Prep Beat

By Star-Bulletin Staff

Thursday, May 13, 1999

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
McKinley's Patricia Ishiki drives past Pearl City's Rachel Lacar.

Kalaheo moves
into title game

By Cindy Luis
Star-Bulletin

For a while, the strategy worked.

Pressure defense. Run. More pressure. More running.

But in the end, Nanakuli found itself in the same position as 10 other Oahu Interscholastic Association teams this season. The Golden Hawks were on the short end of the scoreboard when playing defending OIA champ Kalaheo.

Last night at the Mustangs' gym, Kalaheo (11-0) used a 10-3 third-quarter run to pull away to a 53-36 victory over Nanakuli (10-2). The Mustangs next will take on Pearl City (12-0) in a battle of league unbeatens in tomorrow's 7:30 p.m. title game at the Blaisdell Arena.

In last night's other semifinal, the host Chargers topped McKinley, 50-39. The Tigers face the Golden Hawks in tomorrow's 5:30 p.m. third-place game. Moanalua and Aiea meet at 4 p.m. tomorrow for the fifth place and the final OIA berth in the state tournament.

"We thought we could run with them but that's hard to do on their home court," said Nanakuli coach Gerald Lum. "They made all their shots down the stretch and the ball didn't fall for us.

"You've got to give them credit. They're the champions and if you want to be the champions, you've got to beat the best. We've never been this far in the tournament."

Nanakuli hung tough through the middle of the third quarter, hitting three free throws to close to 24-21 with 5:14 left in the period. But consecutive 3-pointers by Kalaheo's Jenn Conner and Brandy Richardson sparked an 11-0 run and the Golden Hawks never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.

"I expected Nanakuli to play hard but I wasn't sure if they had the talent to stay with us in the post for an entire game," said Mustangs coach Chico Furtado. "But they sure had the physicalness and the quickness.

"I don't think the burden is on us (to repeat as OIA champs). I think the burden is continuing to play to our capabilities. We need to play good defense without fouling and keep our horses on the floor."

Both teams were hampered by foul trouble during the physical game. Both were in the 1-and-1 bonus before the end of the first quarter.

Lack of depth and big-game experience probably hurt Nanakuli the most. The Golden Hawks ran back-door plays to perfection but several times couldn't get the ball to drop.

"Our goal is to play Kalaheo again in the state tournament and do a little better job of doing what we need to do," said Lum.

Richardson finished with 20 points and Conner 11 for Kalaheo. Nanakuli was led by Kori Montez's eight points.

Nanakuli	11 6  3 16-36
Kalaheo		17 7 10 19-53

Nanakuli: Emily Park 0, Rosemarie Kelly 6, Maricris Sierra 7, Shyla Ulangca 0, Kori Montez 8, Ipo Keopuhiwa 2, Shaela Lew 7, Lahela Romena 2, Summer Victor 0, Mary Davis 0, Haunani Momoa 4.

Kalaheo: Michelle Quintana 0, Tiffany Jackson 0, Kate Mellinger 4, Brandy Richardson 20, Jenn Conner 11, Sharon Wahinekapu 8, Natasha Lagapa 0, Alberta Lui 1, Ilima Ah Nee 0, Marla Gladstone 3, Sherrine Kanahele 4, Nicole Furtado 2, Leilani Pao 0, Heather Gonsalves 0.

3-pointers-Kal: Brandy Richardson 2.

Pearl City 50, McKinley 39: At Pearl City, Mililani Monis popped in 13 points and twin sister Momilani Monis scored 11 to help the Chargers (12-0) top the Tigers (8-3).

Mililani Monis and Cheryl Villarmia split all 14 of Pearl City's third-quarter points while the Chargers held McKinley to a single basket and built a 36-23 lead.

Traci Torralva had a game-high 18 points for the Tigers.

McKinley	10 11  2 16-39
Pearl City	9 13 14 14-50

McKinley: Patricia Ishiki 5, Stacey Towai 2, Amber Ehia 12, Tasha Haynes 2, Brianne Ching 0, Briana Ioane 0, Traci Torralva 18, Pohai Lee 0, Filiga Lakisa 0.

Pearl City: Tricia Ejima 0, Rachel Lacar 9, Mililani Monis 13, Cheryl Villarmia 9, Momilani Monis 11, Navilla Navarette 2, April Atkinson 6.

3-pointers-McK: Amber Ehia 2.

Moanalua 53, Roosevelt 31: At Pearl City, the Menehunes won a consolation semifinal game when five players combined to score 15 points during a 15-6 second-quarter run.

