The first regular-season game in the Joe Cho-era of Kamehameha girls basketball is now in the books and while the result — a 42-39 loss at Maryknoll Wednesday — wasn't quite what he hoped for, he remained optimistic about the progress being made by his team.

"We've still got a ways to go," said Cho, who was most recently head football coach at McKinley from 2010 to the end of the 2014 season when he resigned his position upon being named the man-in-charge of the Warrior girls. "You know, I changed my colors from white, black and gold to blue and white, but you're still coaching kids and trying to coach kids to do what you want them to do. Unfortunately we were a little short tonight, but let's hope that next time we're not."

Cho, a 1972 graduate of McKinley, spent many years coaching both boys and girls basketball in Oregon before returning to Hawaii, so he understands the ups and downs of a long season.

"It's a tough way to open up the ILH season, but hey, you've got to play them all, so we'll look forward to playing them again," Cho said of the Spartans.

The Warriors are looking to replace standouts Alohi Robins-Hardy in the post and Tiare Kanoa at the point guard position. Both players signed with Division-I programs (Robins-Hardy with BYU and Kanoa with Arizona State) and left a void of experienced players for Cho's first season.

"I've got very young players. Not a lot of my girls have played varsity D1, so falling behind (12-4) in the first quarter did hurt us, but I was really proud that we came back, made it a game, kept it close and it could have gone to overtime, you never know, but we'll be ready for next time, for sure," Cho said.

Over on the opposing bench, Maryknoll coach Chico Furtado is dealing with a lot of the same issues Cho is this year.

"We have a bunch of young players on the court, so it's not always going to be smooth sailing, but we're continuing to look for leadership from our seniors and our captains," said Furtado, who figures to rely on a handful of freshmen this year.

Among those who have graduated for the the Spartans is point guard Cianna Ochoco, whose spot will be filled primarily by freshman Rhianne Omori this season.

"Our post kids are very young, too," Furtado said. "All three of those kids in the (power forward) and (center) positions are all freshmen, so it's going to be a kind of learn-as-you-go year for them, but I think they'll be better for it in the long run. We're very talented, our skill set with a bunch of our kids is good, (but) we're trying to get them to play with their heads and be smart with that. It's a work in progress."