KEAAU – Yes, Hawaii Prep was a HHSAA water polo qualifier, but all that got the BIIF runner-up was a trip to ever-familiar Naeole Pool.
To reach the fresh bookend destination of Oahu, Ka Makani turned to their old reliables.
Defense for the duration and offense in spots carried the way again Monday for HPA, which got two more clutch goals from Jackie Payne during a fourth-quarter surge to overtake Moanalua 5-4 in a state first-round match.
“This was our goal from the beginning of the season,” coach Greg McKenna said. “We made the trip over to Oahu in the preseason, to start the process to get these girls going.
“Everything from here on out is gravy. It’s such a good experience for these girls to get to go over to Oahu to see the other teams, and play up.”
HPA (12-3) faces OIA champion Kaiser, the No. 2 seed, in the quarterfinals at 5:15 p.m. Thursday at Kamehameha-Kapalama in Honolulu. BIIF champion (14-0) Kamehameha, the No. 4 seed, plays Kahuku earlier in the day in the quarters. Kahuku beat OIA rival Leilehua 6-2 on Monday.
“It’s an honor to represent the Big Island and we wanted two teams to go,” senior Nora Healy said. “I think at the half, we were all like, ‘Let’s do this.’ This (could be) our last game of the season and my last game on this island ever. I think we all just had the motivation to get together as a team and it worked it out.”
Under a rain that alternated between steady and heavy, Healy also scored twice and Chloe Hughes once as HPA earned its first state victory in the winner’s bracket since 2013.
“Honestly, I didn’t notice (the rain),” Healy said.
Ka Makani were too busy trying to shake the OIA’s Na Menehune (10-6), who took their first lead on Marissa Halim’s goal during the last minute of the third quarter.
HPA has been comfortable playing low-scoring games and remained so Monday even as its offense tried to figured out a pressure defense that McKenna said differentiated from what it’s faced this season.
Ka Makani goalkeeper Ala Taylor stopped Isabelle McRae’s bid for a hat trick, and Payne continued her knack for coming up with big goals, scoring the tiebreaking and go-ahead goals on consecutive possessions midway through the fourth quarter.
“She is one of our smartest players,” McKenna said. “She knows when she can come off her girl and help, she knows when it’s her shot, and she’s not going to hesitate when she takes it.”
Payne, one of HPA’s best defensive players, also scored the go-ahead goal in Ka Makani’s BIIF semifinal victory against Kealakehe. That win clinched a state berth at Kamehameha’s Naeole Pool, where they played the majority of their matches this season after Kona Community Aquatic Center was closed indefinitely. This one gets them to Oahu, where they started the year with six preseason games.
“I think that Jackie can read the game like no other person I’ve ever met and I think she gets to the right spot at the right time,” said Healy, who scored to make it 5-3, before Halim tacked on her second goal.
