[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
Warriors earn
state berth
With Kamehameha's state-tournament hopes fading, Warriors girls basketball coach Clay Cockett decided to take an honest approach with his team entering the fourth quarter of yesterday's game with Maryknoll.
"I told them Maryknoll was kicking their butt," Cockett said. "We never did anything we were supposed to do all night, especially on defense."
Kamehameha responded by erasing an eight-point deficit in the final period to force overtime and edged the Spartans in the extra period to pull out a 51-49 victory in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu third-place-tournament final at McCabe Gym.
By capturing the tournament title, Kamehameha (9-4) earned the ILH's third berth in next week's Division I state tournament at the Stan Sheriff Center, joining Punahou and Iolani as the league's representatives.
Maryknoll ended its season at 5-8.
"Maryknoll wanted it more than we did," Cockett said. "They were a much better team than we were tonight."
Kamehameha sophomore Tatriana Lorenzo led all scorers with 19 points, the final two coming on a runner in the lane with 36 seconds left in overtime to give the Warriors the lead for good.
"If it's there, you have to take it. You can't be scared," Lorenzo said. "It doesn't matter how old you are, you can't look down on opportunities."
Freshman Analee Viena Lota came off the bench to score all nine of her points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Her jumper with 25 seconds left in regulation sent the game into overtime.
Maryknoll center Sela Fisilau led the Spartans with 16 points in the paint.
The Spartans' motion offense knifed through the Kamehameha defense in the first three quarters. Fisilau, playing in the high post, repeatedly found Maryknoll guards cutting to the basket for layups, including Jessica Akamine (nine points) and Tammie Andres (eight).
"We were playing decent defense and we were playing our offense pretty well, but they stepped it up a notch," Maryknoll coach Robert Samson said. "Give credit to Kamehameha, they just stepped up their game."
The game was tied at 25 midway through the third quarter before Maryknoll closed the period with a 13-5 run and took a 38-30 lead on Cheryl Lee's jumper.
Sparked by a 3-pointer by Lorenzo, Kamehameha outscored the Spartans 13-2 to open the fourth quarter and claimed a 43-40 lead when Viena Lota hit a shot from the free-throw line.
Fisilau scored the game's next five points and gave Maryknoll a 45-43 lead with 51 seconds left.
After the Warriors misfired twice on the offensive end, Viena Lota gathered the rebound and banked in a jumper to tie the game at the end of regulation.
"After my first two shots in the fourth quarter I knew I just had to keep that confidence, especially at a big moment like this," Viena Lota said.
When Maryknoll took a 49-48 lead on Andres' drive to the basket with 1:35 left in overtime, Lorenzo drove into the lane and pulled up to hit the go-ahead bucket.
"Tatriana took the bull by the horns and she was the one who wanted to do it," Cockett said.
At McCabe Gym
Maryknoll (5-8) 11 8 19 7 4 -- 49 Kamehameha (9-4) 8 13 9 15 6 -- 51 MARYKNOLL--Nicole Fu 4, Jessica Akamine 9, Tammie Andres 8, Whitney Wong 6, Jessica Ho 2, Kaulana Salangdron 0, Cheryl Lee 4, Sela Fisilau 16.
KAMEHAMEHA--Miki Nakamura 2, India Soo 3, Lori Nakamura 2, Analee Viena Lota 9, Kaui Todd 0, Jordan Tangonan 8, Tatriana Lorenzo 19, Lilia Lee 0, Mounia Nihipali 6, Leah Godinet 2.
3-point goals--Kamehameha 5 (Tangonan 2, Lorenzo 2, Soo).