The Mufi Hannemann Basketball Jamboree committee selected Punahou and Kalakaua Clinic coach Mike Taylor as a recipient for its annual Gender Equity award on Saturday.

Taylor's Punahou teams have won four state titles since 2003, but he views the growth of girls basketball as an emblem of success for the entire state.

“;We're not an unknown anymore on the recruiting trail. It's interesting to see how many kids are playing in college now,”; he said. “;The game is growing so fast. Players are doing things you can't teach.”;

Vicky's venture

One of the more recent high-profile recruits was noticeably laid back. Hilo's Vicky Tagalicod never got a chance to play in the state tourney, but has been a regular at the Jamboree. Sidelined by injury as a junior, she didn't play as a senior until the final week of the regular season. She scored 15 points in a playoff loss to Konawaena.

“;I still wanted to achieve my goal, to make it to states,”; she said.

By focusing more on academics, she's pushed closer to academic qualification at USC, where a scholarship awaits.

“;I had to bust my butt,”; she said of her senior-year grades. “;I can't get C's, so I got a 3.4.”;

Go Bulldogs?

During a heated Kapaa-Kaimuki Division II state-tourney game—yes, it was a consolation matchup—tempers flared off the court at Blaisdell Arena.

It seemed simple enough. Each time Kapaa went to the free-throw line, two Kaimuki fans yelled “;Go Bulldogs!”; After a rash of Kapaa misses, the two Bulldogs fans yelled their mantra one more time.

That drew the wrath of a Kapaa fan, who yelled “;Shut up!”; across the arena. Eventually, he walked over and confronted the two, a mother and daughter.

Tuli Tafai, one of the tournament hosts from Campbell, nipped things in the bud.

“;(The Kapaa fan) said that the Kaimuki people were hurting his team's morale by yelling during free throws,”; Tafai said. “;But I told him, as long as they're not using profanity, I'm not going to tell them to stop.

“;The yelling isn't why they missed,”; Tuli explained. “;It's about focusing.”;

Yes, you can

There was a lot of anxiety at the end of a consolation game between Kailua and Moanalua.

Late in the game, three timeouts were called in succession, but an official told Moanalua's staff that the third timeout was not legal. This led Na Menehune to consider filing a protest.

The rule, however, states that three timeouts in a row can be called, so Moanalua dropped the notion of a protest.