HONOLULU – After three quarters of tightly-contested play in their HHSAA D-II 5th place game, the Monarchs of Damien simply found another gear against Hawaii Prep.
“They wore us down,” said HPA head coach Greg Dunigan. “They were doubling, tripling our guards.
“Just a couple (missed) shots that were good shots – many weren’t forced – and they start running. Of course 14 (Theresa Anakalea) is as good as anybody in the state. That was the difference right there; she hit those three 3s and it went from 4 to 13 like that. We were gassed.”
While Ka Makani kept the contest close for three quarters, they were outscored by the Monarchs 27-12 in the final stanza, falling 69-50 to Damien.
Led by the inside-out duo of Brooke Samura and Kyana Brucelas, HPA was able to lead by as many as four points in a back-and-forth first half. Samura led the team with 20 points on 9 for 19 shooting and three assists, while Brucelas posted a double-double: 11 points and 10 rebounds.
After heading into halftime tied at 24, however, Ka Makani never held the lead the rest of the way. They entered the fourth quarter trailing 42-38 and simply couldn’t keep pace as Damien’s offense caught fire late. After hitting just two of 14 3-pointers over the first three quarters, Damien went 4 for 6 from beyond the arc in the fourth. Anakalea led the Monarchs with 24 points.
“We played as hard as anybody in this tournament these three games,” said Dunigan. “That hurt, that first game (Thursday’s 51-50 loss to Hanalani in the quarterfinals).
“They felt they had it, could have gotten it, but it was out of their grasp… That hurt. But they played hard their next two games. We showed we could play.”
Despite the disappointing end, Dunigan displayed pride in his team’s season, one that included a BIIF championship and a sixth-place finish at the HHSAA State Championships.
“They wanted to come here and be very respectable; that was their goal, the seniors. They accomplished that,” he said. “Wish we could have gave a little more for the seniors. They deserve it, boy oh boy did they play hard. Every game this year, they played hard.”
