Girls basketball

Twelve days is a mighty long time to go without a game. Somehow, the top-seeded St. Francis Saints will make do when they meet unseeded Castle tonight in the quarterfinals of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball Division II State Championships. St. Francis is unbeaten and largely rested since winning the ILH D-II championship on Jan. 20. They rallied to edge Hawaii Baptist that night, and have been stellar against Top 10 competition. Kamehameha-Hawaii, Roosevelt and Kauai round out the seeded (league […]

St. Francis might show some signs of struggle this week. Or they might not. After all, at 23-0, the Saints are the top seed at the Snapple/HHSAA State Championships. The Saints, who have a first-round bye and play on Thursday, have played spectacularly well with a 23-0 overall record and top seeding in this tourney. But two key players, sisters Kealani and Savannah Neves, transferred before the regular season. Playing three games in three days with two fewer cogs in […]

The patience of seasoned leaders is hugely valuable at ‘Iolani. Nearly three months into the season, returnees like senior Kellie Okamura and junior point guard Tori Maeda are seeing their ninth-grade teammates blossom. The timing couldn’t have been better on Monday night. Five Raiders, including freshmen Kyra Tanabe (15 points, three treys), Alexis Huntimer (12, two treys) and Lily Lefotu Wahinekapu (11, one trey), scored in double figures to power ‘Iolani over Kahuku 88-47 in the opening round of the […]

For the ninth time in nine weeks, the Lady Spartans of Maryknoll are a unanimous No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10. Maryknoll (26-2) has not lost to a Hawaii team all season. Sunday’s voting by coaches and media resulted in all 10 first-place votes going to the school on Wilder Avenue. With the boys team also a unanimous pick in their poll, Maryknoll has the No. 1 teams in the girls and boys basketball rankings for a […]

Let the games begin. The Monday opening round scheduling format for state tournaments has only been around for a few years, but has a unique flavor. Today’s winners in the first round of the Snapple/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Girls Basketball State Championships in Division I are, in effect, playing for the right to battle league champions in the quarterfinal round on Thursday. Some college conferences might refer to this as a play-in or “pig-tail” game. For the eight teams […]

St. Francis has talent, just enough depth, size and skill. Even with the departure of two key players during Christmas break, the Saints keep winning and are 23-0 now. In the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10, they are locked in at No. 6, the highest position for any Division II team. On my ballot, though, they are No. 2 based on a 4-0 mark against ranked teams and that incredible ledger of wins. It’s already mid-week, the OIA girls championship […]

For a half, the Castle Knights played some of their best basketball of the season. They opened a 20-13 lead on Roosevelt, a team that had won their previous matchup by 17 points. Signs of a big upset in the OIA Division II girls basketball championship game were beginning to fade. Roosevelt, which shot just 4-for-13 from the field and committed six turnovers, turned it around in the second quarter. By the end of the third, it was Roosevelt’s game […]

What if this deal was on the table: you endure the worst possible game experience of your basketball season, but in return, maybe you win the OIA championship? Of course, there are no such deals to be made. What Kalani gained from a profoundly painful senior-night 60-55 loss to Moanalua 15 days ago was a renewal. Renewed spirit. Renewed commitment. Renewed heart. Tonight’s wipeout of that same tough Moanalua squad wasn’t as close as the score may indicate. Kalani’s 55-33 […]