Kyra Tanabe, Alexis Huntimer, Kylie Yung and Alexsandra Huntimer helped ‘Iolani limit No. 3 Kamehameha to its lowest scoring output of the season. Paul Honda/Star-Advertiser
Dean Young exhaled.
Winning on the road in the rugged ILH girls basketball gauntlet is never easy. The Raiders executed another masterful defensive performance in a 53-26 win at No. 3 Kamehameha and improved to 2-0 in league play (9-0 overall). Defending state champion ‘Iolani now has wins over five Top 10 teams, including a 54-26 victory over No. 2 Konawaena.
Coach Young and his players chatted after the game about defense, or more precisely, defensive IQ.
The ILH:
Iolani has a well coached and talented team with humble hard working members who communicate on and off the court with each other and coaches. Iolani is riding high with the shot in the arm from last years State Championship talent Taylor Wu who graduated last year leaving a legacy to follow.
Another exceptional team to watch, Kamehameha has talent, size, speed and coaches who empower the team to embody the Warrior mentality. Kamehameha Have always used the prior generation of champions to drive themselves. The Koa Alii’s in the display case at Kekuhaupio is proof!
Punahou has depth, youth and talent at every position. The revolving door of coaches have slowed with a 2nd year coach but with such talent from the Buff and Blue ladies the coaches seem overwhelmed and unable to keep the train on the tracks. With a system outdated, Punahou players are the newest iPhone system being controlled by a generation who can’t download an app. With talent similar to Kamehameha, Punahou lacks championship backing having won a championship under a Coach and staff who left following that year. Maryknoll have Coaches driven to win at all cost. A strong team with self minded coach who looks for wins at all cost. As noted in the early loss to the Punahou team when a Maryknoll player was hurt and no Maryknoll coach intervened to help the injured player, rather choosing to argue and intimidate ILH officials. ILH has skilled young ladies but the coaching staff, School Athletic departments need to put a stamp of approval on the teams to promote women sports.