When the all-BIIF Division II girls basketball selections were released in April, Nique Pacheco’s blood pressure immediately rose as “did-you-see-that!” texts to her cell phone started flooding in.
“I was like, “I know,”’ she recalled thinking some eight months later.
Pacheco, the most accomplished player in D-II and the only starter remaining from Kamehameha’s 2018 state championship team, was not the player of the year.
“Honestly, I was hurt, I was so mad,” Pacheco said.
Led by their savvy point guard and a supporting cast, the Warriors’ season was going according to plan until Pacheco injured her ankle in a game against Ka’u, a victory that clinched a state berth for Kamehameha.
Pacheco missed the final two games of the regular season, but she returned with her injury at an estimated 70% for the BIIF semifinals, where the Warriors were bounced by Hawaii Prep, an upstart who entered the game 2-8. When her father, coach Dominic Pacheco, removed her from that loss with about 2 minutes remaining so she could rest for the state tourney, he said she got so mad at him she didn’t want to take the team bus home from Kealakekua.
“It was not OK,” she said. “How did we lose?”
The league’s coaches, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today gave player of the year to HPA’s Kyana Brucelas, who, to be fair, had just led Ka Makani to their first BIIF title since 2007.
“Everybody knows (Nique) should have gotten it,” Dominic Pacheco said.
Brucelas has since transferred to Lahainaluna, while Pacheco returns with many sources of determination. She’s got a senior season to tend to, college coaches to impress and a little business to settle.
“Oh, yeah, that’s motivating, I was so mad about it, I’m definitely getting (player of the year) and I want that team title,” she said.
Kamehameha opens the BIIF season Thursday at home against Kealakehe short on numbers, but longer on basketball seasoning thanks to club play during the summer, and there is a decent amount of size on the eight-player roster.
Dominic Pacheco said his team will use games against the Big Three of D-I – Waiakea, Konawaena and Hilo – merely to test itself. He’s only concerned with Division II competition. The Warriors visit Ka Makani on Monday.
“The nice thing is we have more experience compared to last year,” he said.
Sarah Shubert, a 5-foot-10 freshman, offers a true center presence, the returnees include junior Sarah Huston, a 5-4 guard and senior Juliana Alena Pakele, a 5-3 guard/forward and 5-5 Ka’ulu Liwis comes up from the junior varsity.
While the 5-2 Pacheco’s job is to do anything and everything necessary to achieve victory, others will have more defined roles, such as 5-9 senior Megan Baldado.
“She knows her role is to grab rebounds and make inside shots,” said Dominic Pacheco, who enters his second season after previously coaching the boys. “When in doubt, find Nique.”
Father and daughter were both happy with how the team performed in going 3-1 in preseason play on Maui, a trip that included a victory against Roosevelt.
Because of an injury, only seven played, but the coach doesn’t expect the Warriors to stray from his uptempo style.
“They just have to get in shape, they’re young,” he said. “They are just asked to do a little bit more.’
Nique Pacheco said all seven players contributed on Maui, including 5-6 sophomore Sierra Scanlan, a “shooter.”
“Maui was eye-opening,” Nique Pacheco said. “At first I was a little nervous than I realized we can all score, work together and positive with each other.”