Buff enough

Shawna-Lei Kuehu leads Punahou to a second straight state championship

The Roosevelt Rough Riders came into the state championships as the hottest team not named Punahou.

The defending state champion Buffanblu sent Roosevelt into an ice age, pulverizing Roosevelt 61-39 last night in the finals of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships.

A boisterous crowd of 3,646 was treated to a record-setting performance by Punahou sophomore Shawna-Lei Kuehu, the tournament's most outstanding player.

The 5-foot-9 center made 11 of her 15 field-goal attempts and scored 25 points in the first half. She finished with 37 points, all in the first three quarters, and surpassed the previous mark of 35 shared by Sheila Scott (Maryknoll), Melanie Azama (Iolani), Annette Marquez (Kohala) and Aritta Lane (Aiea).

"I didn't know about any record," Kuehu said. "I was playing my game, but I couldn't do it without my team."

Kuehu, who also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots, was 16-for-23 from the field and 5-for-7 from the foul line.

Joining Kuehu on the all-tournament team were twin sister Shaena-Lyn Kuehu, Tatriana Lorenzo of Kamehameha, Keisha Kanekoa of Honokaa, Tati Beasley of Roosevelt and Jazzmin Awa-Williams of Konawaena.

Shaena-Lyn Kuehu added 10 points and two of her team's 17 steals.

The game was so lopsided, the only question in the second half was whether Kuehu would set a record. It wasn't just Kuehu's prolific scoring, however, that made the difference.

Punahou's fullcourt press blanketed Roosevelt from the start, forcing 32 turnovers. That, however, was no different from the rest of Punahou's victims over the past four weeks.

"We have a lot of girls who can go in, soccer players like me who go hard," senior Sophie Merrifield said. "Everyone doubted us through the whole season. I think it gets sweeter every year."

The outcome was a far cry from a nonconference matchup in Punahou's Spring Wahine Classic two months ago.

"The first quarter was the whole game," Roosevelt coach Bobby Keanini said. "We played them pretty much even after that."

The Buffanblu, a team on the verge of not reaching the state tournament just a few weeks ago, capped a remarkable late-season run. After stunning Iolani twice to win the Interscholastic League of Honolulu title, the Buffanblu neutralized Kahuku (33 turnovers) and Konawaena (34) at the state tourney.

In all, Punahou's defense forced opponents into 99 turnovers in three games.

"I love our defensive intensity," coach Mike Taylor said. "Offensively, the rest of the team stayed aggressive and didn't stand around. We knew where the holes were."

Tati Beasley led Roosevelt with 11 points and eight boards. Iwalani Rodrigues tallied nine points and Shannon Miyashiro added eight.

"We played our game, but you gotta give credit to them," Beasley said through tears. "Punahou is a great team."

Roosevelt's 2-3 zone defense got torched by Kuehu from the opening tip. She sank six of her first seven shots, all near the foul line and under the basket as the Buffanblu stormed to a 17-4 lead.

"I dunno, I thought they were gonna stop me. They left me wide open," Kuehu said.

By the end of the opening quarter, Roosevelt had gone to a man defense and Kuehu already had 16 points as Punahou held a 20-10 lead. Roosevelt had as many turnovers (10) as points against Punahou's fullcourt press.

Circumstances went from bad to worse for Roosevelt in the second quarter.

More turnovers and missed layups hurt the Rough Riders, and Punahou's lead ballooned to 29-12 after Shaena-Lyn Kuehu's breakaway layup midway through the second quarter.

By the time Kuehu scored on a drive through the middle and a 14-foot bank shot, the Buffanblu led 37-14 with less than 2 minutes to go in the half. The onslaught resumed in the second half as Kuehu scored eight points, including a bucket off a steal, to extend the lead to 49-20.

Kuehu surpassed the previous record holders on a turnaround shot in the low post with 26 seconds left in the third quarter. By the start of the fourth stanza, Punahou went to a deliberate pace and chewed time off the clock.

Punahou 61, Roosevelt 39

ROOSEVELT (16-2)

	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Zane	1	5	2	2	26	2	0	4
Beasley	4	7	3	7	28	8	1	11
Sugui	1	3	2	2	24	2	1	5
Rodrigues	3	10	3	4	32	1	2	9
Armstead	1	2	0	1	11	1	0	2
Kawelo	0	1	0	0	11	0	1	0
Miyashiro	4	5	0	0	24	5	0	8
Kaaiai	0	0	0	0	5	0	1	0
TEAM						1
Totals	14	33	10	16	161	20	6	39

PUNAHOU (12-2)

	fg	fga	ft	fta	min	reb	a	tp
Aiwohi	1	4	0	0	23	0	5	2
Abe	0	4	0	0	18	0	1	0
Lau	0	0	0	0	0+	0	0	0
Feldman	0	1	0	0	4	0	1	0
Tompkison, L.	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0
Tompkison, D.	0	0	0	0	0+	0	0	0
Aona	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0
Kuehu, Shawna	16	23	5	7	30	7	3	37
Macfarlane	0	1	0	0	5	0	0	0
Kuehu, Shaena	5	6	0	1	22	3	1	10
Nomura	0	1	0	0	7	0	2	0
Morrifield	2	4	0	0	31	8	0	5
Deptula	2	4	2	2	15	1	2	6
Yamauchi	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
Wong	0	0	1	2	1	0	0	1
TEAM						1
Totals	26	48	8	12	160	23	15	61

Key -- fg: field goals made; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws made; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes played; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.

