Girls basketball

The old saying is Rome was not built in a day. Neither is any basketball team just one week into the preseason, so all expectations and hopes for the Lady Falcons of Kalani can be tempered. Just a little. The defending OIA Division I champions notched their first and only win in the Matsumoto Law Group McKinley Black and Gold Classic on Monday, pulling away from Mid-Pacific 54-39. It was another energetic effort by freshman point guard Kalena Halunajan, who […]

For much of preseason basketball history, top teams from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu are ahead of the curve. Midseason form, not quite, but private-school programs are usually further ahead than their counterparts from the public-school Oahu Interscholastic Association. That was made clear at the Matsumoto Law Group McKinley Black and Gold Classic. The four-day tourney closed out on Monday night with the ILH taking 13 of 15 games against OIA and Maui Interscholastic League competition. Against the OIA, the […]

Five games in a 40-hour span didn’t faze this team. By Monday night, the Maryknoll Spartans were still perfect. A 62-36 win over host McKinley at the Matsumoto Law Group Black and Gold Classic closed the book on the tourney for this season. Maryknoll went deep, as expected, to pick up its seventh win in seven outings. Even with a Sunday break, the toll of multiple games in two concurrent tournaments tested their legs and gave reserves valuable minutes on […]

Chemistry is more than a class, and the ‘Iolani Raiders have mastered it already. The Raiders played without Taylor Wu, who is on a recruiting trip, and injured Tori Maeda, but still overwhelmed Kalani 68-49 on Saturday afternoon at the Matsumoto Law Group McKinley Black and Gold Classic. Lily Lefotu Wahinekapu exploded for 21 points, including a clutch wing 3 in the third quarter to stymie a comeback attempt by the Lady Falcons. Alexis Huntimer was red-hot in the first […]

Some quick takeaways on girls basketball before Saturday’s games tip off. Scoreboard: link available here. >> If the 10:30 a.m. tip-off for Kapolei at Kaimuki today seems a bit early, you can probably guess why. Kapolei players, like seemingly most of the state, have tickets to the Bruno Mars concert. The game will be done around noon, which will give the Hurricanes and tens of thousands of Bruno fans just enough time to take on traffic near Aloha Stadium. And, […]

Gary Pacarro is coaching the Punahou girls basketball team for the time being. The longtime boys Division II varsity coach has stepped into the role with the D-I girls, according to athletic director Kale Ane. Former Punahou All-State player of the year and Hawaii standout Shawna Kuehu was head coach last season. With a relatively young roster, Punahou went 1-9 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, arguably the toughest league in the state. Pacarro has worked with the girls varsity […]

The hottest ticket in town was at Aloha Stadium today, where Bruno Mars played to a sellout audience on day one of his three-day, tour-closing act. The hottest performance, though, may have been at McKinley Student Council Gymnasium. Maryknoll’s band of underclassmen swarmed all over the Maui Interscholastic League’s dynastic program, Lahainaluna, for a 71-53 victory in the opening contest at the Matsumoto Law Group McKinley Black and Gold Classic. That was followed by a scintillating effort from Taylor Wu, […]