HONOLULU – After the dust settled on a missed buzzer beater to end the first half of Konawaena and Iolani’s HHSAA D-I Championship, a hush fell over the crowd at the Neil Blaisdell Center.
Caught up in the scramble, the Wildcats’ leader, senior Kaliana Salazar-Harrell, was carried off the court, and one question loomed: what will the Wildcats do without their leader and player of the year candidate?
The answer? Konawaena attacked. Or rather, they continued to attack.
In an already low-scoring battle – Iolani led 15-10 at halftime – the BIIF Champions turned up their defensive intensity another notch, holding a Raider offense that became extremely cautious to zero field goals made in the game’s final quarter.
“Our girls take a lot of pride in their defense, they work at it every day,” said Konawaena co-head coach Dawnyelle Awa. “Just really proud of the effort throughout the entire game. Being that one of our senior captains is out, our leading scorer, our leader. Just very proud of the effort.”
Unfortunately for Konawaena, Iolani’s defense was equally effective, and the Raiders ultimately escaped with a 28-17 victory to claim the HHSAA D-I Championship.
Iolani held the Wildcats to just 24.2% shooting on the night. Braelyn Kauhi and Juliana Losalio-Watson led Konawaena with six points and five rebounds apiece, while Iolani’s Jovi Wahinekapu Lefotu led all players with 14 points and 8 boards.
Much of Iolani’s damage – particularly late in the game – came at the free-throw line. With Konawaena forced to play aggressive defense, nearly all of the Raiders 10 free throws were made in the second half.
Iolani has now won the last three HHSAA titles dating back to 2019, when they broke the Wildcats’ streak of four straight championships. While Saturday didn’t provide the storybook ending Konawaena (11-1) had hoped for, Awa was proud of her team’s perseverance in a tough spot.
“They played hard all the way to the end,” she said. “Kali led us every game since preseason. Tough shoes to fill… I’m really proud of them”
Iolani 7 7 7 7 – 28
Konawaena 4 6 3 4 – 17