Girls basketball

The Konawaena Wildcats came to Oahu eight strong. Then one player suffered a concussion. Another player suffered a knee injury. By the end of their stay, the Wildcats found a way to go 3-1 at the Matsumoto Law Group Black & Gold Classic, beating Punahou (48-44), Maryknoll (57-39) and Kamehameha (44-43). Coach Bobbie Awa chatted after her team’s narrow win over Kamehameha — on Caiyle Kaupu‘s jump hook in the lane with :05 left.

Caiyle Kaupu shows it more with action than words. Kaupu taps her right hand over her heart. Down to six players after injuries to two teammates, the Konawaena Wildcats got a 5-foot jump hook from Kaupu with 5.1 seconds left to edge Kamehameha 44-43 on Saturday night at the Matsumoto Law Group Black & Gold Classic. The go-ahead bucket was an exercise in patience by the Wildcats. No rushing. No improv in traffic. “It’s discipline. It’s a normal play,” said […]

With their minds on a fallen teammate, Tati Burciaga-Reyes found her mark to lift the Punahou Buffanblu. The junior splashed a corner 3 with 1.2 seconds left to give Punahou a scintillating 41-39 win over Kahuku on Saturday afternoon at the Matsumoto Law Group Black & Gold Classic. She finished with 12 points to lead the Buffanblu, who went 3-1 in the tourney. Their other wins were over Lahainaluna and host McKinley. “We drew up a play. We kind of […]

The message has been sent by the defending state champions. The ‘Iolani Raiders are 2-0 in nonconference play after trouncing Konawaena 54-26 on a humid Thursday afternoon at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium. The Raiders didn’t get superstar scoring from anyone in this battle, but the ball movement, the swarming defense on Konawaena scorers Caiyle Kaupu and Kaliana Salazar Harrell, the nonstop fastbreaks all took a toll on the Wildcats. “I thought on the plus side, our defense was even better […]

The Konawaena Wildcats continue to confound doubters. If there are still any left. The Wildcats won nine state championships in a 15-year span. That included three in a row until last season, when ‘Iolani captured the koa trophy. With only eight players in uniform on Wednesday afternoon, Konawaena seemed outmanned once again. Punahou brought its fullcourt pressure and run-and-gun fastbreak, but Konawaena broke a tie game in the fourth quarter for a 57-42 win over Punahou at the Matsumoto Law […]

The Lady Falcons of Kalani have soared in recent years. They still may soar in the 2019-20 season, but it will be without Chi Mok, who resigned as head coach of the girls basketball program. His departure came after incoming transfer Jalen Tanuvasa, formerly of Maryknoll, moved to Las Vegas. Add to that two more huge blows. Kalena Halunajan, one of the state’s top junior guards, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the offseason. Halunajan was No. 10 in the […]

This basketball thing seems to be arriving earlier every year. Sure enough, the girls basketball preseason is here. It began last weekend with the Hanalani tournament, and resumes this week with a mix of one-offs and tournaments. The Black & Gold Invitational at McKinley tips off on Wednesday, and will likely provide the most compelling action between some of the state’s behemoths in roundball. Here are big questions about the 2019-20 wahine season. >> Is ‘Iolani prepared for life after […]