Honokaa routs Pearl City
behind big first quarter

Not all games are won in the fourth quarter. On occasion, some are decided as early as the first. That was the case yesterday as No. 7 Honokaa exploded for 18 points in the first period en route to a 54-33 rout of Pearl City in the Kalaheo Lady Mustangs Classic. The Dragons improve to 7-0 and are the only unbeaten team in the Star-Bulletin Top 10.

The scary part of yesterday's game was that Honokaa took nearly three periods to get settled into its offense.

"Our first half was really sloppy," Honokaa coach Daphne Honma said. "It's probably from the traveling. We were just flat. It was an ugly 18 (points). It wasn't pretty.

"The second half we came out and played a lot better. We started to be a lot more comfortable."

The comfort showed in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as the Dragons went on an 11-2 run to push the score to 51-27. Guards Alyssa Souza and Keisha Kanekoa consistently penetrated to the basket before dishing off to posts Kari Heers and Wila Lavea.

"We've been working a lot on executing our plays and we did that a lot better in the second half," Heers said. "We kind of improved on that as the game went. We struggled a little bit on defense, but we still did OK."

Honokaa did better than OK after holding the Chargers to four points in the first quarter and 10 in the second period.

The Dragons were balanced offensively, with four players in double digits. Heers scored 13 points to lead Honokaa. Jerrika Lorenzo and Kanekoa chipped in 10 points each and Lavea added nine points off the bench.

Lavea is still learning the Dragons' system after transferring from Hawaii Preparatory Academy, but she made her presence felt everywhere. The junior blocked shots, poked balls loose and provided an inside scoring presence.

"That was actually the best game she's played," Honma said. "She's just starting to understand what we're trying to do. She's actually raw talent. It was kind of like a breakthrough game for her."

Despite being down 29-14 at the half, Pearl City played a tight man-to-man defense in the third quarter and matched Honokaa's offensive output with 11 points.

Senior Mele Laulea scored seven of her team-high 11 points in that period.

"It would have been a little bit closer if we had played like the third quarter from the start," Chargers coach Michael Morton said. "We adjusted a little bit in the second half and didn't give up. That's why we're in this kind of tournament.

"Honokaa is a good team. They're a very disciplined team. They're pretty good and that's why I wanted to play a team like this. We need that pressure so our girls know what they have to do."

Kalaheo 49, Radford 28

The host Lady Mustangs got the separation they wanted in the third quarter with a 21-7 run. Kalaheo's trap defense forced several turnovers as the Mustangs converted for easy baskets.

Taylor Smith led Kalaheo with 13 points while Shanadee Canon added 12. Radford's Tereva Moore scored a game-high 16 points with a variety of athletic moves to the basket.

Iolani 52, Kahuku 45

Hennasea-Sue Tokumura scored 17 points and Marci Kang added 12 as the Raiders held off the Red Raiders. Aisha Ale scored a game-high 21 points and Kamaile Hughes added 11 for Kahuku.

Punahou 72, Roosevelt 42

Shawna-Lei Kuehu led three Buffanblu players in double figured with 15 points as Punahou rolled over Roosevelt and into the semifinals against Iolani tonight at 6:30 p.m. Chelsea Kadota scored a game-high 17 points for the Rough Riders.