Mililani Hands Hilo First Loss of Girls Hoops Season

Mililani High School’s Nayla Long is a confident ball handler and a tough player to keep off of the hardwood.

The senior guard was hurt early in the first quarter when she was unintentionally tripped in the open court. She didn’t sit on the bench long, and despite hitting the deck several more times in the game, her aggressive offensive play helped lead the Trojans to a 61-50 win over Hilo High School on the first day of the Waiakea High School Girls Basketball Tourney.

Long led all scorers with 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the free throw line.

Hilo took an early 14-9 lead after the first quarter. But, foul trouble to Alexis and Aliyah Pana, the team’s two best scorers, hampered the Vikings’ ability to hold that lead. Mililani helped their own cause with a pair of three point shots toward the end of the half from Mikaela Limper and Kaylee Torres, giving Mililani a 25-24 lead. The Trojans would take a 27-26 halftime advantage.

Turnovers hurt the Vikings in the second half. They committed 15 turnovers, including 8 in the third quarter. That led a number of easy layups throughout the half, allowing Mililani to extend their lead to as much as 17 points in the fourth quarter.

The Pana sisters stayed on the bench to start the fourth quarter, but got on the floor shortly into the quarter and helped charge the team back into the game. They combined for 13 of the team’s 18 fourth quarter points and got their team within nine points with under a minute left to play. But, a late turnover ended their chances to complete the comeback.

Aliyah Pana scored 13 points, 11 of them in the second half, while Alexis Pana scored 11 points. Raevyn Kaupu added 10 points for the Vikings.

Mililani dominated the glass with their overall team height and aggressiveness. They out-boarded the Vikings 29-21 for the game. They also knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the game, something the Vikings failed to do.

Kapili Amamalin contributed 13 points and nine rebounds for Mililani, who will play Maui High School Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Ben Pana’s Vikings will play the rest of the weekend at the Hawai`i Preparatory Academy Ka Makani Tip-Off Classic, meaning the school’s junior varsity squad will finish out the Waiakea tournament. Hilo’s JV will face Waiakea tonight at 6:00 p.m. and Ka`u Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Hilo 14 12 6 18 – 50

Mililani 9 18 16 18 – 61

Waiakea 57, Kea`au 24

The host Warriors started the first 7:50 of the game on a 24-0 run and never looked back to pick up their second win of the season. Waiakea (2-2) was lead by Kaydee Rapozo’s 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Nicole Antonio added nine points and three rebounds.

Kea`au (0-1) debuted with new coach Mark Pocock, who comes over from Ka`u High School. Cynthia Nakaima led the Cougars with 11 points and six rebounds. Pocock’s daughter Taylor, who also transferred over from Ka`u, added five points and nine rebounds.

Kea`au 2 9 6 7 – 24

Waiakea 27 10 10 10 – 57

Ka`u 53, Kealakehe 24

Also at Waiakea High School, Ka`u center Toni Beck scored 17 points to lead the Trojans to their first victory of the season. Shyann Flores-Cariaga added 14 points.

Kealakehe, who split their team up between the Waiakea and HPA tournaments, got seven points from Tiani Terazona in their season debut.

Ka`u 6 26 5 16

Kealakehe 4 6 7 7 – 24

Maui 49, Waiakea 39

Trina Valencia scored 17 points and Maui High School broke away in the fourth quarter to take a ten-point victory over host Waiakea in the nightcap of the Waiakea High School Girls Basketball Tourney.

Waiakea (2-3) trailed by one point at halftime but fell behind late in the fourth quarter to lose the game. Sefulu Faavae scored 16 points for the Warriors while Shaila Apele, a transfer from Kamehameha-Hawai`i, added ten points.

Maui 14 13 8 14 – 49

Waiakea 16 8 8 7 – 39

McKinley 41, Kohala 25

At the Hawai`i Preparatory Academy Ka Makani Tip-Off Classic, Laika Aragon led all scorers with 14 points to give McKinley a 16 point victory over the Kohala Cowgirls. Tezrah Antonio led Kohala (0-1) with 12 points

Kohala 6 4 8 7 – 25

McKinley 10 12 8 11 – 41

Hawai`i Prep 61, Kealakehe 15

Ka Makani picked up their second win of the season with a 46 point cruise over the Waveriders. Hawai`i Prep (2-2) allowed only one field goal in the first half and held a 28-3 lead after the first 16 minutes.

Ula Brostek led HPA with 14 points whle Eliyah Fernandez added 12. Kealakehe was lead by Kehaulani Lee’s five points.

Kealakehe 1 2 5 7 – 15

Hawai`i Prep 14 14 18 15 – 61