WAHINE BASKETBALL
Rainbow Wahine win season opener
The future is looking very bright for the Hawaii women's backcourt.
The freshman Big Island tandem of Keisha Kanekoa and Leilani Galdones combined for 34 points, and four players scored in double figures to lead the Rainbow Wahine over Washington 80-75 in their season opener and the first round of the 11th Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic last night.
Kanekoa scored 21 points, Dita Liepkalne added 17, Tanya Smith had a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Galdones had 13. Kanekoa hit four of six free throws and a clutch runner during the final minute to stave off a late Huskies rally.
Washington forward Michelle Augustavo had two chances in the final 15 seconds to hit a 3-pointer and send the game into overtime, but she bricked the first on a pull-up 3 and air-balled the second from 25 feet with less than a second left.
Regardless of that, it wasn't the game Kanekoa hoped to have. It was much better.
"I thought I was gonna choke," the Honokaa graduate and Star-Bulletin Player of the Year said with a smile. "I was nervous, I thought I was gonna have lots of turnovers. But when you got the ball in your hands and you start to dribble (that's when I got comfortable)."
Punahou star Kuehu signs with Cal
Punahou's Shawna-Lei Kuehu, the Star-Bulletin Girls Basketball player of the year in 2004 and '05, signed a letter of intent yesterday to play for the University of California.
Punahou won state championships during Kuehu's freshman and sophomore seasons. Kuehu sat out last year with an ACL injury suffered in offseason play.
Kuehu's star began to shine on the national forefront in 2005. After playing with a team from Kalakaua Clinic on the mainland, she was invited to play with the California Storm at Nike Elite tournaments in Chicago and Georgia.
In one of the tourneys, the 5-foot-10 forward averaged 17.1 points per game while playing defense against highly touted recruits like Maya Moore (Duke). After she returned to the islands, more than 30 Division I programs made contact.
She is the fifth Buffanblu to sign with a university this week. On Wednesday, baseball players Harrison "Jeeter" Ishida (Arizona State) and Paul Snieder (Northwestern) signed their LOIs, as did volleyball players Sydney Yogi (Texas) and Erik Shoji (Stanford).
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Led by Kanekoa at the point, Hawaii simply outquicked the larger, slower Huskies (0-3) in the first half, thanks in part to a fullcourt press the Rainbow Wahine applied for most of the game. Galdones nailed all three of her 3-point attempts -- including two from NBA range -- as the Rainbow Wahine went 5-for-8 from behind the arc before halftime in building a 38-25 lead. Washington missed all five of its long-range shots before the break, while Hawaii shot 58 percent from long range for the game.
"I told you guys she could shoot it," coach Jim Bolla said of the 4-for-5 3-point performance of Galdones, a 2006 Kamehameha-Hawaii graduate, who redshirted last year. "She got us going early with those 3s, and (Keisha) can just do what she does."
Kanekoa displayed a wide variety of scoop shots, pull-up jumpers and deft passes in 33 minutes, a familiar sight to those who saw her guide Honokaa to three straight semifinal appearances in the HHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament.
The lead snowballed to 17 early in the second half (51-34), but then the Huskies' offense got going from deep. Augustavo started heaving the ball up, coming around screens, and went 5-for-11 on 3-pointers to help pull Washington to within a possession in the final minute. She finished with a team-high 20 points, while Jess McCormack added 12 and Sami Whitcomb 11.
"I think we were able to exploit (our speed) in the first half, but in the second -- we talked about this -- they were able to pound the ball inside," Bolla said. "That's how they were able to kick it out and start hitting all those 3s."
Smith and forward Iwona Zagrobelna both fouled out guarding the Washington frontcourt.
Hawaii 80, Washington 75
Huskies (0-1)
|
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Florence |
1 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
30 |
11 |
5 |
5
|
McNeil |
0 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
29 |
4 |
0 |
4
|
Whitcomb |
5 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
20 |
0 |
1 |
11
|
Redmon |
3 |
13 |
3 |
3 |
34 |
6 |
1 |
9
|
McCormack |
2 |
5 |
8 |
13 |
27 |
7 |
0 |
12
|
McLellan |
4 |
6 |
0 |
2 |
17 |
3 |
1 |
8
|
Bennet |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
0 |
2
|
Augustavo |
5 |
13 |
5 |
5 |
23 |
2 |
2 |
20
|
Argens |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Moslman |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
2 |
1 |
4
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
Totals |
22 |
59 |
25 |
36 |
200 |
41 |
11 |
75 |
Rainbow Wahine (1-0)
|
|
fg |
fga |
ft |
fta |
min |
reb |
a |
tp
|
Liepkalne |
5 |
7 |
5 |
7 |
30 |
8 |
2 |
17
|
Galdones |
4 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
34 |
1 |
1 |
13
|
Cariaga |
2 |
8 |
4 |
4 |
31 |
6 |
2 |
8
|
Kanekoa |
8 |
14 |
4 |
6 |
33 |
3 |
2 |
21
|
Smith |
5 |
19 |
5 |
7 |
31 |
13 |
3 |
15
|
Tinnin |
1 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
21 |
1 |
1 |
3
|
Kotani |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
Zagrobelna |
1 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
18 |
2 |
1 |
3
|
TEAM |
|
|
|
|
|
8
|
Totals |
26 |
62 |
21 |
31 |
200 |
42 |
12 |
80 |
Key -- fg: field goals made; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws made; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes played; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime -- Hawaii 38, Washington 25
3-point goals -- Washington 6-17 (Augustavo 5-11, Whitcomb 1-2, McNeil 0-1, Redmon 0-3). Hawaii 7-12 (Galdones 4-5, Liepkalne 2-3, Kanekoa 1-1, Cariaga 0-1, Tinnin 0-1, Zagrobelna 0-1). Personal fouls -- Washington 25, Hawaii 21. Fouled out-- Florence, Smith, Zagrobelna.
Steals -- Washington 9 (Florence 3, Redmon 2, Whitcomb, McCormack, McLellan, Augustavo). Hawaii 4 (Kanekoa 2, Liepkalne, Tinnin), Blocked shots -- Hawaii 4 (Smith 3, Cariaga). Turnovers -- Washington 17 (McLellan 4, Redmon 3, McNeill 3, Augustavo 3, Florence 2, McCormack, TEAM). Hawaii 18 (Liepkalne 4, Galdones 4, Kanekoa 3, Smith 3, Cariaga, Tinnin, Kotani, Zagrobelna).
Officials -- Todd Apo, Brian Yamasaki, Ryan Wells. A--N/A.