Saint Louis senior guard Jimmy Nunuha and Mililani junior forward Tia Furuta played pivotal roles in wins for their respective teams last week. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Male Athlete of the Week: Jimmy Nunuha, Saint Louis basketball
Saint Louis basketball coach Keith Spencer makes it quite clear that one player sets the tone for the rest of his fifth-ranked Crusaders: Jimmy Nunuha.

"Jimmy is the leader of the team," Spencer said of the 6-foot senior guard. "We go as far as Jimmy goes and everybody knows that."

Nunuha was a big factor in two hard-fought wins for Saint Louis last week over a pair of ranked opponents to open the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season. He scored a team-high 13 points in a 44-42 win over then-No. 5 Maryknoll Wednesday and followed that up with a game-high 14 points in Saturday's 35-31 win over then-No. 1 Iolani.

In the most recent ScoringLive/OC16 Boys Basketball Power Rankings, the Crusaders (2-0) jumped two spots to No. 5. It is their highest ranking this season.

Nunuha scored 10 of his 14 points against the Raiders after halftime.

"At one point in the second half I pulled him on the side and told him, 'big-time players show up in big-time games,' and he shook his head and said, 'OK, I got it, coach,' " Spencer said. "Jimmy can be very unselfish at times, which is not always bad, but there's times when he has to go and take over and (Saturday) night he did that."

Spencer credited the play of his second unit, which allowed Nunuha and some of the other starters to get some much-needed rest after a down-to-the-wire opener against the Spartans just three days prior.

"The game against Maryknoll Jimmy played big minutes — the whole second half — so his legs were tired and down the stretch I saw that, but we were lucky enough to come out with a win," Spencer said. "During the Iolani game the coaches and I made a commitment to get him some rest and keep him fresh down the stretch. He played the whole fourth quarter and did a heck of a job."

Nununa is one of three Saint Louis seniors who have played four years under Spencer on the varsity squad. The others are guards Ihaka Johnson and Kevin Marks.

"They have a lot of playing time and now they're seniors so they understand how possessions work," Spencer said. "Our strength is to go up and down the court, but as knew against Iolani that we would have to be patient, take good shots and value each possession."

Spencer calls Nunuha a "quiet leader."

"In four year he's maybe said 10 sentences to me, but he's talking a lot more now and he's trying to be more vocal on the court," Spencer said. "He's not boisterous, that's not his personality. He leads by example and everybody tends to follow. He's a good kid."

Nunuha and the Crusaders will visit Hemmeter Fieldhouse for a showdown with second-ranked Punahou (2-0) Wednesday.

Female Athlete of the Week: Tia Furuta, Mililani soccer
Much like her older brother Dayton's prowess on the football field, Tia Furuta has been a force to be reckoned with on the pitch this season.

The Mililani junior has scored a league-leading 16 goals this year, including a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Campbell Friday. Furuta, a 5-foot-7 forward, scored one goal in the first half before adding two others in the second to help the Trojans improve to 8-0 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association's Western Division.

"Those are real good goals for us because she worked hard for them," Mililani coach Ray Akiona said. "One was off a header and another one she got off a nice shot on it, but it just shows that she's multifaceted and she works hard to get her goals. I really appreciate what she did for us in that game."

The win helped separate the Trojans from a trio of West contenders in Aiea (6-1), Pearl City (6-1) and Campbell (5-2). It came just three days after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Kapolei Tuesday.

"It's always good to come out with wins against both of those teams," Akiona said of the Hurricanes and Sabers. "They are both top-level teams in our division, so we use it as a gauge to see where we are, but it was good that we had to work hard for both games."

The schedule doesn't get much easier for Mililani, which will visit last year's Division I state runner-up Aiea Friday before finishing up against rival Pearl City next Tuesday.

"We have to stay focused and we have to keep raising our level, because we have two more great opponents ahead of us," Akiona said. "It's tough having them stacked all at the end, (but) I think our players have a respect for all teams. They understand that in any game, at any time, any team can rise above any other team, so we have to be ready for every game and expect every team to come at us with their best."

As for Furuta, Akiona credited her for improving her game since a breakout sophomore season a year ago.

