KEAAU — The rise of the Kamehameha girls basketball program is finally here after a 60-18 BIIF Division II win over Ka’u on Thursday night at Koai’a Gym.
In 2019, coach Dominic Pacheco knew his Warriors were building despite finishing runner-up to Hawaii Prep for the BIIF championship.
His daughter, Nique Pacheco, was just a sophomore and the only Warrior to land on the All-BIIF team. She recently had knee surgery and is playing ball at Mount Olive, a Division II school in North Carolina.
In 2020, Kamehameha won the BIIF championship to close out the Nique Pacheco era, where she was on three title teams, including 2017 and 2018. The Warriors finished fourth at the state tournament, falling to Hawaii Baptist 37-29 in 2020.
Pacheco was on the 2018 squad that won a state crown and was loaded with veteran players, including Jordyn Mantz, Taylor-James Sullivan, McKenzie Kalawaia and Saydee Aganus, the player of the year.
Coach Pacheco’s new-edition team could be more talented than that one. The Warriors return just one starter in 5-foot-9 junior forward Sarah Schubert, an All-BIIF first-team forward in 2019 as a freshman.
However, this BIIF season marks the reintroduction of two promising sophomores, guard Maela Honma and forward Keanu Huihui, who both made their debut earlier in the year during the COVID-19 hoops circuit.
Everyone in the hoops community knows that Honma is the niece of Daphne Honma, the former Honokaa and UH-Hilo coach. She’s also the sister of 2020 Waiakea graduate Bethany Honma, who was also a basketball and volleyball standout.
Much like her sister, Maela Honma is a fundamentally skilled guard with straight A’s across the board in ball-handling, passing, shooting, and seeing the floor. She’s the same way in volleyball, her No. 1 sport.
Huihui is a hoops gym rat. She plays on Pacheco’s club team, Hoop Dreams. Like Honma and Schubert, her ceiling is way above her head. The trio will form a tough and talented nucleus over the next several years.
The Warriors have three Hoop Dreams players in Huihui, Schubert, and freshman guard Kacie Febo-Santiago, who’s got potential as a ball-handler and comes off the bench.
Sophomore guard Baeleigh Lukzen is another lifetime hoopster. She also plays club ball, and her dad is James Lukzen, a former Honokaa coach. Sophomore forward Melo Keohuloa is the other starter.
Honma scored 21 points, Huihui added 16, Schubert had eight, and Kealoha Rapoza had eight off the bench for the Warriors (1-0), who relentlessly attacked the rim and had 15 turnovers.
Senior guard Heidi Vidal and senior guard Grace Smith each had seven points to lead the Trojans (0-1), who had 20 turnovers but often took smart, open shots.
The Warriors took one 3-point attempt and mostly rebounded and ran the floor.
Vidal drained a pair of 3-balls, sophomore Precious Mareko, and sophomore Tyra Wong Yuen each buried a 3-pointer for the Trojans, who trailed 40-8 at halftime.
“They have a good relationship with each other. They’re a happy go lucky crew,” said Ka’u coach Jacob Davenport, who’s a substitute teacher at the school. “They’re just glad to be back playing basketball, and it shows at practice and games. Our goal is to get to the BIIFs (postseason) and states.”
It’s happened before. The Trojans were the BIIF runner-up in 2019, when the Warriors were the BIIF’s No. 3 team at states.
Davenport played hoops in Wisconsin and graduated with a kinesiology degree from UH-Hilo. He’s got something to work with because Vidal, Smith, and Wong Yuen can shoot it when open.
Kamehameha has three versatile players in Honma, Huihui, and Schubert, who could all play guard or forward. They’re all tall enough to throw over traps and attack the rim with smooth efficiency.
“We’ve got more basketball players. It’s building and starting now,” said Pacheco, who feels Honma, Schubert, and Huihui, whose second sport is softball, could play two sports in college. “They could if they find the right fit.”
Unlike Nique’s team in 2019 that lacked size, the Warriors have athletic height. Honma, Schubert, and Huihui are all at least 5-9 and are fluid and mobile.
“We may be the only school that has size,” he said. “We just got the volleyball girls (Honma and Schubert) back. We just have to keep progressing.”
Well, for openers, the Warriors did a fine job against the Trojans. They opened with an 8-0 run until Vidal buried a 3-pointer.
Kamehameha scored four straight layups to start the second quarter to grab a 30-7 lead.
The Warriors outscored the Trojans 17-2 in the third quarter and played Ka’u to a 3-3 tie in the final eight minutes.