The seniors were pivotal on the pitch and the court for their respective teams last week. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Male Athlete of the Week: Raefe McEnroe, Farrington basketball
In Farrington's opener to the Oahu Interscholastic Association boys basketball season Friday night, Raefe McEnroe displayed what his coach always knew he was capable of.

McEnroe, a 6-foot-3 senior, recorded a double-double to help the Governors post a 59-55 upset of then-No. 8 Moanalua at Richard Kitamura Gymnasium. He scored 16 points, grabbed 17 rebounds, dished out four assists, blocked four shots— all of those game-high marks — and had one steal, for good measure.

"He did a great job," Farrington coach Steven Leopoldo said. ‘I keep telling him that ‘nobody is gonna stop you if you keep playing the way you're playing,' and he finally woke up and came to play."

McEnroe shot 6 of 14 from the field, 3 of 4 from the free-throw line and 1 of 2 from behind the arc. Twelve of his boards came on the defensive glass, he had just one turnover and did not commit a foul.

"What impressed me was how he played defense. I keep telling him to play defense and keep blocking shots, and he runs the floor well, too. All those rebounds he grabbed was impressive, too. To score 16 (points) with 17 rebounds is great. I can't complain about that. Hopefully he can keep it up for the entire season," Leopoldo said.

Leopoldo said a good chunk of McEnroe's points came in transition.

"He got so many layups from running the floor. When he plays the four (power forward) or five (center positions), he's a big presence inside because he's so tall and lanky and his wingspan is probably seven-feet wide and when you throw the ball up her can see over everybody," Leopoldo said. "He's really talented."

McEnroe, a second-year varsity player, can also play both guard positions. Leopoldo said McEnroe has worked diligently to improve his play on the defensive side of the ball.

"I know he can score. Last year he came in and I knew he could put up some points, but it was just a matter of settling down and letting the game come to him. I told him, ‘you gotta play defense; you can't let these guys drive past you,' so fortunately he got some blocks (Friday) and they were key blocks, too," Leopoldo said.

In addition to his defensive play, Leopoldo said he also challenged McEnroe — one of eight seniors on the roster — to chip in as a leader.

"Those seniors are really coming through now where they understand their roles. I expect a lot of leadership out of them. I told (McEnroe) that he may not be a captain, but he can still be a leader out there," Leopoldo said.

Farrington went 5-6 in the preseason, dropping their last four non-league games after a 5-2 start.

"The preseason was a roller coaster. We'd go up and down and then up again, but we've talked to these guys about playing hard throughout and being ready to come to play. As soon as they step into the gym, it's game time and they gotta start focusing," Leopoldo said.

The Govs, who are in Division II this year, trailed 17-13 after the first quarter, but pulled head by halftime with a 29-28 advantage before holding off the Division-I Na Menehune in a tightly-contested second half. They also avenged a 49-48 defeat at Moanalua last season.

"It was a big win. We marked that date on our calendars because of what happened to us last year where we lost to Moanalua in the closing seconds," Leopoldo said. "All the teams that we lost to, we're marking those dates, so we're trying to get these boys up and running again and making sure we stay focused. I always tell the team that in order for us to be successful, we have to play defense and make free-throws. Those are key things and every day be disciplined to be successful."

McEnroe and the Govs (1-0) visit McKinley (0-1) Wednesday night and host Kalaheo (0-0) Friday night.

Female Athlete of the Week: Hokulei Ishikawa, Campbell soccer
Since joining the Campbell girls soccer team as a freshman four years ago, Hokulei Ishikawa has always possessed the physical tools to excel on the pitch. What she gained in that time, however, has made her one of the state's top offensive threats.

Ishikawa, a 5-foot-3 senior forward, is tied for second in Division I with 16 goals scored this season. She found the back of the net four times last Friday in the Sabers' 11-0 rout of Nanakuli.

Campbell coach James Curran said the lopsided score allowed him to utilize Ishikawa at multiple positions against the Golden Hawks.

"We tried different things and we put her on the outside-mid position and switched up our formation, and she did really well in that position as well. We actually put her at forward, outside-mid and center-mid, so we were trying to do different things with her in that game and she did very well," Curran said.

One play by Ishikawa — a second-half goal — stood out in the blow out.

"An outside-mid sent a cross in, (Ishikawa) trapped it with her thigh and then volleyed it, two touch, that was a nice one," Curran said.

Curran was also impressed by Ishikawa's patience with the ball.

"She was always a physical player, (but) she's learning to be a more smart player and to use her smarts instead of just her physicality and athleticism, learning to hold on to the ball a little bit more; be a little bit more of a player versus pure scorer."

Ishikawa actually started off as a fullback for the Sabers as a freshman, before working her way progressively up the field.

"We tried her at center-back as well as the midfield. We did some shifting around maybe her sophomore year, but for the most part she's been playing the same position (forward)," Curran said. "Her aggressiness to get that ball, as well as her aggressiveness on defense to pressure the ball on top and win balls up top were the main reasons we moved her up."

If there's one thing that Ishikawa does better than anything else, it's finding the back of the net.

"She's been finishing some nice goals on corners, headers; she's scored a couple where it was a chest trap or a slide trap and then on the volley. That's not an easy goal to make," Curran said. "She's very competitive. She's a presence to be reckoned with. Her one-v-one skills is one of her strengths, that's obviously finishing. She's scored a lot of goals this year. She's improved a lot, she's playing smarter and getting others involved."

