Girls basketball

In this edition of Hoopbook, a view of top underclassmen and their teams for the 2019-20 season. It’s going to be a very intriguing campaign thanks to a talented group of juniors, sophomores and freshmen across the islands. On paper, the ‘Iolani Raiders had all the makings of a highly-entertaining show of skilled performers, and this goes back months. Years. Decades. But someone reading this description far from the islands might mistake this group of Raiders perhaps 1) a dancing […]

Twelve weeks of polling. Twelve weeks of ‘Iolani at the top. The Raiders capped their state-championship campaign with a No. 1 finish in the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10 today. ‘Iolani went 23-6 overall, outlasting Kamehameha 52-49 in the state final on Saturday night. The Raiders were 14-6 against ranked opposition. Of those losses, five were to mainland powerhouses. Against Hawaii teams, ‘Iolani was 23-1, with the lone loss coming at home against Kamehameha on Dec. 7. Kamehameha (18-7) finished […]

To the winners go the spoils, they say. Taylor Wu knows this well. The ‘Iolani senior came up clutch with her team down against Kamehameha in the final of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships tonight. She connected on two key 3-pointers, the second banking in from 25 feet out, to give ‘Iolani the lead for good in a thrilling 62-59 win over Kamehameha at Stan Sheriff Center. Wu was voted most outstanding player of the tourney. She was joined […]

For two teams that hadn’t met all year, Hawaii Baptist and Seabury Hall sure seemed to have each other’s number. HBA came through with the kind of execution that experienced teams thrive on, outlasting Seabury Hall 43-39 on Saturday night to capture the Division II girls basketball state championship at the Stan Sheriff Center. It was far from easy against a Spartans team that has explosive guards, bigs who rebound and hit 3-pointers, and hardly a senior on the roster. […]

This is what a championship-level team does. It does the hard work. Defense. Offensive rebounding. It resumes on Saturday night at Stan Sheriff Center for Kamehameha, which meets nemesis ‘Iolani for the girls basketball state title. ‘Iolani clamped down on four-time defending state champion Konawaena tonight, 43-22. Kamehameha? The Warriors are winning decisively this week. Kamehameha vs. the world (competition at the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships) Kamehameha 41, Mililani 17, opening round >> Mililani is OIA 3 >> Mililani […]

A slow-paced first half didn’t worry the top-seeded ‘Iolani Raiders much. In fact, it was defense that sparked a 15-4 run in the third quarter as ‘Iolani triumphed over Konawaena 43-22, ending the Wildcats’ string of state championships at four in a row. It was a defensive victory in many ways. ‘Iolani limited Konawaena’s all-state post, Caiyle Kaupu, to 3-for-13 shooting and nine points. The Wildcats shot 26 percent from the field as the Raiders collapsed on Kaupu in the […]

There was no doubt in Bobbie Awa’s mind that her Konawaena squad could beat top-seeded ‘Iolani. The semifinal battle in the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships began as a potential runaway when ‘Iolani opened a 9-2 lead. The Wildcats settled in and rallied for a 15-14 lead that stuck for more than three minutes in the second quarter. Then, slowly and surely, it unraveled. The Raiders used fullcourt pressure to break the game open in the third quarter en route […]