KAILUA-KONA — As players took the court for the BIIF Division I semifinals on Thursday at the Kealakehe High School gymnasium, one question stood out among all others, who would play Konawaena in the championship game.
KAILUA-KONA — As players took the court for the BIIF Division I semifinals on Thursday at the Kealakehe High School gymnasium, one question stood out among all others, who would play Konawaena in the championship game.
The question has lingered all season long, even though the No. 1 seeded Wildcats still had to beat No. 4 Honokaa to reach the finals themselves, which they did easily in dominating 66-17 performance in the early DI game on Thursday.
As for the other spot up for grabs, since midseason it looked as though it would belong to either Waiakea or Hilo. Both teams remained undefeated until the final week. In those final seven days, both teams lost to Konawaena, though Waiakea had the stronger performance.
However, the Warriors then played the Vikings in an outstanding game that was decided in the final second when Waiakea freshman Keeli-Jade Smith, who did not realize the game was tied, intentionally fouled a Hilo player, setting up the winning free throw.
The rematch of the two teams on Thursday in the semifinals did not disappoint, with Hilo pulling out another late victory, winning 40-39 on a basket in the final 30 seconds.
“We were down going into the fourth quarter, but we played good defense and managed to slow down the ball,” said Hilo guard Mandi Kawaha. “We were able to get easy baskets.”
Waiakea entered the fourth quarter with momentum on its side and a 29-23 advantage.
Hilo’s Sharry Pagan nailed a 3-pointer to get the final quarter going. After a pair of Waiakea free throws, the Vikings followed with a pair of short jumpers by Cherish Quiocho to cut the deficit down to one with with six minutes to go.
Over the next couple of minutes, Waiakea regained a five-point lead thanks to free throws and a 3-point play by Smith, who was fouled while making a layup.
Hilo started to cut into the deficit again and made it a one-point game with 2:50 to play.
Defenses on both sides clamped down over the next two minutes as the Warriors desperately held on to their small lead. However, with 26 seconds remaining, Hilo’s Mindy Kawaha dropped in a floater in the lane to put the Vikings up, 40-39.
Waiakea, with still plenty of time to work, had an opportunity near the end of the game to grasp victory, but a pair of free throws were missed by Sydney Layaoen, forcing Waiakea to foul with 5.6 seconds to go.
Waiakea’s Kryssie Okinaka grabbed a rebound on the first missed free throw attempt, took the ball full court. She looked to have a layup opportunity in a one-on-one situation, but she lost the handle on the ball inside the paint and Hilo recovered as the clock hit zeros.
Offensively, Hilo was led by Mindy Kawaha, who netted 10 points, Mandi Kawaha followed with seven. Danielle Oda and Kelsie Imai led Waiakea in scoring with 10 points apiece.
“We played hard and I think we just had more heart toward the end of the game,” said Hilo guard Sharry Pagan. “Overall it was a really good game and I am happy to be with this team I have right now.”
Hilo will now meet Konawaena in the championship game for the fifth consecutive year. The Wildcats handled the Vikings easily in their first meeting, which also marked the 100th straight for the Wildcats over a BIIF opponent.
Konawaena head coach was thoroughly impressed and entertained by the Hilo-Waiakea semifinal.
“That was a great game,” Awa said. “Hilo played kind of our style, spreading the court and looking for their shooters outside. We just have to make sure we play smart and take away their threats on the outside.”
Konawaena looked playoff ready in the first DI semifinal game of the evening, jumping out to a 22-0 lead in the first quarter. Konawaena’s streak reached 28 unanswered before being halted by a Honokaa layup two minutes into the second quarter.
It was an all-around scoring performance for the Wildcats. Caiyle Kaupu led the team with 16 points.
The Molina sisters were their usual selfs, with Celena scoring 14 points and Cherilyn Molina netting 13 points. All of Cherilyn’s points came in the first half, and 10 were scored in the second quarter.
The Dragons could not buy a rebound in the game as the Wildcats controlled and glass and pretty much every other aspect of the game. By halftime the Konawaena lead stood at 45-7, forcing a running clock in the second half.
Big leads seem to come natural to the Wildcat girls, who have not lost to a BIIF opponent since the 2008 league championship game.
“Sometimes these leads are not very good because you get comfortable,” said Awa. “But we had nice practices this week and we came out strong, and when you do that you feel good about it.”
Both Hilo and Konawaena have now clinched a state playoff berth. The Wildcats are no stranger to success at the state level. Since its last league loss in the 2008, Konawaena has won five HHSAA Division I championships and finished runner-up twice. They are currently the two-time reigning DI champs.
Hilo last won a BIIF championship in 1996 and has won at least one game at the state tournament every year for the last four years, which includes a third place finish in 2013.