Mayumi Stevens, who finished as the OIA's leading scorer during the regular season, hit three 3-pointers en route to 13 points for Moanalua.

Tishya Cadiente led the Rough Riders with 10 points. Roosevelt finishes the year at 6-6.

Roosevelt	12  6  3 10-31
Moanalua	13 15 12 13-53

Roosevelt: Rei Young 0, Karli Taniguchi 0, Tricia Kadooka 0, Tracey Kobashigawa 2, Megan Fong 9, Tishya Cadiente 10, Jodi Nakashima 6, Jaime Nakamoto 0, Ashlie Dutro 3, Sefilina Gray 1.

Moanalua: Janelle Uyeda 8, Marlo Daniels 8, Mayumi Stevens 13, Onesha Walker 2, Kim Morikawa 3, Erin Chow 11, Mel Matautia 0, Gina Carmon 0, Brianna Huddy 8.

3-pointers-Roos: Megan Fong, Jodi Nakashima 2, Ashley Dutro. Moan: Mayumi Stevens 3.

Aiea 48, Farrington 44: At Kalaheo, Aritta Lane scored 19 points as Na Alii (9-4) eliminated the Governors (7-5).

Kylee Nakamura had 16, including three 3-pointers, for Aiea.

Robynn Afe paced Farrington with 14 points.

Farrington	10  8  8 18-44
Aiea		7 17 11 13-48

Farrington: Rochelle Rivera 0, Nicholle Mata 2, Cherlyn Ligot 6, Darcy Reformina 8, Jennifer Nuesca 0, Sophia Malufau 12, Christina Stowers 0, Lorelei Tuimalealiifano 0, Cynthia Filifili 2, Evelyn Uli 0, Robynn Afe 14.

Aiea: Joelle Sugai 4, Kylee Nakamura 16, Tiffany Seiki 0, Roomai Oshiro 0, Lauren Ho 0, Ashley Watanabe 4, Nadine Manangan 0, Stephanie Vannatta 0, Keesha Aldridge 5, Aritta Lane 19.

3-pointers-Farr: Darcy Reformina 2. Aiea: Kyle Nakamura 3.

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Gabriel paces
Maryknoll over Iolani

Star-Bulletin staff

Michelle Gabriel hit two 3-pointers in the critical third quarter and finished with 11 points as Maryknoll eliminated Iolani, 38-32, in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu playoffs yesterday at McCabe Gym.

The win sets up a showdown between Maryknoll and Punahou tomorrow night for the ILH's final state berth. The teams meet at 6 p.m. at McCabe Gym.

Nabossa Basse poured in 19 points for Maryknoll. Monica Tokoro led Iolani with 11 points.

Iolani		6 13  7  6-32
Maryknoll	9  5 14 10-38

Iolani: Tricia Nishimoto 4, Kacy Nekoba 9, Monica Tokoro 11, Kari Hayashi 4, Noelle Izumi 0, Kristen Masunaga 0, Keri Tomomitsu 4, Elyssa Street 0, Ine Samia 0, Rachel Faleafine 0.

Maryknoll: Elizabeth Kam 2, Shayne Enright 0, Kanani Medeiros 0, Shannon Riley 4, Michelle Gabriel 11, Denby Fukuda 2, Carla Donlin 0, Kainoa Fialkowski 0, Nabossa Basse 19.

3-pointers-Iol: Kacy Necoba. Mary: Michelle Gabriel 2.

Punahou 49, Mid-Pacific 35: When she wasn't causing havoc on the defensive end at McCabe Gym, the Buffanblu's Estee Okumura was creating problems on offense.

Okumura scored eight of her team-high 12 points in the first half as Punahou eliminated the Owls.

Mid-Pacific Institute's Ashley Watamura finished with a game-high 17 points.

Mid-Pacific	6 12  6 11-35
Punahou		11 20 12  6-49

Mid-Pacific: Lianne Ige 3, Rosella Leonhardt 0, Kimberly Hee 0, Erika Sayson 4, Jessica Eji 2, Stephanie Toshi 2, Brenda Bauer 4, Ashley Watamura 17, Jean Kasamoto 0, Christina Hee 2, Megahn Chun 1.

Punahou: Christan Zoccolante 2, Rebecca Lee 2, Wendy Takeguchi 2, Chanele Kealoha 2, Malia Durand 11, Jennifer Androus 0, Milia Macfarlane 10, Caroline Ane 6, Mia Moe 0, Estee Okumura 12, Christine Wilson 0, Lauren Yamada 2.

3-pointers-MP: Lianne Ige. Pun: Milia Macfarlane 2.