Girls basketball

On paper, this was Kalani’s championship for the taking. Three players back since the last time the Lady Falcons met Kahuku, including Kamalu Kamakawiwo‘ole and Alayna Akiona. When Kahuku won at Kalani 51-48 during the regular season, it wasn’t a true test of the OIA East’s top teams at full strength. On Thursday night, there was no doubt. No. 9 Kahuku got a career-high 33 points from sophomore guard/post boss Leiah Naeata in a 63-59 win over No. 9 Kalani […]

In the end, the rebounding numbers were almost dead even for No. 9 Kahuku and Kaiser. Kahuku outboarded Kaiser 31-30 in the final tally, but it was the third quarter when Leiah Naeata took the lead role. The sophomore point guard scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds — five on the offensive glass — in the pivotal third period as the Lady Raiders turned a 17-15 lead into a 34-17 cushion. Kahuku went on to a 55-37 win over […]

For 24 minutes, the Lady Trojans of Mililani looked the part of a league champion. The Kalani Falcons simply persisted. On a night when shots weren’t falling and there was scarcely an offensive rebound to be seen, the Lady Falcons rallied in the final quarter for a 38-34 semifinal win over Mililani on Tuesday night at Radford. On Thursday, No. 4 Kalani will meet No. 9 Kahuku for the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I championship, again on Radford’s pristine hardwood […]

The simmering continues in girls basketball. For a ninth week in a row, ‘Iolani is at No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10. The voting by coaches and media has the Raiders as a unanimous selection for a second-straight week. There were just a few changes to the poll on Monday as seven teams remained locked in position. Kamehameha (14-5, 7-3 Interscholastic League of Honolulu) posted wins on the road last week over Punahou (54-25) and then-No. 3 […]

Leverage can be everything in the quest for a state title, especially when the starting point is in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. No. 5 Kamehameha made sure of it on Friday night with a 53-41 win over No. 3 Maryknoll on the Spartans’ home court. The Warriors (14-5 overall) sealed second place with the tiebreaker win, earning a first-round bye in the upcoming playoff tournament. “That bye is big. In the ILH tournament, the first two rounds are back-to-back […]

The Kalani Falcons haven’t brought joy to their coaches every day. They just put the pedal to the metal on game day. The fourth-ranked Lady Falcons did precisely what coach Chi Mok asked for on Thursday night in a 67-47 win over a talented Leilehua squad. Mok’s command: “Block out, rebound and crash the offensive boards.” Kalani outrebounded Leilehua 14-7 in the opening quarter, grabbing eight offensive caroms. Senior Kamalu Kamakawiwo‘ole was especially rugged with six boards, four on the […]