[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
Moanalua, Farrington
advance to OIA final
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RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
McKinley's Rayna Isaki drove to the hoop past Moanalua's Patti Hardimon last night.
Hardimon, Leautu help
Menehunes pull away
Clutch play in crunch time by swingman Patti Hardimon and post Marleen Leautu gave host Moanalua the boost it was looking for last night in a 41-32 Oahu Interscholastic Association semifinal basketball victory over McKinley.
With the score tied 30-30, Leautu drilled a 10-footer and the Menehunes (12-0) never trailed again. Hardimon followed with a calm 3-pointer with just under five minutes left and Leautu grabbed a defensive rebound on McKinley's next time down the court.
From there, Moanalua went 6-for-12 from the line to wrap it up and move on to the OIA championship game against Farrington tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Throughout the first half and into the third quarter, the Menehunes were uncharacteristically impatient. They trailed 15-7 and 19-12 at the first two breaks.
"We just had to get that jump start," Moanalua coach Roy Dias said. "We came out flat and couldn't hit shots. We also had poor shot selection, but we came through it and were fired up in the second half. Patti and Marleen hit some really big shots that opened the game up for us."
The Tigers (10-3) were the complete opposite of the Menehunes in the first half, using quick passes to distribute the ball around the horn and set up good looks at the basket. But all of that unraveled in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.
"We're a much better team than we were a few weeks ago," McKinley coach Jesse Victorino said. "The girls got rattled at the end and started getting into their own game instead of the coaches' game. We told them to take their time when they came out for the second half, but our first three possessions we turned it over."
Bre Carson's seven first-quarter points got the Tigers rolling, but they were outscored 7-4 in the low-scoring second quarter.
Thanks to Kepua Lee's six third-quarter points, which included a trey for the first points of the half, Moanalua went on a 12-0 run to take a 26-19 lead.
Center Amber Lee, who battled Leautu in the middle all night, scored six of her 10 points in the third quarter as the Tigers cut the gap to 28-25. Rayna Isaki's 3-pointer and Carson's 15-foot jumper with 7:10 left tied the game at 30.
After Leautu and Hardimon's game-turning baskets made it 35-30, the Menehunes went to a stall and forced McKinley to foul.
"We were sort of nervous at the start," Leautu said. "But we learned a lot about ourselves in this game, especially in the second half. It will be exciting to play for the championship on Friday.
"I tried to not let her (Lee) get the ball and I always had some weak-side help from my teammates."
Hardimon finished with a game-high 13 points, including six in the pivotal final quarter.
"We're looking to accomplish the second-to-last of our four goals by winning the championship game," she said. "We won the East and we qualified for the states, those were our first two goals. The fourth goal is to win the states."
McKinley plays in the third-place game against Kahuku at 5 p.m. tomorrow at the Sheriff Center.
"We missed some key shots," the Tigers' Lee said. "We've got to box out and rebound better."
Victorino wants the Tigers to work on the mental aspects of the game.
"We have the talent, but the girls need to trust the coaches more. It won't be hard for them to adjust to that," he said.
Dias has similar thoughts.
"We'll be working on some of the things we didn't do well tonight," he said. "Especially the mental mistakes."
At Moanalua H.S. Gym
MCKINLEY--Chantal Yadao 0, Rayna Isaki 7, Megan Miyasaka 2, Melody Ababa 0, Bre Carson 13, Ceslie Ma'afala 0, Amber Lee 10, Tania Liufau 0.
McKinley (10-3) 15 4 6 7 -- 32 Moanalua (12-0) 7 7 16 11 -- 41
MOANALUA--Christina Sierra 0, Amy Kotani 5, Ronni Keliihoomalu 5, Sasha Silva 0, Patti Hardimon 13, Joy Matsukawa 0, Kepua Lee 8, Marleen Leautu 10.3-point goals--McKinley 3 (Carson 2, Isaki), Moanalua 2 (Hardimon, K. Lee).
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RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Farrington's Laosamoa Misa-Uli and Kahuku's Aisha Ale and Latoya Wily chased a loose ball under the basket yesterday.
Governors avenge loss
to Red Raiders, 56-46
As expected, yesterday's first Oahu Interscholastic Association girls basketball semifinal was a bruising and physical matchup.
Farrington survived a furious fourth-quarter rally by Kahuku and got seven straight points from guard Revelyn Cabaya to defeat Kahuku 56-46.
The Governors (10-3) avenged their seven-point loss to the Red Raiders earlier this season to hand Kahuku its second loss of the season. Farrington plays Moanalua in the title game at the Stan Sheriff Center tomorrow at 7 p.m.
"We played really well," said Farrington's Laosamoa "Sunshine" Misa-Uli. "When we lost to them, we were thinking, 'Let's get them back in the playoffs.' We wanted to stay positive and not dwell on the loss. We knew we could have done a better job. (Today) we got that physical game (again). I give Kahuku much props. They came at us."
Misa-Uli led the Governors with a double-double (21 points and 10 rebounds). Cabaya finished with 11 points and Tanya Alualu chipped in six points.
"The first half, a lot of the attention was going to Sunshine," Farrington coach Jenic Tumaneng said. "That last half, we knew they were going to get hit, so they had to keep their balance and composure. We got the ball to the right person to maintain our lead at the free-throw line. In practice, we simulate those hard fouls."
The Governors almost squelched a 39-24 lead after the third quarter but converted enough free throws. All but four of the Governors' 17 fourth-quarter points came from the charity stripe. After the Red Raiders cut a 10-point deficit to five, Cabaya hit seven of 10 from the free-throw line to push Farrington's lead back up. The Red Raiders never got close again despite much better defensive pressure that limited the Governors' ability to pass the ball.
"They were composed," Kahuku coach Wendy Anae said. "They did a good job of executing and finishing."
Latoya Wiley led Kahuku (10-2) with 11 points, including seven in the final period.
Kahuku scored 22 points in the fourth but couldn't overcome scoring only four points in the third quarter. Misa-Uli scored 10 of Farrington's 11 points in the third quarter, including a 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds to extend the Governors' lead to 15.
"Our girls took some pride in defense," Tumaneng said. "At halftime, we told them they were getting a lot of transition baskets so we needed to outhustle them and force them to take tough shots on the outside."
At Moanalua H.S. Gym
KAHUKU -- Camilla Ah Hoy 5, Mona Ale 6, Lesina Funaki 3, Artevia Wily 8, Annie Soliai 3, Karla Tailele 6, Aisha Ale 4, Terina Oto 0, Latoya Wily 11.
Kahuku (10-2) 12 8 4 22 -- 46 Farrington (10-3) 15 13 11 17 -- 56
FARRINGTON -- Revelyn Cabaya 11, Ellaine Bihag 5, Joanne Fernandez 1, Sandy Tauta 5, Paepaetele Poasa 2, Tanya Alualu 6, Meleane Mateaki 5, Laosamoa Misa-Uli 21.3-point goals--Kahuku 2 (A. Ale, Soliai), Farrington 2 (Mateaki, Misa-Uli).
