Mounia Nihipali used her volleyball skills to lead Kamehameha to a basketball victory last night as the Warriors defeated Punahou 44-39 and captured the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship at Hawaii Baptist Academy gym. Warriors upend
Buffanblu for titleBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comNihipali posted a team-high 16 points and 15 rebounds in the Warriors' fifth meeting with Punahou this season.
"She's a volleyball player first and she can get up on the net," Kamehameha coach Clay Cockett said. "It's the same thing out here -- you have to jump on the net to get rebounds."
The win was Kamehameha's second over Punahou in the past 10 days. The Warriors handed the Buffanblu their first loss of the season 47-40 on April 23 after losing three previous meetings. The win also avenged their loss to Punahou in last year's ILH title game.
"From the beginning we knew Punahou was going to be the best team," Cockett said. "I wanted to play them twice in the preseason to see where we're at and how far we had to go. And we've come a long way from that first game, even from the first game in the regular season."
Nihipali was among three players who recorded double-doubles last night. The sophomore had 10 points and 10 rebounds before halftime.
"Playing volleyball definitely helps me in basketball," she said.
Kamehameha's Megan Ching struggled from the field (5-for-16), but still managed to rack up 10 points and 12 rebounds. Becky Hogue led Punahou with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
With the Punahou defense focused on containing the Warriors' perimeter shooters, Nihipali was able to score on short jumpers and put-backs.
"During the season our post wasn't working and most of our points were coming on 3s and from the outside," Nihipali said. "The defense keeps biting outside because they know the guards are going to shoot. So they just leave us hanging down there."
Despite Nihipali's strong play in the paint, Punahou held a 21-20 lead at halftime thanks to 14-of-16 shooting from the free-throw line.
Kamehameha battled back to take a 29-25 lead in the third quarter, but Punahou scored the final six points of the period to regain control.
The Buffanblu took advantage of a Kamehameha cold spell to start the fourth quarter and opened up a six-point lead. The Warriors finally scored at the 3:15 mark of the quarter on a bucket by Ashley Ruff, but Punahou answered quickly and took a 39-33 lead with 2:10 remaining.
Amber Carter, who was silent most of the game, hit a 3-pointer to resuscitate Kamehameha's hopes.
"After that we just went off the hook," Nihipali said. "That was a big turn-on for us."
After a Punahou miss, Ruff scored and was fouled to cut the deficit to 39-38. She missed the free throw and Punahou rebounded.
The Buffanblu worked the clock down under a minute, but missed a jumper and Lehua Wood rebounded for Kamehameha. The Warriors worked the ball quickly upcourt and Ruff scored the go-ahead basket with 33 seconds left.
"We had an open shot down there, it just didn't go in," Punahou coach Mike Taylor said. "We can do a lot of what-ifs right now, but it's all hindsight. We can't second-guess ourselves."
Wood came up with a steal on Punahou's next possession and hit two free throws to give the Warriors an insurmountable lead.
"Lehua had some problems tonight," Cockett said. "But down the stretch when it counts, you have to count on certain people and Lehua is one of those you can't take out of the game."
While the game left both teams spent, both are looking forward to a possible Kamehameha-Punahou VI in the upcoming state tournament.
"We'll be all right," Taylor said. "We'll bounce back."
At Hawaii Baptist Academy gym
Kamehameha (14-1) 12 8 9 15 -- 44 Punahou (13-2) 10 11 10 8 -- 39 KAMEHAMEHA -- Tiffiny Ann Shim 0, India Soo 0, Ashley Ruff 8, Courtney Chai 0, Adrianee Hee 0, Kekai Crabbe 2, Amber Carter 3, Lehua Wood 5, Mounia Nihipali 16, Megan Kanoa 0, Megan Ching 10.
PUNAHOU -- Rachel Kane 6, Elyse Umeda 1, Shanna-Lei Dacanay 8, Megan Abbott 2, Seisha Sukekane 0, Kristen LaVine 0, Janelle Shin 6, Kelly Karns 0, Christine Takara 0, Becky Hogue 16.
3-point goals -- Kamehameha 1 (Carter). Punahou 1 (Dacanay).
Junior varsity OIA
At Roosevelt
Farrington 52, Mililani 43
Roosevelt 32, Kaiser 24
Iolani 4, Kamehameha 2: The Raiders advanced to the championship round of the ILH tournament with a win over the Warriors. ILH baseball
Iolani rallied for three runs in the top of the seventh inning to eliminate the ILH regular-season champion Warriors. Kelly Teramoto drove in the tying run with a triple and later scored the go-ahead run.
Rich Olsen struck out eight in a complete-game performance for Iolani, which plays Mid-Pacific at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Aloha Stadium. The Raiders must beat the Owls tomorrow and again Tuesday to win the tournament championship.
At Ala Wai Field
Iolani (11-7) 100 000 3 -- 4 7 0 Kamehameha (15-4) 002 000 0 -- 2 5 1 Rich Olsen and Kala Kaaihue. Shannon Kahale, Kaulana Chang (3) and Baba Merino. W -- Olsen. L -- Chang.
Leading hitters -- Iolani: Kelly Teramoto 2-4, 3b, 2 RBI; Kaaihue 1-3, RBI. Kamehameha: Tyler Perkins 2-3.
Hawaii School Web Sites