Honokaa 9 8 8 14 — 39
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
HONOKAA — It’ll be the hard way again, with a lesson learned that every point counts, even if a defeat is imminent.
Chancis Fernandez scored 16 of her 17 points in the second half and Tiana Tabac hit two big free throws to lift Hawaii Prep over Honokaa 43-39 in a critical Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II girls basketball game Tuesday night.
The Dragons could afford to lose in front of an energized crowd at Honokaa Armory to earn a first-round bye in the BIIF Division II tournament, but by no more than three points.
The key play came when Tabac, a sophomore guard, was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 00.4 on the clock. She swished the first free throw, clanked the second, but converted the third — the most important point of the game.
That evened the point differential between the two teams at four points. In the first meeting at Waimea, Honokaa won 61-57. The first two tiebreakers are head-to-head then point differential.
The third is least points allowed between the two teams. HPA (6-2), with 39 points surrendered on Tuesday, gets the bye — should they finish with an identical record with Honokaa (6-3).
“It was a good game,” Honokaa coach James Lukzen said. “The girls wanted to win and tried to go for the steal. In my mind, I knew we should have just stayed on the floor (and not foul). But it just happened that they got fouled at the end.”
Leahi Lindsey added 16 points for the Ka Makani.
Precious Chong scored 16 points and Hunter Liftee had 12 points to lead the Dragons.
Fernandez scored HPA’s first nine points to start the third quarter, using her quickness to drop layups, and flash to the basket and fire turnaround jumpers.
Her scoring spurt sandwiched a Jasmine Castro free throw and turned a 17-13 halftime deficit into a 22-18 lead with six minutes left in the third period.
The Dragons host Kealakehe on Saturday while the Ka Makani host Konawaena on Thursday and close their regular season against Laupahoehoe on Saturday.
The Dragons had a tough schedule leading to their showdown with their neighbors in nearby Waimea, playing Konawaena last Wednesday, traveling to Kohala on Friday and hosting Laupahoehoe on Monday.
They were also short-handed. Senior guard Shemika Frazier was lost to a concussion from the Kohala game. A pair of junior varsity players, Hildhang Adona and Halana Bertelmann-Makanani were promoted, after playing earlier in the day.
Bertelmann-Makanani buried two free throws to get Honokaa within 41-39 with 22.2 seconds remaining. Then the two rivals traded turnovers before Tabac was fouled.
Last season, Honokaa qualified for states for the first time since 2007, when former Rainbow Wahine Keisha Kanekoa was running the point.
The Dragons snagged a Division II state tournament berth the hard way: beating Pahoa in a first-round BIIF playoff game, losing in the semifinals to Kamehameha, and knocking off Ka’u for the league’s third seed.
The four previous years the league was awarded just two berths to the Division II state tourney. It increased to three last year, when Honokaa moved from Division I to Division II.
It’s likely Honokaa will have to go the hard way again to reach states for a second straight year, after one point proved extremely costly.
In the JV game, it was Honokaa 33, HPA 30.
HPA 5 8 13 17 — 43
Honokaa 9 8 8 14 — 39