Halftime -- Punahou 37, Roosevelt 14

3-point goals -- Roosevelt 1-3 (Sugui 1-1, Rodrigues 0-2), Punahou 1-8 (Morrifield 1-1, Feldman 0-1, Macfarlane 0-1, Nomura 0-1, Aiwohi 0-2, Abe 0-2). Personal fouls -- Roosevelt 16, Punahou 20.

Steals -- Roosevelt 8 (Beasley 4, Rodrigues 2, Zane, Kaaiai), Punahou 17(Morrifield 5, Aiwohi 3, Kuehu, Shawna 3, Abe 2, Kuehu, Shaena 2, Feldman, Deptula). Blocked shots -- Roosevelt 1 (Miyashiro), Punahou 2 (Kuehu, Shawna). Turnovers -- Roosevet 33 (Zane 7, Miyashiro 6, Beasley 5, Sugui 5, Kaaiai 5, Rodrigues 4, Kawelo), Punahou 25(Kuehu, Shawna 6, Nomura 4, Abe 3, Aiwohi 2, Macfarlane 2, Kuehu, Shaena 2, Morrifield 2, Lau, Tompkison, L., Aona, Deptula). Officials -- Thomas Yoshida, Bryan Barr, Donovan Lewis. A -- 3,646.

Third place

Honokaa 47, Konawaena 44

Keisha Kanekoa scored 16 points and dished out four assists as the Big Island champion Dragons hung on to beat their arch rivals.

Honokaa (14-2)	10	7	14	16	--	47
Konawaena (14-4)	9	9	14	12	--	44

HONOKAA--Joliese DeMello 5, Keisha Kanekoa 16, Kawehi Correa 2, Jessika Lorenzo 7, Jamaika Lorenzo 0, Wila Lavea 15, Whitney Acdal 2.

KONAWAENA--Kaua Wall 0, Malia Tanaka 0, Liana Hanato-Smith 6, Kayti Bowman 0, Kara Hanato-Smith 0, Leesa Deniz 0, Haunani Liftee 12, Jazzmin Awa-Williams 11, Mana Hopkins 15, Marissa Minor 0, Lucy Brown 0.

3-point goals--Honokaa 4 (Lavea 2, DeMello, Jessika Lorenzo), Konawaena 2 (L. Hanato-Smith, Awa-Williams).

Fifth place

Kamehameha 55, Lahainaluna 41

Clinging to a 37-33 lead with 3 minutes left, the Warriors went on an 11-1 run to put the game out of reach. Junior Analee Viena Lota scored 12 points and senior Tatriana Lorenzo had 10 for Kamehameha (13-5).

Kamehameha (13-5)	14	8	12	21	--	55
Lahainaluna (14-4)	11	6	12	12	--	41

KAMEHAMEHA--Miki Nakamura 8, Alexis Furtado 2, Johanna Sai 4, Analee Viena Lota 12, Pomaikai Kalakau 0, Lindsey Wong 3, Piikea Kalakau 0, Tiana Abbley 0, Pualani Kalakau 0, Tatriana Lorenzo 10, Leah Godinet 8, Kauiokeola Todd 2, Kylle Roy 1, Casey Lum 0, Rhani Kaneaiakala 5.

LAHAINALUNA--Tasha Pagdilao 4, Tekiri Rickard 4, Raimee Steen 2, Rachael Rickard 0, Yasnaya Perez 11, Kiana Niezman 0, Casey Bartolome 11, Lovelee Tagudin 0, Piilani Uyeda 3, Roxy Padron 0, Alise Hatch 11, Ofa Namoa 4.

3-point goals--Lahainaluna 2 (Pagdilao, Hatch).

Consolation

Kalaheo 49, Radford 39

Junior guard Shanadee Canon scored 11 points to spark the Lady Mustangs past the Rams.

Radford (13-5)	10	7	9	13	--	39
Kalaheo (13-5)	13	12	12	12	--	49

RADFORD--Leslie Lazo 0, Nicole Grebe 2, Celina Cruz 0, Marlena Malepeai 7, Frances Respicio 0, Brittini Fuller 10, Kiara Dykes 0, Kamia Smith 14, Chelsea-Ann Villanueva 3, Marsharen DuPont 1, Chadney Thompson 2.

KALAHEO--Hoku Kaiu-Denning 6, Delicia Wilson 6, Lohi Aweau 4, Nova Bird 0, Anu Ah Yun 5, Shanadee Canon 11, Brianne Villarosa 3, Caira Pires 3, Katie Lintz 2, Kendra Fischer 6, Kaliko Kepa 3.

3-point goals--Radford 3 (Smith 2, Fuller), Kalaheo 2 (Canon, Villarosa).