Tournament.

Mikaela Limper, Mililani — Scored 17 points in a win over Konawaena Saturday

Sarah Liva, Mililani — Scored 18 points in a win over Radford Friday and 13 points in a win over Konawaena Saturday

LaChae McColor, Moanalua — Scored 24 points in a loss to King Kekaulike Friday

Chanelle Molina, Konawaena — Scored 27 points in a loss to Mililani Saturday

Jasmine Moody, Radford — Scored 16 points in a loss to Mililani Friday

Aaliyah Pana, Hilo — Scored 16 points in a win over Leilehua Friday

Casey Poe, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored 24 points in a win over Le Jardin Wednesday, scored 28 points in a win over Farrington Thursday, 20 points in a win over Hawaii Baptist Friday and 19 points in a loss to Honokaa Saturday. Named to Division II All-Tournament Team.

Lacey Satele, Saint Francis — Scored 24 points in a loss to Kapaa Wednesday

Daysa Tavares, King Kekaulike — Scored 17 points in a loss to Punahou Saturday

Shaney Tiumalu, Castle — Scored 16 points in a win over Kohala Wednesday

Jeneva Toilolo, Farrington — Scored 20 points in a loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii Thursday

Rylie Wada, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 21 points in a loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii Friday

GIRLS SOCCER

Gabbie Ewing, Hawaii Prep — Named Most Outstanding Player of the Division II Tournament

Kelli Fryxell, Kapolei — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

Tia Furuta, Mililani — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

Bianca Gonzales, Kapolei — Scored two goals in a win over Maui Wednesday

Dani Grainger, Hawaii Prep — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team

Jordan Hill, Aiea — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

Shayla Iwata, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team

Hannah Kaina, Kamehameha — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

JC Kerr, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team

Sarah Lau, Kamehameha — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

Sisilia Meli, Kamehameha — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

Kayla Mizo, Kamehameha — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

Morgan Monahan, Hawaii Prep — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team

Shyann Moriguchi, Kamehameha — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

Tasi Reid, Pac-Five — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team

Janaye Shepherd, Mid-Pacific — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team

Cassandra Stetser, Mililani — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

Raisa Strom-Okimoto, Aiea — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

Arielle Stoyanow, Kapolei — Named to Division I All-Tournament Team

Mari Tateishi, Mid-Pacific — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team

Nanea Tavares, Hawaii Prep — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team

Bri Vallente, Hawaii Prep — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team

Kayla Watanabe, Mid-Pacific — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team

Kekai Wong Yuen, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Named to Division II All-Tournament Team