Ishikawa earned second team All-Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division honors last season as a junior. She has signed to play next season at Fresno Pacific.

"She's been a captain for us the past two years and she leads with work ethic. You don't have to ask her many times to do something. She's always going and giving it her all in practices, she's focused and locked in and pushing the pace in our practices," Curran said.

Ishikawa has scored in six of Campbell's eight games this season, including five multi-goal games. She netted a season-high five goals in a win over Radford last month.

"For the most part she's definitely somebody we always want on the pitch," Curran said. "Off the field she's fun, she's fumble, but her work ethic has always been there; she's always putting in hard work."

Ishikawa and the Sabers (5-2-1, 16 points), sit in fifth place in the OIA D1 West standings with two games to remaining in the regular season. They will host third-place Pearl City (6-1-1) Friday before traveling to sixth-place Kapolei (4-4) Tuesday.

BOYS BASKETBALL
Kaipo Burnett, Nanakuli — Scored 20 points, including five 3-pointers, in a loss to Waianae

Frank Camacho, McKinley — Scored 20 points in a loss to Kaiser

Linson Joseph, Waipahu — Scored 19 points in a loss to Pearl City

Logan Lasell, Leilehua — Scored 19 points, including four 3-pointers, in a win over Campbell

Chris Lee, Roosevelt — Scored 17 points in a win over Castle

Matt Lukins, Radford — Scored 25 points in a win over Waialua

Kameron Ng, Saint Francis — Scored 39 points, including 10-of-10 shooting on free throws, in a win over Rex Putnam

Justin Pfau, Pearl City — Scored 17 points in a win over Waipahu

John Gilbert Ramos, Waianae — Scored 18 points in a win over Nanakuli

Ty Shishido, Roosevelt — Scored 17 points in a win over Castle

Kenji Toyama, Kaiser — Scored 22 points in a win over McKinley

Mitchell Williams, Campbell — Scored 27 points in a loss to Leilehua

GIRLS BASKETBALL
Aloha Akaka, Maryknoll — Scored 21 points in a win over Hidden Valley

Tanya Blakeney, Kaiser — Scored 20 points in a loss to Kalani

Kyra Cambra, Baldwin — Scored 16 points in a loss to King Kekaulike

Victoria Canencia, Leilehua — Scored 18 points in a win over Pearl City

Kaitlin DeRouin, Molokai — Scored 22 points, including four 3-pointers, in a win over Lanai and scored 16 points in a loss to Lanai

Kaelyn Espinda, Kaimuki — Scored 20 points, including four 3-pointers, in a loss to Moanalua and scored 21 points in a win over Kalaheo

Kalena Gibson, Mililani — Scored 17 points in a win over Waipahu

Anela Gonzalez-Tremaine, Keaau — Scored 26 points in a win over Kealakehe

Namahana Kaeo-Young, King Kekaulike — Scored 16 points in a win over Baldwin

Kamalu Kamakawiwoole, Kalani — Scored 30 points, including four 3-pointers, in a win over Kaiser

Kaylen Kamelamela, Leilehua — Scored 18 points in a win over Leilehua and scored 17 points in a win over Waipahu

Colby Lane, McKinley — Scored 17 points with seven rebounds in a loss to Moanalua

Ariana Maltezo, Lanai — Scored 16 points in a win over Molokai

Leiah Naeata, Kahuku — Scored 20 points in a win over Kailua

Raven Rosa-Lasco, Moanalua — Scored 18 points in a win over Kaimuki

Dominique Pacheco, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored 24 points in a win over Honokaa

Kaliana Salazar Harrell, Konawaena — Scored 26 points in a win over Kamehameha

Anau Tuivai, Seabury Hall — Scored 16 points in a win over Hana

Cailyn Ukida, King Kekaulike — Scored 16 points in a win over Maui

BOYS SOCCER
Christopher Barry, Baldwin — Scored two goals in a win over Lahainaluna

John Grover, Waiakea — Scored two goals in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Avian Madden, Campbell — Scored two goals in a win over Nanakuli

Nyle Manzano, Castle — Scored three goals in a win over Kaimuki

Tommy Mascaro-Keahi, Kapolei — Scored two goals in a win over Pearl City

Riley Patterson, Hilo — Scored two goals in a win over Makua Lani

Teva Pimental, Kamehameha-Maui — Scored two goals in a win over Seabury Hall

Kai Sigler, Kalani — Scored three goals in a win over Moanalua

GIRLS SOCCER
Sunshine Fontes, Pearl City — Scored three goals in a win over Kapolei

Kalena Kekaualua, Waiakea — Scored the lone goal in a win over Kamehameha-Hawaii

Savannah Breeze Miranda, Aiea — Scored three goals in a win over Leilehua

Noela Nawahine, Kahuku — Scored three goals in a win over McKinley

Sheyliene Patolo, Aiea — Scored four goals in a win over Leilehua

Keely Smith, Kailua — Scored three goals in a win over Farrington

Kelci Sumida, Moanalua — Scored two goals in a win over Kalani

Amber Tadeo-Gilbert, Mililani — Scored three goals in a win over Waianae