"I think she's more confident this year with holding onto the ball a little longer," Akiona said. "Last year it was more of her getting the ball and releasing it or an assist kind of thing. This year, now that she's comfortable holding the ball, she has a tendency to command a little more attention — sometimes she draws more than two defenders — and then she has the opportunity to find an open teammate."

Furuta isn't the only scoring threat up top for the Trojans. Fellow junior Kailana Kaeo, who has been on the varsity since her freshman season, has seven goals on the year.

"Kailana has been playing up on top with Tia for the last two years and they're a good combination of forwards in that they work well together and they understand each other better this year," Akiona said. "Kailana had a nice assist on one of Tia's goals (against Campbell), so they're willing to work for each other instead of working independently and we benefit from the strength of them combined."

BOYS BASKETBALL
Justin Agbayani, Kohala — Scored 21 points in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Shyrome Batin, Honokaa — Scored 25 points in a loss to Pahoa

Denhym Brooke, Kahuku — Scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a loss to Kalaheo

Hana Caravalho, Kohala — Scored 18 points in a win over Konawaena

Airon Castaneda, Waipahu — Scored 19 points in a loss to Aiea

Christian Castrence, Waipahu — Scored 20 points in a loss to Aiea

Josh Chapital, Lahainaluna — Scored 18 points in a win over Kamehameha-Maui

Logan Earles, Hawaiian Mission — Scored 19 points in a loss to Island Pacific

Kevin Foster, Roosevelt — Scored 19 points in a loss to Kahuku

Kaleb Gilmore, Kalaheo — Scored 22 points in a win over Kahuku

Joseph Gouty, Leilehua — Scored 18 points in a win over Pearl City

Hyrum Harris, Kahuku — Scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds in a loss to Kalaheo and scored 16 points with nine rebounds in a win per Roosevelt

Mitchell Hashimoto, Le Jardin — Scored 22 points in a loss to Saint Francis

Josh Hill, Aiea — Scored 23 points in a win over Waipahu

Ryan Hobus, University High — Scored 21 points in a win over Damien

BJ Hosaka, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 25 points in a win over University High, scored 26 points in a loss to Damien and 21 points in a win over Saint Francis

Chance Kalaugher, Kaiser — Scored 22 points in a win over Kaimuki and 23 points in a win over Anuenue

JB Kam, Punahou — Scored 19 points in a win over Kamehameha and scored 20 points in a win over Maryknoll

Christian Kessell, Aiea — Scored 22 points in a win over Waipahu

Lancen Kuni, Waialua — Scored 20 points in a loss to Aiea

Keoua Mahiko, Kaiser — Scored 24 points in a win over Anuenue

Ranan Mamiya, Farrington — Scored 19 points in a  win over Kalani

Calvin Mattos, Waiakea — Scored 20 points in a win over St. Joseph and scored 22 points in a win over Kau

Jeremy McGoldrick, Castle — Scored 18 points in a win over Kalani

Kyrie McRaven, Moanalua — Scored 18 points in a win over Kaimuki

Michael Merchant, Campbell — Scored 18 points in a win over Mililani

Eric Miyauchi, Moanalua — Scored 19 points in a win over Kaimuki

Rocky Mori, Damien — Scored 18 points in a win over Hanalani and scored 21 points in a loss to University High

Nicolas Palleschi, Hawaii Prep — Scored 26 points in a win over St. Joseph

Tolby Saito, Pahoa — Scored 29 points in a win over Honokaa, scored 28 points in a win over Kealakehe and scored 34 points in a win over Laupahoehoe

Jeff Schaake, Hanalani — Scored 21 points in a loss to Damien, scored 18 points in a win over Saint Francis and scored 18 points in a win over Christian Academy

Jake Smith, Farrington — Scored 21 points in a win over Kalani

Fatu Sua-Godinet, Kamehameha — Scored 19 points in a loss to Punahou

Justice Sueing, Maryknoll — Scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a loss to Punahou

Boris Vukovic, Saint Francis — Scored 18 points in a loss to Hanalni

Maleek Walker, Radford — Scored 24 points in a win over Waipahu and 19 points in a win over Kapolei

Kyle Yoshino, Punahou II — Scored 19 points in a win over Iolani II

BOYS SOCCER
Jean-Marcus Garcia, Leilehua — Scored two goals in a win over Nanakuli

