Awa-Williams carries Konawaena past Lahainaluna

The junior swingman notches a double-double and plays point down the stretch in the upset

The Konawaena Wildcats aren't so perfect after all.

Coming off a convincing win over Kalaheo the night before, the Wildcats struggled with fourth-seeded Lahainaluna before pulling away for a 47-33 win last night in the quarterfinals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball Division I State Championships at the Stan Sheriff Center.

HHSAA DIVISION I GIRLS At Stan Sheriff Center Seeds: 1. Punahou. 2. Roosevelt. 3. Honokaa. 4. Lahainaluna. YESTERDAY Game 5: Kalaheo 48, Mililani 33 6: Roosevelt 54, Moanalua 32 7: Konawaena 47, Lahainaluna 33 8: Punahou 60, Kahuku 36 9: Honokaa 33, Kamehameha 26 today 10: Radford vs. Maui, 12:45 p.m. 11: Lahainaluna vs. Kahuku, 2:30 p.m. 12: Kamehameha vs. Moanalua, 4:15 p.m. 13: Honokaa vs. Roosevelt, 6 p.m. 14: Konawaena vs. Punahou, 8 p.m. tomorrow 15: Game 10 winner vs. Kalaheo, 2:30 p.m. 16: Winners of Games 12 & 11, 4:15 p.m. 17: Losers of Games 13 & 14, 6 p.m. 18: Winners of Games 13 & 14, 8 p.m.

"We played (Lahainaluna) in preseason and won pretty easy," Jazzmin Awa-Williams said. "Maybe we were a little bit too relaxed today."

Konawaena trailed by nine points early on but rallied behind Awa-Williams' 23-point, 11-rebound effort. The left-handed junior swingman, clearly one of the tourney's dominant players, showed her versatility when running the offense in the final quarter after starting point guard Haunani Liftee fouled out.

"Man, she's an awesome player," Lahainaluna coach Todd Rickard said of Awa-Williams. "She can play outside, inside, and she takes control of the team."

The Wildcats will meet Punahou in a semifinal today. The 2004 state champions hope to play better.

"We learned that we can't play like how sometimes we do at home," said Awa-Williams, who had four of her team's seven steals. "We can't make constant mistakes or the other team will take advantage of them,"

The Lady Lunas pressured the Wildcats into 24 turnovers, but committed 23 of their own and shot just 30 percent from the field (10-for-33). Konawaena dominated the boards, 32-15.

"Our girls gave everything they have," Rickard said. "Kona is so disciplined as a team, we had to put pressure on them. We couldn't sit back."

Konawaena (14-2), the Big Island Interscholastic Federation runner-up, called upon a number of reserves to withstand Lahainaluna's constant on-ball pressure.

"They did a really good job," Liftee said of Konawaena's reserves. "They do good in practice, and they know they need to step up in games."

Trailing for the first 15 minutes of the game, Konawaena went ahead 20-19 on a 3-pointer from the left wing by Liana Hanato-Smith with 20 seconds left in the half.

Maui Interscholastic League champion Lahainaluna (13-3) was in the bonus early in the second quarter, but failed to take advantage. After intermission, Konawaena changed the tempo by deploying a full-court press.

Awa-Williams scored eight points in the third quarter, and after Kayti Bowman squeezed in a tough 10-footer, Konawaena led 35-27 going into the final quarter.

Even as Liftee struggled with foul trouble, the Wildcats protected the lead. Lahainaluna went scoreless for nearly 5 minutes in the fourth quarter as Konawaena extended the lead to 42-30 thanks to Awa-Williams and Bowman.

Lahainaluna never threatened, scoring just one point in the final 3 minutes.

Tasha Pagdilao finished with 12 points in a gritty 32-minute performance for Lahainaluna. Ofa Namoa, the cousin of former Lahainaluna standout Fatai Hala'api'api had eight points, and Alise Hatch finished with six on 2-for-10 shooting.

Konawaena (14-2)	5	15	15	12	--	47
Lahainaluna (13-3)	13	6	8	6	--	33

KONAWAENA--Malia Tanaka 0, Liana Hanato-Smith 7, Kayti Bowman 5, Kara Hanato-Smith 6, Leesa Deniz 0, Haunani Liftee 3, Jazzmin Awa-Williams 23, Mana Hopkins 3, Marissa Minor 0, Lucy Brown 0.

