Galdeira made state juggernaut go

By BILL O’REAR

Tribune-Herald sports writer

In capping one of the most successful four-year runs in Hawaii high school history, the Konawaena girls basketball team wrapped up its second straight state title and fourth consecutive league crown in dominant fashion.

In the state final, the powerful Wildcats defeated Iolani 56-45 in the Division I championship game at Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. They finished the 2011-12 season with a 27-3 overall record and a perfect 24-0 against Hawaii teams.

Head coach Bobbie Awa’s squad also finished its incredible four-year run with a 110-8 overall record, including 49-0 in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation.

“It’s kind of amazing what the girls have accomplished over the years,” the soft-spoken Awa said. “But we’ve been fortunate to get new girls each year who bought into the program and worked really hard. This year, it wasn’t just Dawnyelle (Awa) and Lia (Galdeira), it was all the team. Going in, everybody probably thought it should have been a fun and relaxing year for us.

“But our seniors came up with the motto ‘No Excuses’ and we didn’t want to take anything for granted. So we made it very challenging and pushed the team harder than maybe we did some of our other championship teams. And the girls worked really hard and played well together. Winning the state title was a nice way to end it all.”

The Wildcats, led by seniors Dawnyelle Awa and Emalia “Lia” Galdeira, dominated the BIIF and were only tested in two or three games for a half. But Bobbie Awa said it was their teammates who “accepted their roles” and stepped up when called upon that helped fuel the BIIF championship season.

“For example, against Honokaa we were in a close game when Makayla (Awa) got hot and carried us offensively,” coach Awa said. “She scored 20 points and made a big difference.”

Then the veteran Konawaena coach added with a giggle: “But that’s Makayla — she never met a shot she didn’t like to take and on that night, she was hot.”

Bobbie Awa also pointed to juniors Courtney Kaupu and Hokulani Liftee for their strong contributions. Kaupu, a 5-foot-9 forward, averaged about 10 points per game and was one of the Wildcats’ better rebounders and defenders in the paint. Liftee, a determined 5-5 guard, focused on defense.

“They say defense wins championships and that’s what Hoku brought to us,” Awa said. “She was a defensive specialist whose No. 1 priority was to shut down her opponent. And she really did that for us.”

But in looking at Konawaena and what separated it from the other BIIF and state want-to-be-contenders, it was Galdeira and Dawnyelle Awa — the super-talented duo who have accepted basketball scholarships to play together next year at Washington State. They were the only four-year starters on the Wildcats’ dynasty and the leaders of the pack.

In the state final against Iolani, Galdeira, a 5-8 shooting guard, had 21 points and eight rebounds while Awa, a 5-8 point guard, added 12 points and six assists to lead the champions.

Those performances, of course, were no surprise since Galdeira and Awa had been doing that all season and throughout their sterling prep careers. But it only capped another brilliant undefeated run through the BIIF.

For league play, Galdeira averaged 17 points, 5.0 steals and 3.0 assists per game. Basketball buddy Awa averaged 11 points, 6.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game. All of the numbers came in limited BIIF action since the Wildcats blew out most of their opponents and the Konawaena standouts sat out a lot of the second half.

“Both Dawnyelle and Lia had nice careers,” Bobbie Awa said. “I know there was a lot of pressure this year, but they handled it well. Winning the BIIF four straight years and winning a state championship in their senior year is something they’ll always remember. All their hard work definitely paid off.”

Obviously, Awa’s fellow BIIF coaches admired the Wildcats’ memorable season and rewarded the squad.

In the coaches’ voting, the cat-quick Galdeira was selected the All-BIIF West Division Player of the Year, edging Dawnyelle Awa in a close vote for the award. Last year, Awa earned West Player of the Year honors.

Galdeira and Awa were joined on the West first team, in order of votes, by Kaupu, Liftee and Hawaii Prep’s Leahi Lindsey.

Lindsey, a 5-8 senior guard/forward, was one of the top players in the BIIF and provided coach Craig Kimura with double-digit scoring, good ballhandling, rebounding and rugged defense as the Ka Makani finished third in the league and claimed a state D-II tournament berth.

The West second team includes, in order of voting, Honokaa’s Hunter Liftee, Hawaii Prep’s Chancis Fernandez, Honokaa’s Precious Chong, Konawaena’s Makayla Awa and Honokaa’s Yvonne Daniels.

Hunter Liftee, a 5-10 sophomore power forward, gave the Dragons a dangerous post scorer and defender as well as shotblocker. She is one of the top returning power forwards on the Big Island.

Fernandez, a 5-6 sophomore guard, was one of the league’s most promising underclassmen while providing the Ka Makani with steady scoring, rebounding and defense. She was also at her best in transition when she used her speed to dribble past her opponents and score easy baskets.

Chong, a 5-5 senior guard, played with tremendous hustle and was the glue to Honokaa’s impressive season, finishing runner-up to defending champion Kamehameha. She provided the Dragons with steady scoring, rebounding, defense and leadership.

Makayla Awa, a 5-5 senior guard, was a valuable role player through four highly successful varsity seasons.

“She was a spark plug for us,” Bobbie Awa said of her niece. “Not just on offense, but she played hard on defense and always seemed to come up with a big play to help us.”

Daniels, a 5-7 junior guard, was a versatile player who provided coach James Lukzen with consistent scoring, rebounding and defense. Like her teammates, she came on strong at the end of the season and helped the Dragons challenge Kamehameha in the BIIF D-II final as well as capture one of the league’s state-tournament berths.

Bobbie Awa was named Coach of the Year.

“It’s nice to be honored by your peers,” Awa said.