Naia Graham, Kailua — Scored five goals in a win over Kaimuki

Spencer Ho, Iolani — Scored the lone goal in a win over Kamehameha

Shandon Hopeau, Kapolei — Scored the lone goal in a win over previously-unbeaten Mililani and scored four goals in a win over Aiea

Kalahikiola Judd, Mililani — Scored the lone goal in a win over Campbell

Takahiro Kosins, Kalani — Scored two goals in a win over McKinley

Garrison Lee, Kapolei — Scored three goals in a win over Aiea

Kai Morgan, Kalaheo — Scored three goals in a win over McKinley

Guhn Park, Roosevelt — Scored four goals in a win over Farrington

Gabriel Pinheiro-Alves, Kahuku — Scored two goals in a win over Kaiser

Dane Schatz, Pac-Five — Scored three goals in a win over Damien

Zachary Trevorrow, Pac-Five — Scored three goals in a win over Damien

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Ailene Amadis, Christian Academy — Scored 18 points in a loss to Hawaiian Mission

Tezrah Antonio, Kohala — Scored 23 points in a  win over Waiakea

Shantel Appleby, Mililani — Scored 18 points in a win over Aiea

Kayelah Arakaki, Pearl City — Scored 33 points in a win over Aiea

Kaylie Espinas, Kalani — Scored 21 points in a win over Castle

Cameron Fernandez, Lahainaluna — Scored 27 points in a win over Kamehameha-Maui

Kelsie Fukuda, Iolani II — Scored 19 points in a win over Punahou II and 23 points in a win over Kamehameha II

Molimau Heimuli, Farrington — Scored 18 points in a win over Kaimuki

Victoria Kintz, Kaimuki — Scored 21 points in a loss to Farrington and 26 points in a  loss to Kahuku

Keleah-Aiko Koloi, Lahainaluna — Scored 19 points in a win over Kamehameha-Maui

Kacey Kuchenbecker, Le Jardin — Scored 22 points in a win over St. Andrew's

Maegen Martin, Maryknoll — Scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a win over Punahou

Tyra Moe, Punahou — Scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a loss to Maryknoll

Chanelle Molina, Konawaena — Scored 21 points in a win over Honokaa and scored 19 points with 12 rebounds and nine assists in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Doris Naulu, Lutheran — Scored 24 points in a loss to Island Pacific

Tia Odardi, Island Pacific — Scored 18 points in a  win over Christian Academy

Keala Quinlan, Roosevelt — Scored 18 points in a win over Kahuku and 22 points in a win over Farrington

Starr Rivera, Roosevelt — Scored 23 points in a win over Kalaheo, scored 19 points in a win over Kahuku and 24 points in a win over Farrington

Rose Shimaoka, Kaiser — Scored 26 points in a win over Moanalua and 30 points in a loss to Kailua

Melina Souza, Damien — Scored 22 points in a loss to University High

Tara Takata, Kailua — Scored 20 points in a win over Kaiser

Tia Thompson, La Pietra — Scored 20 points in a win over St. Andrew's

Patria Vaimaona, Kailua — Scored 18 points in a win over Kalani and had 20 points with 12 rebounds in a win over Kaiser

Rylie Wada, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 31 points in a win over University High

Kyra Young, University High — Scored 20 points in a loss to Hawaii Baptist and 22 points in a win over Damien

GIRLS SOCCER
Savanna Arakaki, Kaiser — Scored three goals in a win over Kailua

Kamaile Aluli, Kahuku — Scored two goals in a tie against Kaiser

Aysa Asato-Kahele, Roosevelt — Scored two goals in a win over Farrington

Kyla Cantillo, Kailua — Scored three goals in a win over Kaimuki

Kai Hasegawa, Kaiser — Scored two goals in a tie against Kahuku

Kristen Hori, Iolani — Scored two goals in a win over Mid-Pacific

Breanne Ihara, Pac-Five — Scored three goals in a win over Saint Francis

Aliani Lorenzo, Campbell — Scored three goals in a win over Pearl City

Shay Nakahira, Punahou — Scored three goals in a win over Mid-Pacific

Alysha Somera, Waipahu — Scored two goals in a win over Leilehua

Lauren Takasato, Castle — Scored the lone goal in a win over Moanalua