LAHAINALUNA--Tasha Pagdilao 12, Tekiri Richard 0, Raimee Steen 0, Rachael Rickard 0, Yasnaya Perez 4, Casey Bartolome 3, Piilani Uyeda 0, Jaiana Uyeda 0, Alise Hatch 6, Ofa Namoa 8.

3-point goals -- Konawaena 2 (L. Hanato-Smith, Liftee), Lahainaluna 3 (Hatch 2, Pagdilao).

Roosevelt 54, Moanalua 32

The numbers say the Rough Riders were flawless against the Menehunes, but Roosevelt coach Bobby Keanini is looking for more.

Iwalani Rodrigues poured in 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Tati Beasley added 14 points and 11 boards for Roosevelt (15-1), the Oahu Interscholastic Association champion.

Roosevelt, which led 32-15 at halftime, shot 53 percent from the floor (24-for-45) and outrebounded the Menehunes 39-24. That wasn't enough for Keanini, now in his 11th season at the helm.

"We rebounded, hit the close shots, but it's the same thing for us. We're not consistent through the whole thing," Keanini said. "I mean, we've improved since the beginning of the year and this is a nice win for the girls, but as a coach, I'm looking for the little things that shut people down. I'm looking at the entirety."

Center Shannon Miyashiro added eight points and eight rebounds for the Rough Riders, who committed 21 turnovers against Moanalua's man-to-man defense.

"I wanted to see the battle through the lackadaisical times. Iwalani and Dianna (Zane), they don't show that letdown," Keanini said. "Tati worked hard, pulled down boards, but overall, our intensity was there for only three quarters."

Britni Ronolo, Moanalua's tough post scorer, finished with 10 points and five rebounds to lead Moanalua (8-10).

"We wanted to play more man, but they broke it down with the dribble," Keanini said of his decision to finish the game in a zone defense. "Britni's having a great end of the season. She posted well on us."

Moanalua (8-10)	9	6	4	13	--	32
Roosevelt (15-1)	16	16	18	4	--	54

MOANALUA--Brianna Lagat-Ramos 0, Michelle Hardy 0, Jade Miller 7, Kimberly Sato 9, Deena Dela Cruz 0, Janelle Uncangco 0, Jamie Ronolo 7, Indah Widyakusuma 4, Terina Blue 0, Dawn Dela Cruz 0, Britni Ronolo 10, Nikol Felder 4.

ROOSEVELT--Dianna Zane 7, Tati Beasley 14, Tiana Sugui 2, Iwalani Rodrigues 19, Shandree Armstead 0, Nicole Kawelo 4, Shannon Miyashiro 8, Kayleen Kaaiai 0, Mahie Rattley 0, Kanani Young 0.

3-point goals -- Moanalua 1 (J. Ronolo), Roosevelt 1 (Zane).

Consolation

Kalaheo 48, Mililani 33

Shanadee Canon scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Lady Mustangs (12-5) won a consolation-bracket matchup against the Trojans. Kendra Fischer, a senior guard, added 13 points for the OIA runner-up.

Kalaheo (12-5)	12	5	14	17	--	48
Mililani (10-7)	2	6	11	14	--	33

KALAHEO--Hoku Kaiu-Denning 0, Delicia Wilson 0, Lohi Aweau 2, Nova Bird 4, Anu Ah Yun 2, Shanadee Canon 15, Brianne Villarosa 3, Caira Pires 3, Katie Lintz 2, Kendra Fischer 13, Kaliko Kepa 4.

MILILANI--Kimi Ebina 3, Kelsey Woodward 2, Jamie Kaleiwahewa 2, Summer Wegiel 5, Christina Korodan 7, Rayna Downey 2, Lia Nishikura 0, Ashley Anthony 2, Haunani Richardson 0, Chantel Tanuvasa 5, Joleen Realin 4, Diamond Badajos 1.

3-point goals -- Kalaheo 2 (Villarosa, Fischer), Mililani 3 (Ebina, Wegiel, Korodan).