Waiakea 33 25 2 6 — 66
By BILL O’REAR
Tribune-Herald sports editor
Talented Konawaena and Waiakea played the heavy favorites’ role to the max on Friday night, chalking up overpowering wins in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation girls Division I basketball tournament.
In the first semifinal before about 550 fans at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, the unbeaten Wildcats (11-0) ran past Hilo 59-25 and claimed one of the BIIF’s two state D-I tournament berths.
In the second semifinal, unbeaten Waiakea (11-0) rolled over Kealakehe 66-11 to capture the league’s other state-tournament berth.
Konawaena, under coach Bobbie Awa and the West Division’s No. 1 seed, will battle Waiakea, under coach Grant Kauhi and the East Division’s No. 1 seed, at 7:30 p.m. today for the overall BIIF championship at the Civic. Both coaches played their subs most of the second half or else the final margin of victory could have been even more lopsided.
The league champion will be awarded one of the state D-I tournament’s top four seeds and draw a first-round bye in the 12-team event, scheduled Feb. 7-10 on Oahu. The BIIF runner-up will play in the opening round.
Last year, Konawaena captured the state D-I title and the Wildcats are favored to win again this year. If the Wildcats do beat Waiakea for the BIIF crown tonight, they’re expected to draw the No. 1 seed in the state D-I tournament. But if the Warriors put together a strong state tourney, they could join the Wildcats in a first-ever all BIIF state title game.
Against Hilo on Friday night, Konawaena rode the brilliant performance of senior Lia Galdeira and a suffocating defense to overpower the young Vikings.
Galdeira, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, poured in 27 points to go along with 11 rebounds, eight steals and two assists in 2 1/2 quarters of play . She scored 20 of those points in the first half as the Wildcats led 20-11 at the end of the first period and 34-15 at the intermission.
Konawaena also had 16 of their 21 steals in the opening half, with the cat-quick Galdeira grabbing seven of those.
But the Wildcats are more than a one-person team and their strong defensive pressure, unselfish passing and ability to attack the basket or drain the open trey, makes for an almost unbeatable combination.
In the third quarter, Konawaena outscored Hilo 23-2 and Awa pulled her starters early in the period and let her subs play the rest of the way. In the final period, the Vikings outpointed the Wildcats 8-2 while reserves from both squads got in some solid minutes.
Senior Makayla Awa followed Galdeira with 10 points and senior point guard Dawnyelle Awa, despite a sprained ankle, had nine points, five assists, four steals and six rebounds in a nifty all-around effort.
Sophomore Aliyah Pana led Hilo with seven points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Amber Vaughn and freshman Chailey Cabalis each added six points. Freshman Sydnee Yokota came off the bench to spark the Vikings with a pair of jumpers for four points.
“It’s a great win because it helped us accomplish one of our goals in making it to the state tournament,” Konawaena coach Bobbie Awa said. “We also enter the season with that as one of our goals as well as winning the BIIF and state championships. Tonight was the first step.
“We struggled a little and I was concerned about Dawnyelle’s ankle. She sprained it in practice on Wednesday and it was pretty swollen. But she had it taped and wore a brace tonight and seemed okay. Hopefully it’ll be back to 100 percent by the time we get to the state tournament.”
Awa, one of the most skilled players in the state, didn’t seem slowed much by the injury and showcased her quick hands on defense and her sniper’s vision passing the ball in the halfcourt sets or Wildcats’ potent transition game.
But coach Awa said her squad would need to play better in today’s final against Waiakea.
“Waiakea is a good team and they’ve gotten better during the season,” she said. “We beat them twice this year by over 20 points, but we know tomorrow (today) is not going to be a cake walk, They have good players all the way around.
“We’ve just got to play our game and see what happens.”
Warrior coach Grant Kauhi understands the awesome challenge of playing the defending state champions.
“Kona is the best team in the state,” he said. “We know it’s a tough task. But we want to come out and match their intensity and hustle. If we can do that and can get into our halfcourt offense, I’m confident we can score.
“We’ve just got to be able to handle their full and half-court presses. They mix them up well and apply a lot of pressure on the ball. A key is we have to be able to beat their press and play really good defense. If we can do that we’ve got a chance and that’s all we can ask.”
Despite falling twice to the Wildcats, Kauhi said his team is looking forward to playing them again.
“We’re excited,” he said. “We’re getting a chance to play the best team in the state and if you want to be the best, you’ve got to be able to beat the best. We want to give it our best shot.”
Hilo, under coach Ben Pana and the East Division’s No. 2 seed, finished its season with a 6-5 record. The Vikings don’t have any seniors on their roster and Pana’s underclassmen picked up valuable playing experience this year that could help them develop into a title contender in the next year or two.
* Waiakea 66, Kealakehe 11: Senior guards Alyssa Ferreira and Ciera Pacheco sparked a tenacious full-court press to lead the Warriors to a convincing win over the young Waveriders. Ferreira scored 16 points and Pacheco 10 in the first half to fuel the charge as Waiakea grabbed a 33-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter and led 58-6 at the intermission.
Kauhi then played his subs most of the second half, resting his starters for the big rematch against Konawaena tonight. Kealakehe then outpointed the Warriors 5-2 in the third period before Waiakea held a 6-0 cushion over the final eight minutes of running time.
The feisty Ferreira led the Warriors with her game-high 16 points, including three treys. Junior power forward Daven Namohala-Roloos had 11 points while the crafty Pacheco and junior Sky Kela each added 10 points. The Warriors also got solid play from freshman point guard Kaydee Rapoza, junior Keani Shirai and senior Taesha Aina in the second half as Kauhi rested his starters.
Junior Nathalie-Rose Jordan led Kealakehe with three points, draining a 3-pointer in the third period.
The Waveriders, under coach Danny Kamakau, the West Division’s No. 2 seed, finished their season with a 2-9 record.
Like Awa, Kauhi said the win was important.
“It was one of our goals,” he said. “We also wanted to go undefeated in the BIIF and qualify for the states. We’re pleased with reaching those goals and want to keep it going as far as we can.”
Tourney notes: The BIIF Girls D-I and II basketball tournaments are sponsored by KTA Super Stores. … Ka’u High, under athletic director Kalei Namohala, is hosting the girls D-I and II tournaments. … BIIF officials Kimo Miller and Kevin Hirayama will work the girls state tournaments next week on Oahu.
Girls D-I semifinals
At Hilo Civic
Hilo 11 4 2 8 — 25
Konawaena 20 14 23 2 — 59
Kealakehe 2 4 5 0 — 11
Waiakea 33 25 2 6 — 66