LIHU‘E — The run at a state title came to an end Thursday night for the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors basketball squad, after falling to No. 2 seed Kaimuki by a 51-40 count in the semifinals of the Hawaiian Airlines HHSAA
LIHU‘E — The run at a state title came to an end Thursday night for the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors basketball squad, after falling to No. 2 seed Kaimuki by a 51-40 count in the semifinals of the Hawaiian Airlines HHSAA Div. II Girls Basketball State Championships.
Kapa‘a (10-2) was unable to recover from an early deficit after falling behind 19-8 at then end of the first quarter.
The Warrios played evenly for the rest of the night but were unable to cut into that margin, playing at Farrington High School on O‘ahu.
Jessilyn Aki was Kapa‘a’s leading scorer for the second time in its three HHSAA state games so far this week, scoring 11 points.
Ala McCabe had 10 for the Warriors, while Ash-lyn Lee, Wednesday night’s leading scorer, had nine points.
Mahea Hanie-Grace scored six and Kira Nakamura and Tori Tuttle had two points apiece.
Kaimuki (15-1) knocked down five 3-pointers on the night, three coming from the game’s leading scorer, Dejah Fa‘asoa, who finished the night with 15 points.
Alison Pologa hit the other two triples on her way to 14 points. Vaioleti Mikaele had 13 for Kaimuki, which will now head to the state championship game to be played at 5 p.m. tonight at Blaisdell Arena on O‘ahu.
The Lady Warriors entered the state tournament after an 8-1 season in the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation and took a 56-55 opening-round win over University High School.
They then ran away with a 64-49 win over No. 3 seed Sacred Hearts on Wednesday before falling Thursday night.
Kapa‘a will be back on the court at 11 a.m. today, facing Kahuku (14-4) in the third-place game.
Kaimuki will be facing the No. 1 seed and defending Div. II champion Molokai (12-0), after its 79-69 win over Kahuku.
Senior Danna Lynn Hooper-Juario scored 33 points for Molokai, going 7 for 12 from the floor and 18 for 20 from the free-throw line.
Kahuku cut an early 12-point deficit to just five entering the fourth quarter, but could not complete the comeback.
In other Div. II tournament action, Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy took a 49-42 victory over Sacred Hearts in the fifth-place semifinals.
It will take on Kamehameha-Hawai‘i in the fifth-place game at 9 a.m. today after its 78-64 topping of Kaiser on Thursday.
University High School won the consolation game, 46-43 over Word of Life.
In Div. I, top-seeded Konawaena cruised into the championship game with a 54-22 thrashing of ‘Iolani.
The Wildcats were up 19-5 after the first quarter and never let the Raiders into the ballgame.
Their balanced scoring attack was led by Emalia Galdeira and Dawnyelle Awa, each finishing with 10 points.
Their opponent in the title game will be No. 2 seeded Lahainaluna, the championship squad from Maui.
Lahainaluna knocked off Punahou by a 64-56 score, behind 29 points from Maiki Viela.
This was a much tighter contest throughout than Konawaena’s semifinal, as the Lunas were tied with Punahou at halftime, 25-25, but used an 18-11 third quarter to create some breathing room and move into the finals.
The championship will be played at 7 p.m., following the Div. II title game.
‘Iolani and Punahou will battle for third place at 3 p.m.
Farrington and Roosevelt will be on the court at 1 p.m. to determine the fifth-place finisher.
