KS-Hawai’i Earns Sixth Straight Semifinal Berth

Photo by Josh Pacheco

Once the Kamehameha-Hawai’i girls basketball team got its offense flowing, there wasn’t anything that anyone, including the Saint Francis Saints, could do to stop it.

Despite a sluggish first quarter, Kamehameha-Hawai’i rolled to a dominant 65-36 win over Saint Francis in the quarterfinals of the OC16/Hawai’i High School Athletic Association Division II Girls Basketball Championships.

Kamehameha-Hawai’i (11-11 overall, 9-4 Big Island Interscholastic Federation/HHSAA) couldn’t figure out Saint Francis’ 3-2 zone in the opening period, turning the ball over nine times and only mustering seven shot attempts from the field.

In the second quarter, however, the BIIF champions started to pick apart the zone, which was daring Kamehameha-Hawai’i to shoot from the perimeter. The Warriors started to figure out how to move the ball around the perimeter, and Kyla Aguiar started the outside shooting barrage with a left-wing three to put her team up 19-17 with six minutes left in the first half. She drained two threes in the quarter and scored eight for the game.

Two minutes later, sophomore guard Saydee Aganus made Saint Francis pay for giving her too much room to shoot, draining a three from the top of the arc to extend Kamehameha-Hawai’i’s lead to 24-19. Aganus scored 11 in the quarter in 16 for the game, all in the first half.

From there, Kamehameha-Hawai’id didn’t hit a three-point shot for the rest of the game, but it opened up the inside game for Taylor Sullivan, who scored 10 points, all in the second half.

Saint Francis (13-11, 10-6 Interscholastic League of Honolulu/HHSAA) was cut down to size by foul trouble to post players Dayna Romero and Skye Ah Yat. Additionally, leading scorer Ka’imi Kalei was saddled with foul trouble and held to just three points.

Ah Yat finished with 12 points to lead Saint Francis, the third place representative out of the ILH. The Saints shot 5-for-29 (17.2 percent) in the second half and 26 percent for the game. They also didn’t help themselves from the free throw line, shooting 9-for-25 (36 percent).

Jordyn Mantz scored 12 to help Kamehameha-Hawai’i who had played everyone who was suited up for the game. Missing, however, was sharp-shooting guard Hera Salmeron, who was not dressed for the game, but was on the bench. The Warriors shot 54.8 percent from the field.

Kamehameha-Hawai’i advanced to its sixth consecutive Division II state semifinal appearance. The Warriors will face Mid-Pacific, who held off Kaimuki in the earlier game from Waiakea High School, at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Saint Francis 15 9 4 8  – 36

Kamehameha-Hawai’i 14 24 17 10 – 65

OC16/HHSAA Division II Girls Basketball Championship scoreboard

Consolation round

Hanalani 32, Waipahu 29

Kapa’a 39, McKinley 32

Quarterfinals

Kamehameha-Hawai’i 65, Saint Francis 36

Mid-Pacific 49, Kaimuki 38

Kohala 50, Moloka’i 30

Hawai’i Baptist Academy 65, Damien 36

OC16/HHSAA Division I Girls Basketball Championship scoreboard

Fifth place semifinals

Punahou 46, Leilehua 25

Hilo 50, Mililani 36

Semifinals

Konawaena 63, Kaiser 25

Maryknoll 63, Lahainaluna 61