Girls basketball

Epic? This was rematch squared. A continuing saga of Shakespearean-level drama and destiny. In the end, the talented, deep, top-seeded Maryknoll Spartans still couldn’t topple the big green Wildcats at the top of the mountain. Konawaena’s 47-32 win for a state-title four-peat was a demonstration in death by a thousand paper cuts. The Wildcats executed Coach Bobbie Awa’s game plan to the nth degree of success. By the end, it was as if Konawaena (26-2 including nonconference games) extended its […]

And then there were two. The Division I final in tonight’s Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships pits the same two schools that met in the past two years: Maryknoll and Konawaena. Maryknoll wanted nothing more than to win state championships. The 11 seniors on this season’s roster has known triumph with four ILH titles in a row. They’ve known heartbreak, losing the state championship game in 2016 and ’17. Both times, Konawaena took home the big koa trophy. Three-time defending […]

They do a lot of good things together. The Konawaena Wildcats also wear pink Crocs everywhere. That’s the influence of longtime assistant coach and former state champion Jessica Hanato, who has been wearing green Crocs since the current Wildcats were still in diapers. “It’s a team thing. We all have it. We started a trend and everybody started wearing it at school,” senior guard Cherilyn Molina said. These are clearly not your sister’s Wildcats, not that it would be fair […]

It may take a year, even two, but the Waiakea Warriors are on everyone’s radar by this point. Even in the aftermath of a 75-40 shellacking by top-seeded Maryknoll on Friday, there’s only everything to like about the talented Warriors and their senior-less roster. “Waiakea is very young. I was very surprised when I paid attention to what they have. They remind me of us two, three years ago,” Maryknoll coach Chico Furtado said. “That team’s going to be here […]

The most experienced team in the state tournament met the youngest squad. The outcome wasn’t entirely surprising. Top-seeded Maryknoll’s 75-40 win over BIIF runner-up Waiakea was speed against speed, except the Spartans have a battalion of athletes with height, length, four ILH championships and two finals appearances. The Lady Spartans, now 28-2 overall (including nonconference games) also had balance against a tough-nosed Warriors squad. “We want to play aggressive. We want to play with intensity. We want to use our […]

The Saints keep marching and Hawaii Baptist is out of contention as the semifinal round of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball Division II State Championships tonight. St. Francis eliminated the hustling Knights of Castle 63-43 on Thursday in quarterfinal action at Kaimuki. In the other quarter there, Honokaa made it two wins in two nights, edging KIF champion Kauai 28-26. In the other sub-bracket at Kalani, second-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii rolled over Le Jardin 53-21 and third-seeded Roosevelt ousted ILH runner-up Hawaii Baptist […]

Waiakea advanced. ‘Iolani did not. The final four of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships are set for tonight’s clashes at Blaisdell Center. Waiakea, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up, eked out a 55-54 come-from-behind overtime win over Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Kalani on Thursday night at Moanalua gym. Waiakea is the only unseeded team to advance to the semifinals. The Warriors do not have a single senior on their roster. At McKinley, Lahainaluna survived, as well, fending off a […]

The season has progressed stage by stage for the Konawaena Wildcats. On Thursday night in the quarterfinal round of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships, Coach Bobbie Awa knew, as always, precisely how to unlock her team’s superpowers. “We played a nice second half. We actually got some transition buckets. We should’ve been doing that all along,” said Awa, who has guided the Wildcats to eight state crowns in the past 14 seasons. That reluctance to run early may have […]