Kamehameha is on the precipice again.
The Warriors defeated Antelope 59-54 on Saturday to reach the final of the West Coast Jamboree (Calif.) tourney. Kamehameha will meet Glendora for the Gold Division title on Monday.
Lagi Sua-Godinet led the Warriors with 18 points and Camille Feary pumped in 14 for the Warriors.
Kamehameha (10-5, 1-3 ILH) is No. 3 in the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10. Coach Pua Straight’s team won its opening-round game against Valencia on Friday, 65-46, behind 21 points by Sua-Godinet and 11 by Malie Marfil.
The wins come at a good time for a team that reached the state final last year, losing to ‘Iolani in a thriller. Two of Kamehameha’s three losses in league play this winter have come against the No. 1-ranked Raiders. Now, Kamehameha is playing its best basketball of the season.
“To me, it’s all about relationships,” Straight said. “My favorite thing about being able to travel together is strengthening our relationships as one ohana. We have a group of almost 50 people including the coaches, girls and their families. Being able to grow together as one program and one ohana is huge in creating the culture we need to move forward together.”
The Jamboree uses a shot clock, which Straight approves of highly.
“Along with seeing our girls step up together to compete against mainland competition, one of the things I appreciate most about this tournament is being able to play with a shot clock. We need to step it up in Hawaii and get our high schools competing with a shot clock for the best interest of our student-athletes,” she said.
Totally agree with coach Straight’s comment about having a shot clock. Coaches in Hawaii tend to use the stalling tactics when their team is at a height disadvantage and it becomes a boring game to watch. Hawaii high school basketball needs to keep up with the new rules that are being used on the mainland. It’s sad when the issue is “no funding” but I’m sure there’s other ways of obtaining funding such as fund raising by each school or private donation. Shot clocks has become part of competitive basketball throughout the world and Hawaii should keep up with the times.
Congrats, Lady Warriors & coaches👏👏👏👏🤙🤙🤙Go get’um👍👍