Girls basketball

Two weeks ago, Na Alii of King Kekaulike were on the outside looking in. In a gut-wrenching turn of events, the girls basketball team went from queen slayers — ending Lahainaluna’s historic 164-game win streak in MIL play — to third place in the standings. Four losses in a span of five games, including two to the same Lady Lunas, forced King Kekaulike into a tiebreaker game with Maui for the second and final state-tourney berth. King Kekaulike prevailed over […]

Kaliana Salazar-Harrell scored 23 points, including five 3-pointers, as Konawaena escaped with a 40-37 win over King Kekaulike on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships in Division I. “It was very sloppy, so we’re very glad we came out with the win,” Salazar-Harrell said. Second-seeded Konawaena (22-3) will meet OIA champion and third seed Kahuku in the semifinals tonight. Kahuku eliminated Maryknoll 43-27 in the other semifinal at Kalani’s Earl C. Holmer Gymnasium. Freshman […]

When two of the Top 5 teams in the state are unseeded underdogs, the quarterfinal round can be magnetic. Day two of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships brings us a Top 3/4 league runner-up (Waiakea), a long-range bomb squad with a puncher’s chance (King Kekaulike), and a season-long Top 4 (Maryknoll) that is a decided favorite against an OIA champion. Here’s a look at tonight’s quarterfinal round, split at two sites. Who misses the years when girls basketball had […]

In a different galaxy, the hoop fanatics among us who aren’t on the Big Island would have transported Star Trek style to Afook-Chinen Hilo Civic Auditorium on Wednesday. Four games in the opening round of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball Division II State Champions in a classic venue. Beam us up, Scotty! True, only one game was decided by a single-digit margin and the other three were 12-, 35- and 38-point games. No major surprise there. But the rest of this […]

The Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships are underway, and with another day until D-II tips off, and two more days until D-I resumes, this pupule has something in mind. I rarely would prefer a combined tournament, but this year is an exception. Why? The D-II state tourney is in Hilo this season, completely out of sight and range for those of us glued to the D-I tourney. So, there is enough depth from Tsuchiya Road to Waianuenue Avenue for a […]

With two starters out, the Kalani Falcons weren’t about to eliminate the No. 3-ranked team in the state. Or would they? With 2:28 left in the third quarter, Hallie Birdsong’s second consecutive 3-point bomb brought Kalani within four points of Maryknoll in a first-round game of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships in Clarence T.C. Ching Gymnasium. It was one of the closest games in the opening round through three quarters since the format was changed to play first-round games […]

Since week one of the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10, defending state champion ‘Iolani has ruled at No. 1 As the Snapple/HHSAA State Championships tip off today, the Raiders have a season-low eight first-place votes from the panel of coaches and media. Konawaena collected the other two No. 1 votes in today’s poll. Both teams have first-round byes through today’s opening round. So does No. 6 Kahuku, champion of the OIA, and No. 9 Lahainaluna of the MIL. ‘Iolani has […]

Defending state champion ‘Iolani will attempt to defend its title as the No. 1 seed in the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships beginning Monday. BIIF champion Konawaena earned the No. 2 seed with OIA champion Kahuku edging out MIL champion Lahainaluna for the No. 3 seed in the bracket released tonight. In the four first-round games on Monday, Waiakea will host Mililani and King Kekaulike will host Radford in neighbor island games. Moanalua will host Kaiser and Maryknoll will host […]