GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Randi Farstad of Kalaheo wrestled a rebound away from Moanalua's Traci Yoshikawa last night.

Kalaheo sneaks
into state tourney

It was not the kind of championship Kalaheo normally shoots for, but the Lady Mustangs were happy to come away with the win yesterday.

The Mustangs got 19 points from Taylor Smith in a 67-47 rout of Moanalua in the Oahu Interscholastic Association consolation championship to finish fifth in the league tournament and claim a berth in next week's state championships.

"It wasn't really what we had envisioned," said Smith, who was 6-for-12 from the field. "We kind of feel a little better. It's just good to know we're going to states. We didn't accomplish one of our goals, but there's still one more we want to accomplish."

It was an anticlimactic win for Kalaheo, which certainly hadn't expected to be playing for fifth a week ago.

But that was before the Mustangs had homecourt advantage taken away following an incident involving a fan and a referee. Then Roosevelt knocked Kalaheo into the loser's bracket last week with a one-point win.

"It was a real roller-coaster ride of emotions for our kids," Mustangs coach Chico Furtado said. "They were really down. I was down for them. Thank God for this year's fifth place. Last year we would have been done. We're glad to be able to get into this tournament.

"It was a good effort by our girls considering the very tough week we had last week. This was not a game that we wanted to be in. We're an OIA championship-caliber team. We proved that in the league."

The Mustangs (13-2) didn't need to prove that they didn't belong on this side of the bracket. It was obvious from the start as Kalaheo jumped out to an 11-0 lead and held Moanalua to just two points in the first quarter. Smith scored nine points in the period despite being the focal point of the Menehunes defense.

Initially, the Menehunes were effective in slowing Smith, but the Pepperdine-bound senior connected on several tough shots in the lane.

"She's a good player. She takes tough shots," Moanalua coach Rick Gonsalves said. "We wanted to cut her off and don't let her slash. Give her credit. She works hard to get the ball."

The Mustangs also demonstrated remarkable depth, with 10 players scoring. Junior Kathleen Hicks came off the bench and had 10 points and eight rebounds. Shaina Siliga and Kaliko Kepa each chipped in eight points.

Senior Ronni Keliihoomalu led Moanalua with a team-high 16 points. Jamie Ronolo (14) and Blue (10) each finished in double-digit scoring.

"We played the best we can play," Gonsalves said. "They played their hearts out and that's all we could ask. Physically we were outmatched.

"That's a veteran team. We're pretty young. They came out and played like veterans. The hype of a big game didn't bother them and I thought it bothered us a little bit in the beginning. We missed some nice open shots."

At McKinley H.S. gym

Moanalua (4-12)	2	12	13	20	--	47
Kalaheo (13-2)	17	13	17	20	--	67

MOANALUA--Kimberly Sato 0, Jamie Ronolo 14, Indah Widyakusuma 0, Terina Blue 10, Ronni Keliihoomalu 16, Mesha Macadangdang 0, Traci Yoshikawa 1, Jade Miller 3, Britni Ronolo 3, Brianna Lagat-Ramos 0.
KALAHEO--Hoku Kaiu-Denning 4, Shaina Siliga 8, Randi Farstad 4, Lohi Aweau 1, Shantel Marumoto 0, Shanadee Canon 7, Brianne Villarosa 0, Taylor Smith 19, Katie Lintz 1, Kendra Fischer 5, Kaliko Kepa 8, Kathleen Hicks 10.
3-point goals -- Moanalua 5 (Blue 2, Keliihoomalu 2, Ronolo), Kalaheo 4 (Siliga 2, Canon, Fischer).