By Wes Nakama
If Part 1 of the ‘Iolani-Kamehameha battle for the ILH regular season basketball title is any indication, the four-part series will be wildly exciting and entertaining.
A crowd of about 550 and statewide TV audience on Spectrum Hawai’i Channel 16 watched ‘Iolani hold off the visiting Warriors, 54-45, to take the early lead in the league race. Freshman guard Justice Kekauoha scored a game-high 15 points and dished out six assists to help the four-time defending state champion Raiders improve to 13-2 overall and 2-0 in the ILH. Nihoa Dunn scored 12 points and grabbed six boards for Kamehameha, which fell to 12-2, 2-1. Third-place Punahou is 0-3, having lost to both teams.
Makenzie Alapai sank two free throws with 2:30 remaining to cap an 11-5 Kamehameha run that closed ‘Iolani’s lead to 48-45, but Keiki McGee answered with a 3-pointer from the right wing, and then drained another 3 from the top of the key as the shot clock wound down with 40 seconds left to effectively seal the victory.
“We’re going to see them three, four or five more times,” said Raiders coach Dean Young, “so it was important for us to win this first one.”
‘Iolani led 11-7 after one period and 24-14 after Kekauoha’s 3-pointer with 3:09 remaining in the second, but Pomai Nakakura hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 22 seconds left to close it to 24-21 at halftime.
Kekauoha sank a runner with 44 seconds remaining in the third period to push the lead to 43-34 entering the fourth, and the Raiders still led 48-41 after Callie Pieper banked in a 3-pointer from the right wing with 3:16 remaining. But Nakakura sank a floater 15 seconds later and Alapai’s two free throws with 2:30 on the clock closed it to 48-45.
The Warriors stayed in the game thanks largely to good shooting, as they finished 48.6 percent (18 of 37) from the field, after a 3-for-10 start in the first period. Kamehameha shot 55.6 percent (15 of 27) in the final three quarters.
“They might be the best shooting team in the state, from 1 through 10,” Young said. “Man, they all can shoot, they’re dangerous.”
Warriors coach Pua Straight said she has confidence in her backcourt to provide offense.
“I think we’ve always had pretty strong guard play, I guess it depends on what a team is doing to us defensively,” Straight said. “They pressured us a lot, so I think we had a little bit of a harder time entering it … we do have good, strong perimeter players, and we try to balance it. We know our most consistent scorer is Nihoa, and other people after that step up. We’ve had consistent guard play.”
The Raiders also got strong contributions from guards besides Kekauoha, as McGee finished with 10 points, six rebounds and two steals, and Hailey Fernandez added 10 points and three boards.
“I think it’s all about our chemistry and how we play together as a team,” Kekauoha said.
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