Iolani beats Maryknoll
to stays in title chase

Iolani's refusal to fold last night kept the Raiders' flickering title hopes alive another day.

Iolani used a 22-0 fourth-quarter run to rally to a dramatic 51-48 victory over Maryknoll and remain in the hunt for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls basketball title.

Iolani, ranked fourth in this week's Star-Bulletin poll, trailed the No. 5 Spartans by 20 in the third quarter and were down 46-27 with 7 minutes left in the fourth before storming back for the win.

"I don't really know what happened," Iolani coach Glenn Takara said with a laugh after the game. "We just played hard and made things happen."

Iolani's win sets up a showdown with undefeated and top-ranked Punahou (9-0) in their regular-season finale on Tuesday. If the Raiders (8-1) win that game, they'll face the Buffanblu again in a playoff for the title and a berth in the state tournament.

The runner-up must battle for the ILH's second state-tournament spot in the league's postseason tournament.

"I told them our season is still in our hands," Takara said. "What we want to accomplish, we can still do. They just took it to heart and played their hardest."

Punahou would have clinched the title with a Maryknoll victory last night. And for three quarters, it looked like Tuesday's game would be for little more than bragging rights.

But Hennasea-Sue Tokumura scored all 12 of her points in the final period, hitting two key 3-pointers, to lead Iolani to the win. The junior guard scored eight straight points in the run and made two free throws late to help secure the victory.

"Basically we just focused on playing together," Tokumura said. "We weren't really performing at our best in the beginning, so we just tried to play together and just chip away at it little by little."

Maryknoll (5-4) took control early thanks to a 10-0 spurt in the first quarter. The Spartans shot 57 percent from the field and outrebounded the Raiders 14-4 in the first half to take a 29-18 lead into halftime. They continued to stretch the lead in the third, going up 44-24 on two free throws by Cheryl Lee.

But the shots that fell for the Spartans during the first 24 minutes stayed out of the net in the final eight, as Maryknoll made just one attempt from the field in the fourth quarter.

"Maybe shot selection could have been a little bit better, but those were shots they were taking in the first half and they were making the play," Maryknoll coach Robert Samson said. "Credit Iolani, they did a good job."

Takara kept his starters on the bench most of the third quarter and credited the second unit for keeping the Raiders alive.

"We just came out a little bit flat and needed something to give us a spark," Takara said. "The girls off the bench did that and the first team just followed them."

At Iolani gym

Maryknoll (5-4)	13	16	15	4	--	48
Iolani (8-1)	5	13	7	26	--	51

MARYKNOLL--Nicole Fu 8, Kristie Watanabe 0, Jessica Akamine 13, Tammie Andres 9, Kaulana Salangdron 0, Bowha Kang 0, Cheryl Lee 8, Sela Fisilau 10.
IOLANI--Kaz Masutani 4, Hennasea-Sue Tokumura 12, Alana Matayoshi 4, Chanel Hirata 5, Marci Kang 0, Alana Wall 0, Jamie Smith 10, Meilin Akamu 2, Sarah Turgeon 4, Keilyn Fujioka 10.
3-point goals -- Maryknoll 0, Iolani 4(Tokumura 2, Masutani, Hirata).

Mid-Pacific 34, Kamehameha 33

Sherice Ajifu hit the game-winning free throw with 14 seconds left to put the Owls ahead by one. The Warriors worked the ball inside on the next possession but failed to score.

At Mid-Pacific gym

Kamehameha (1-8)	8	10	6	9	--	33
Mid-Pacific (3-6)	14	6	3	11	--	34

KAMEHAMEHA--Miki Nakamura 6, Johanna Sai 0, Analee Viena Lota 4, Tiana Abbley 0, Noelani Hoopii 0, Trixy Miller 0, Tatriana Lorenzo 8, Danna Friedemann 0, Thais Lee 0, Nicole Pharr 0, Leah Godinet 0, Casey Lum 5, Rhani Kaneaiakala 10.
MID-PACIFIC--Keri Nakamura 6, Yuki Sei 0, Jasmine Vieira 7, Meghan Laughlin 9, Kristina Lin 9, Sherice Ajifu 3, Melanie Wu 0, Crisi Nihipali 0.
3-point goals -- Kamehameha 0, Mid-Pacific 1(Lin).

Division II
Christian Academy 57, Hanalani 48
La Pietra 52, St. Francis 43
St. Andrew's 50, Hawaii Baptist 48
Iolani 56, Word of Life 42
Leading scorers--CA: Ashley Medcalf 25, Hannah Edwards 18. Hana: Sachi Seaburn 12. LaP: Elizia McGuire 23, Courtney Gaddis 12, Megan Berardy 10. StF: Siutiti Takai 20. StA: Holly Saito 27, Caasi Nakasone 15. HBA: Jodi Kanemoto 23, Rayna Kitaguchi 12. Iol: Marissa Ma 15, Kari Oki 14. WoL: Moani McBraun 24.

Junior varsity
Division I
Kamehameha-White 50, Sacred Hearts 27
Iolani 53, Kamehameha Blue 48
Division II
St. Andrew's 46, Lanakila Baptist 15