Seniors lead Maryknoll
past McKinley

Blending the old and the new is not a novel concept, but the Maryknoll Spartans are learning that value.

Seniors Tammie Andres, Jessica Akamine and Sela Fisilau combined for 28 points as Maryknoll overpowered McKinley 41-29 last night in the Punahou Spring Wahine Basketball Classic at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

Andres and Akamine scored 10 points apiece, while Fisilau had eight. Fisilau, a 6-foot senior, patrolled the key with classmate Cheryl Lee as the Spartans controlled the tempo against the younger Lady Tigers.

"We're learning to work together," Lee said.

Andres, the point guard, agreed.

"We're learning how to mesh."

The two practically answered simultaneously with nearly the same replies, the byproduct of playing together so long.

Learning to be patient is going to be crucial for a Spartan team that has been successful against a lot of non-Interscholastic League of Honolulu teams.

"If we didn't bring up the intermediate kids, we'd only have eight," Maryknoll coach Bobby Samson said.

"It's hard at times because they don't know the caliber of play," Lee added. "But they're smart players. They'll learn."

McKinley was within six points midway through the second quarter before Maryknoll went on a run to open a 26-13 halftime lead. The Lady Tigers got within nine on Linda Fowler's free throws midway through the third quarter, but got no closer. Fisilau scored on a tough drive from the high post, and Lee scored a layup off a lob from sophomore Nicole Fu.

Those plays sparked a run that put the game out of reach.

The Lady Tigers (5-3) are in building mode, so coach Jesse Victorino was relatively satisfied.

"We did what we needed to do. We wanted to work on slowing the tempo down, but we're young and we made mistakes," he said.

Mid-Pacific 50, Kamehameha-Hawaii 49

Sherice Ajifu scored 15 points and Megan Laughlin tallied 13 as the Owls pulled an ironman performance in stunning the Warriors.

The Owls suited up just five players en route to the win over KS-Hawaii, a team that upset Punahou on Wednesday. Keri Nakamura and Jasmine Vieira scored eight points apiece, and Yuki Sei had six.

Leilani Galdones led KS-Hawaii (4-2) with 20 points. Jamie Mattos added 17.

"We needed to work on passing the ball against pressure, so when they brought it, I told our girls that there will be no dribbling," KS-Hawaii coach Kimo Miller said. "That's one of our weaknesses."

MPI coach Byron Cheng's team opened an 11-point lead at the end of the third quarter.

"Byron's a very good coach. They were changing defenses on every one of our possessions," Miller said.

Punahou 52, Konawaena 38

The host Buffanblu turned a tight game into a fourth-quarter runaway. Shanna-Lei Dacanay scored 11 points and dished out 10 assists, while freshman Shawna Kuehu pumped in 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Punahou (5-1).

Konawaena led 16-4 before the host team woke up. Punahou went on a resounding 26-3 run to take an 11-point lead just before halftime.

Konawaena tied the game at 34 on a free throw by Jazzmin Awa-Williams, but ran out of gas. The Wildcats (2-1) made just four of their 10 free-throw attempts in the third quarter.

Punahou closed out the game with an 18-4 blitz.

Awa-Williams scored 16 points and grabbed eight caroms to lead Kona.

Kalaheo 52, St. Andrew's Priory 22

Taylor Smith poured in 18 points as the Lady Mustangs (5-1) rolled over the Pride.

Holly Saito led St. Andrew's with nine points.

Iolani 55, Roosevelt 28

Hennasea-Sue Tokumura scored 13 points and Alana Wall added 11 for the Raiders.

Shannon Miyashiro paced the Rough Riders with 13 points. Dianna Zane chipped in eight. Starting forward Tati Beasley injured her right knee during halftime warm-ups and did not return.

Punahou II 43, Moanalua 35

Taila Autele and Arielle Daniels scored 10 points each, and Yuree Nam added nine as the Buffanblu started strong and defeated the Menehunes.

Jamie Ronolo paced Moanalua with 12 points.