Girls basketball

Latest news

Latest news

All that drama: the ILH’s basketball tiebreaker maze

By Paul Honda on January 25, 2023

The tiebreakers and playoff formats of the ILH and OIA are so different. They do serve their purposes, of course. In the OIA, where there is no automatic state berth for regular-season supremacy, it all comes down the the playoffs. For years now, the top two teams in the OIA West and East have earned first-round byes, homecourt advantage and the the edge in fresh legs, all because opening-round teams have only 24 hours to rest before the quarterfinal round. […]

Theresa Anakalea pours in 32, Damien routs Leilehua

By Paul Honda on December 2, 2022

Theresa Anakalea is on a rampage. The Damien guard opened the Pa‘ani Tournament at Punahou with a 27-point game in the Monarchs’ 80-24 win over Hilo on Wednesday. On Thursday, the senior pumped in 32 points in Damien’s 51-29 win over Leilehua. Damien is now 4-0 in nonconference play. Anakalea scored 26 points in a season-opening 64-42 win over Kauai, then had 16 in a 50-48 squeaker over Kapaa. She isn’t a one-woman team. Tiare Arquero and Kenna Wengler are […]

I Mua thriller: No. 7 Kamehameha outlasts No. 9 Waiakea

By Paul Honda on December 2, 2022

It has been three long years since high school basketball has been this busy. Seventh-ranked Kamehameha opened its I Mua Invitational on Thursday with a 57-53 win over No. 9 Waiakea at the I Mua Invitational girls basketball tournament. Coach Pua Straight has a balanced lineup that includes two freshmen, Nihoa Dunn (12 points) and Rylee Paranada (12 points) making key contributions. Waiakea rallied in the second half with three consecutive 3-pointers on the fast break, but couldn’t get over […]


All-State Girls Hoops: Coaches chime in on Fab 15, All-Defensive selections

By Paul Honda on April 1, 2022

Basketball season at the prep level was so short, but so dynamic in 2021-22. On the girls’ side, there were roughly five to 10 fewer preseason games for most teams. The diminished opportunity to play teams from other leagues, other islands and states left many fans wanting more. In the end, the regular season, playoffs and state championships filled much of the void — until the Division I state final. ‘Iolani’s Jovi Wahinekapu Lefotu was unstoppable, a force of nature […]

Hoopbook: Pupule’s Top 10 post-season questions

By Paul Honda on March 6, 2022

The 2022 postseason in answered some vital questions about many things Hawaii high school roundball. There are also many questions left unanswered, like why aren’t there UNDISPUTED boys champions in the BIIF and MIL? There is logic, of course, in the eyes of fans at Division I programs like Baldwin and Hilo, which won their respective leagues. If D-II programs want it, they can always request to move up given the proper procedures and timing. But the pupule fan in […]

3-peat champion ‘Iolani closes at No. 1, HBA lands at No. 8

By Paul Honda on February 22, 2022

‘Iolani made it a unanimous No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10 on Monday, collecting all 12 first-place ballots from coaches and media. The Raiders (17-2) completed the season with a state-final 28-17 win over Konawaena on Saturday at the Heide & Cook/HHSAA State Championships. OIA champion Campbell vaulted three spots to No. 4 after reaching the D-I semifinal round. The Division II winner, Hawaii Baptist, landed in the rankings for the first time at No. 9. The […]

No pain, no gain: HBA’s globe-trekking, tail-spinning, state-title season

By Paul Honda on February 22, 2022

There was a point early in the second quarter of the Division II state championship game with Sacred Hearts when the Hawaii Baptist ohana held their collective breath. With 5:42 left before halftime, Joey Lin went down and stayed down. The arena went dead silent. “The injuries to us happened all season long,” HBA coach Robin Yamaguchi said. “So our thought was Alyssa Young has to step up again.” The Eagles were ready. After weeks of ups, downs, injuries and […]

A new peak: ‘Iolani three-peats in girls hoops

By Paul Honda on February 20, 2022

There was mostly joy this week for the ‘Iolani Raiders. And definitely some drama. There were some quiet, tense moments for fans when the Raiders struggled to pull away from a resilient Campbell squad in the semifinals. Konawaena would not relent in the Division I final of the Heide & Cook/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships on Saturday at Blaisdell Center. Coach Dean Young had moments of relief, anguish, even heartbreak and again, joy through the course of three days. The […]

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