Girls basketball

Not one, not two, not three or four. Five injuries hit the Kamehameha Warriors starting in the offseason and through preseason. Somehow, coach Pua Straight and her squad are making the best of it. The Warriors overpowered another depleted team, Division II powerhouse Damien, 55-38, on Wednesday night at the Lady Monarchs gym. Each team suited up just seven players, but the Warriors have been in ironwoman mode. Makenzie Alapai, a freshman, had 17 points and 16 rebounds to ignite […]

Theresa Anakalea did all she could in the midst of the pandemic. Training at distant corners of Oahu while commuting from Waianae. Drills with her Damien teammates in driveways, parks and, eventually, gyms. After averaging 24 points per game as a freshman, the talented scholar-athlete was on a path to some historic numbers. That stopped with the cancellation of the 2020-21 winter season. “She never took a break. When the parks were closed, she would do dribble drills at home, […]

‘Iolani took a break, Konawaena made a trek to the desert, and now the two are no longer joined at the top of the rankings. ‘Iolani (3-2, 0-0 ILH) collected eight of the 10 first-place votes to reclaim sole possession of the top ranking in the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10. Konawaena, which was 2-2 in the Nike Tournament of Champions last week, has the other two first-place votes. One of ‘Iolani’s losses was to ‘Iolani Classic champion Archbishop Mitty, […]

There are very few tournaments in girls basketball that surpass the ‘Iolani Classic. Coach Bobbie Awa opted for the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona, where Konawaena held its own last week. The Wildcats, led by Kaliana Salazar-Harrell and Braelyn Kauhi, won their first two games. On Saturday, they defeated Jserra (Calif.) 32-25 and Highlands Ranch (Colo.) 48-40 on Monday. On Tuesday, they fell to California powerhouse St. Ignatius, 53-40. St. Ignatius, out of San Francisco, is ranked No. 10 […]

Powerhouses ‘Iolani and Konawaena open the girls basketball season atop the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10. ‘Iolani (2-2), the two-time defending state champions prior to the pandemic, collected five first-place votes from the panel of coaches and media. The Raiders are coming off a 73-30 win over Kapolei. Konawaena (0-0), currently in tournament play in Arizona, secured the other five first-place votes. Maryknoll (4-2) started preseason hot before injuries took a toll and is currently No. 3. Lahainaluna (1-2) and […]

It sounded fantastic on paper: Kahuku at Maryknoll. The reality is anything but fabulous. The girls season, as always, got a two-week head start on the boys. That hasn’t helped Kahuku, which had seven players try out for varsity. The Lady Raiders’ proud history and tradition hasn’t had the same clout in recent seasons, but the same is true for many public schools across the islands. Kahuku’s girls volleyball team rode a hot streak to win the OIA Division I […]

The ‘Iolani Raiders got their fill of elite competition, and the competition got their fill of Jovi Lefotu. ‘Iolani battled and lost to nationally-ranked Archbishop Mitty (Calif.) and Nevada powerhouse Centennial over the weekend. A young, relatively inexperienced Raiders squad has coach Dean Young optimistic and ‘Iolani’s Division I state-title defense. “Jovi was the only player on the team with any real ‘Iolani Classic experience and for most of the girls it was their first time playing in it. Although […]