HIGHLIGHTS FIRST HALF SECOND HALF Video: Paul Honda. Second-half highlights. Top-seeded Konawaena vs. second-seeded Lahainaluna, New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Basketball Division I State Championships final, Stan Sheriff Center. Friday, Feb. 13, 2015. Score: Konawaena 51, Lahainaluna 41.
In the big picture, it was more than a victory for House Awa in this roundball game of thrones. It was a celebration for all the sisters and nieces, uncles and aunties, grandmas and grandpas who made Konawaena’s latest state championship happen. It just occurs to be 2015, and in a span of 12 seasons, Bobbie Awa and her staff have firmly and persistently guided their players to a half-dozen crowns. As expected, it was a close battle for more […]
Kamehameha-Hawaii didn’t win it this year, but they continue to make a major mark in state D-II girls basketball. In the 12 years since classification began, the Warriors won the D-II title four times (2005, ’07, 12’ and ’13). And they’ve also been runner-up three times and they won the third-place game (51-40 over University) on Friday, the first time they participated in that contest. Had it not been for a buzzsaw called Hawaii Baptist, which defeated the Warriors 53-40 […]
It is bittersweet, this end to another girls basketball season. I still lament the change of seasons, when the girls went from having gyms to themselves in the spring time, moving into a crowded mess of facilities that the winter is. But it is the way of the times. And now, the girls season is about to close. WITH A BANG. When Konawaena and Lahainaluna square off tonight, it won’t look like the finals matchup of 2010, will it? Maybe. […]
And then there were two: House Awa and House Rickard. The big dance enters its final night and the two finalists, top-seeded Konawaena and second-seeded Lahainaluna, are among the most unique sports programs in the islands. Unlike the fictional ‘Game of Thrones’, these houses are real, rooted in decades of sacrifice, blood, sweat and tears. They are, without question, the first of their kind in their respective regions. But they also were built on the universal staples of time-honored success: […]
Division I only 2017: Farrington 45, Kaimuki 37 Standout Moli Heimuli had 20 points and eight rebounds despite being triple-teamed by Kaimuki everywhere from the low post to midcourt. Senior Chantal Mailou scored nine big points. Feb. 7, 2016: Leilehua 32, Roosevelt 31, OT Tianna Hanohano scored on a layup with 15 seconds to play, giving Leilehua an overtime win over Roosevelt for the OIA Division I girls basketball championship. Tywanna Abbott led the taller Mules with 10 points and […]
The Final 4 is here. The New City Nissan/HHSAA Division I Girls Basketball State Championships have boiled down to a fine quartet of teams. But let’s examine tonight’s matchups with the afterglow of what went down in the quarterfinals. Konawaena (28-1, 12-0 BIIF) vs. Roosevelt (21-2, 13-0 OIA) Semifinal round, McKinley Student Council Gymnasium, 7 p.m. Results: Konawaena defeated Punahou 51-37 in the quarterfinals. Roosevelt defeated Baldwin 56-33. Rankings: Konawaena, the five-time state champion, is ranked and seeded No. 1. […]
After two days of the New City Nissan/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships, here’s a look at what could’ve been (a.k.a. The Roundball Lamentation Blues). >> Blue Bears For a good stretch, the Baldwin Bears had Roosevelt frozen in time. Roosevelt couldn’t seem to make a layup or 3, and though they were behind 13-0 at the start, Baldwin was just a bucket or two from turning this into a real battle. It was 15-6 when Roosevelt’s shooting went down the […]