ILH Girls Basketball
'Iolani claims Pyrrhic victory over Punahou, 59-58


Wes Nakama
January 14, 2012, 4:34am

  

Fri, Jan 13, 2012 @ Iolani

Punahou

58

Iolani

59

Final 1 2 3 4  
Punahou (10-4, 10-4) 16 982558
Iolani (11-1, 14-4) 14 12 18 1559
Saphyre Rezentes 23 pts  3 3pm
Mysha Sataraka 18 pts


Despite losing standout post Alex Masaquel for the season with a broken right tibia early in the second half, 'Iolani held off visiting Punahou, 59-58, in dramatic Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls basketball action last night.

The Raiders improved to 8-0 in the ILH, while the Buffanblu fell to 5-3. But without Masaquel, a steady if not spectacular junior forward, 'Iolani's quest to clinch the ILH championship suddenly becomes much more challenging with games against Mid-Pacific (3-5), Kamehameha (4-4) and Punahou still on its regular season schedule.

At 5-foot-10, Masaquel was perhaps the Raiders' most consistent scorer and rebounder and entered the night averaging 10.5 points per game.

"It was tough, our girls were crying," said 'Iolani guard Saphyre Rezentes, who finished with a game-high 23 points, including 15 in the second half. "But Kylie (Maeda) and I got everybody together and we said, 'Adversity is what good teams have to face,' and we came back. We were playing for her, she would want us to play tough like we did in the second half."

The Raiders held a slim 26-25 lead at halftime and built it to 31-25 early in the third period when Masaquel went crashing to the floor as a Punahou player fell and rolled over her right leg with 5:20 remaining. Masaquel laid on the floor for about 15 minutes before paramedics arrived via ambulance and secured a splint and wheeled her out of the gym on a stretcher.

She was taken to Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, according to 'Iolani coach Eddie Maruyama, who said athletic trainers diagnosed the broken tibia.

"I'm really proud of the girls for the way they were determined to play for Alex as a team," Maruyama said. "It's a very close team and they really do care for each other on and off the court."

After a four-minute warm-up period, play resumed and the Raiders stretched the lead to 44-33 entering the fourth period.

'Iolani extended it to 54-39 after Taimane Passi's two free throws with 3:42 left, but Asia Olivieri answered with a layup 15 seconds later to start the Buffanblu on a furious rally that closed it to 59-56 on Keaupono Fey's 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining. Mysha Sataraka then made a steal and putback with three seconds left, but Punahou was out of timeouts so 'Iolani did not have to inbound the ball as time expired.

"We just ran out of time," Buffanblu coach Kekoa Taliaferro said. "All of the girls in the ILH know each other, so I think it affected both teams to see (Masaquel) go down like that. It could have been devastating for (the Raiders), but they rallied for her and I think it actually affected us more."

Sataraka led Punahou with 18 points and Turner Wong added 12 points.



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