Konawaema coasts past Kaiser

By KIM BAXTER

Tribune-Herald correspondent

HONOLULU — The Konawaena girls basketball team sauntered onto the court after the announcement of the starting lineups for its state quarterfinal game against Kaiser at McKinley High School on Wednesday.

The five starters stepped onto the court with swagger, having the definitive No. 1 state ranking and the memory of last year’s drubbing of this same Kaiser team in this same gym.

And then they stood there.

And waited.

And waited.

And then came word from the referees that the game couldn’t start yet because they were waiting on the OK from OC 16, the television station airing the contest. So they walked over to the bench to receive some last-minute words from coach Bobbie Awa. They giggled awkwardly and waited some more.

Finally, after a five-minute delay, the game started.

But when it did, that pregame hiccup set the tone for what proved to be an uneven 62-42 quarterfinal victory in the Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I state tournament.

It’s not like the Wildcats were going to lose to Kaiser. They were simply much too athletic and much too talented to fall to the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s fourth seed. But in winning and advancing, Awa could only speak of her “disappointment” afterward.

“I was very disappointed,” Awa said with a wry smile. “The game just got really sloppy, and that’s not a reflection of Konawaena basketball. So yeah, we’re not very happy.”

The win sends top-seeded Konawaena (25-3) to the semifinals, where it will play Kahuku at the Neal Blaisdell Center today. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

There were positives in the win. After ending the first quarter with a buzzer-beating layup and starting the second quarter on a 12-4 run, the game was never in jeopardy. The defense forced 12 first-half turnovers.

Reigning state Player of the Year Lia Galdeira cruised to a game-high 18 points and looked like she could score at will. Sophomore Makani Wall hit three 3-pointers off the bench. Junior Courtney Kaupu, who finished with 13 points, found her shooting stroke and gave the team some much-needed scoring balance.

“Courtney did an outstanding job,” Awa said. “She’s kind of been in a slump, but she really stepped it up tonight and I’m really proud of the way she played.”

But the bulk of Awa’s postgame talk focused on her team’s struggles, primarily the shaky play from the bench, the team’s lack of defensive rotation that allowed Kaiser to repeatedly drive the lane and score layups, and the “tired” play from her daughter, Dawnyelle Awa, who mustered just four points.

Instead of celebrating being one step closer to a second straight state title and the school’s third in four years, Bobbie Awa questioned her team’s uncharacteristic stumbles on Wednesday’s big stage. Was it jitters? Was it a lack of focus? Was it a bad sign for the team’s final two games in the state tournament?

Konawaena will find some answers quickly tonight.

Kaiser coach Simon Bitanga, who has had a front-row seat for the Wildcats’ dominance in two straight quarterfinal wins over his Cougars, knows exactly what he thinks about Konawaena after Wednesday’s game.

“That’s the best team in the state,” he said without hesitation.