OIA Girls Basketball
Kahuku dethrones Campbell for the OIA Division I crown


Michael Lasquero | ScoringLive
February 1, 2024, 8:04am

  

Wed, Jan 31, 2024 @ Pearl City

Campbell

31

Kahuku

33

Final 1 2 3 4  
Campbell (12-1, 19-7) 8 911331
Kahuku (14-0, 19-6) 9 10 10 433
Posia Wily 9 pts  1 3pm
Jaynalyn Sotelo 8 pts  1 3pm
Elisa Holakeituai 10 tot  7 off  3 def
Aliyah Bantolina 7 tot  2 off  5 def


PEARL CITY — The crown returns to Kahuku.

The Red Raiders edged reigning champion Campbell, 33-31, for the OIA Division I title Wednesday night before a capacity crowd at Pearl City's gymnasium.

Posia Wily scored nine points with four rebounds and Tuisila Wily-Ava added eight points, six rebounds and four assists to help Kahuku (17-5 overall, 14-0) claim its 10th league championship in school history, the team's first since 2020.

"We wanted to bring it back home," said Wily. "We worked over the summer and throughout the season just to bring it back home."

It was a tightly played game for the entirety night with a one-point differential in scoring in every quarter. But the Red Raiders got the stops when they needed them, holding Campbell to just 23.9 percent shooting (11-for-46) from the field.

"That was our main focus," said Kahuku coach Artevia Wily-Ava. "We knew we had to come in here ready to be running. Usually we're the ones running but we knew that Campbell can run as well, so that was one of our main focuses was to get back and play our defense and made sure everybody is doing what they're supposed to do so we can execute well and I thought we did pretty well on defense."

After a pair of missed free throws could have extended Kahuku's lead to either three of four points, the Sabers (17-5, 12-1) had an opportunity to tie or win the game with under 14 seconds to play.

But the Red Raiders didn't even let them get a shot off.

Campbell tried to work the ball inside and had to reset the possession on the perimeter before Jordyn Kalahiki came in to force a held-ball call as time expired.

"She's one of those that'll sacrifice and jump after everything," Wily-Ava said of Kalahiki, the smallest girl on the team at 5-foot-1.

"She comes in clutch, she does what she's supposed to do and that's what she is. She's our defensive specialist. She got to get to where she needs to go and she does her part in helping us low down the other team on defense. She really always steps up. The girls are good about reminding her, pushing her and all she really needed was the confidence thing for her and today, I think she was pretty confident."

Wily said defense has been the focus all season long and in recent weeks. All six players that checked into the game for Kahuku registered a steal as the Red Raiders tallied 16 total in the contest.

"I think especially during these last practices and towards the end of the season, we worked on our defense a lot," said Wily. "Our coaches were telling us to do the small things, the little things. Get rebounds, box out, keep your hands up. We just needed to execute those things and it worked out for us."

Jaynalyn Sotelo and Taysia Molina-Schulte each scored eight points in the loss to pace the Sabers, who saw their 12-game winning streak snapped.


Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].




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