[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
Punahou girls win ILH
basketball championship
There is only one senior on the Punahou girls basketball team and she made all the difference yesterday.
Before a raucous crowd at Damien Gym, Buffanblu senior Eryn Chun keyed a fourth-quarter rally as Punahou came from behind to defeat Iolani 40-34. Punahou (11-2) withstood a first-half Iolani surge to clinch its second straight Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship. It was a larger margin of victory than the two previous meetings combined. Punahou won by one point in April and Iolani won by two earlier this month.
Chun (five points) didn't score the most points, but her defense inspired a fourth-quarter shutout.
"Eryn's play was huge," Punahou coach Mike Taylor said. "She's our top defender and she went in there and guarded Hennasea (Tokumura) really well. The whole team gets energized when she gets in there.
"She got a couple tie-ups, jump balls that totally gets our defense going. They really feed off Eryn's intensity."
"She made so many tips here and there," said guard Shanna-Lei Dacanay, who led the Buffanblu with 12 points. "She just adds so much intensity to our squad.
"We missed her the past three games. Having her back really made a difference. She really helped getting us going on defense."
Chun missed Punahou's last three games with an ankle injury and the Buffanblu looked more vulnerable than they did all season with losses to Kamehameha and Iolani.
Both teams are young, with just one senior starter each -- Iolani's Ginger Gravelle (three points) and Chun. Ultimately Punahou's experience in big games was the difference.
"We've been in it before, last year," Dacanay said. "You feel like it's another game, but hearing all the fans yelling, we had to block that out and focus and play our game.
"Coach Mike just told us we had to play harder defense and don't be as passive. In the second half that's what we did. We just went after them and attacked them."
Iolani coach Glenn Takara agreed that experience was a major factor.
"Their experience was the big difference," he said. "We haven't been there yet. It's going to help the young players down the line. They were caught up in the emotion."
Tokumura and Meilin Akamu each had six points for the Raiders. Sophomore Alana Wall led Iolani with 11 points.
The Buffanblu trailed most of the game, until their defense forced six turnovers in the fourth period. Iolani's opening possession of the quarter was an indication of their struggle to communicate and handle the ball as Tokumura threw the ball away to a teammate that didn't expect the pass.
With 6:34 left in the game, Dacanay popped in a 3-pointer to tie the game at 34. The Buffanblu took the lead after Chun poked a ball loose, got the steal, and took off for the basket.
Chun was intentionally fouled by Wall and calmly sank both free throws for a 36-34 Buffanblu lead. She missed three consecutive free throws to start the period.
"After missing the first three, I let the noise help me," Chun said. "It makes you want to make it even more."
After Punahou took the lead with 5:16 in the game, the Buffanblu went into their "high-percentage" offense and played keep away with the ball. The Raiders didn't foul or get possession of the ball until there were 34 ticks left on the clock.
"We're really patient offensively," Taylor said. "We weren't stalling. All we wanted to do was work for a high-percentage shot."
At Damien Gym
Punahou(11-2) 8 11 12 9 -- 40 Iolani (10-3) 12 15 7 0 -- 34 PUNAHOU--Shanna Dacanay 12, Eryn Chun 5, Ciana Aiwohi 2, Makena Hunt, Mahina Macfarlane 2, Tessa Sonobe 2, Sophia Merrifield 6, Chelsea Deptula, Christine Takara 9, Gail Matsushima 2.
IOLANI--Hennasea-Sue Tokumura 6, Alana Matayoshi 4, Ginger Gravelle 3, Marci Kang 2, Alana Wall 11, Meilin Akamu 6, Keilyn Fujioka, Chelsea Wong 2.
3-point goals -- Punahou 1 (Dacanay), Iolani 1 (Wall).