She was back in her hometown. Playing in front of her family. Playing against her friends. In North Hawaii’s rivalry game.
“This was the game I waited for all season,” Honokaa sophomore guard Shayla Ignacio said.
Ignacio, a student at Hawaii Prep last season, made it a game to remember.
Playing against her former teammates, Ignacio scored a game-high 14 points, hitting three of Honokaa’s nine 3-pointers in the first half as the Dragons defeated Ka Makani 64-27 in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation girls basketball game.
“I was nervous, but the butterflies went away,” Ignacio said. “When we were warming up, my intensity came out.”
Senior guard Yvonne Daniels also hit three treys in the first half, helping Honokaa (3-1) bolt out to a 31-13 halftime lead.
“(The shots weren’t) open in the middle, and we kicked it back out and had the open shot,” Ignacio said.
In the paint, Dragons coach James Lukzen said, HPA (2-2) put “two or three” defenders on junior Hunter Liftee, a low-post specialist.
Despite the extra attention, Liftee still scored eight points.
“We were forced to shoot,” Lukzen said of the team’s proficiency from beyond the 3-point arc. “Now they’re understanding we have to pass.”
Junior Shemika Frazier (10 points), sophomore Jasmine Castro and freshman Kizzah Maltezo hit 3-pointers in the second half.
Junior guard Tiana Bertelmann-Tabac led Ka Makani with 12 points, and junior forward Tiana Reynolds added eight.
HPA 9 4 7 7 — 27
Honokaa 14 17 21 12 — 64
c Waiakea 71, Pahoa 24: Junior Shaila Apele led four Warriors in double figures with 18 points as host Waiakea cruised to its third straight victory.
Senior Zena Kiyota added 17 points for the Warriors (3-2), sophomore Nicole Antonio had 13 and sophomore Kaydee Rapozo chipped in with 11.
Sophomore Macey Mokuhalii led the Daggers (0-5) with 14 points.
In the JV game, Elyse Hasegawa scored 19 points as Waiakea won 49-11.
Pahoa 8 8 6 2 — 24
Waiakea 12 28 17 14 — 71
c Hilo 64, Kamehameha-Hawaii 56: Junior Aliyah Pana scored a team-high 19 points as the host Vikings won a battle of undefeated teams.
Shalyn Guthier added 12 points, and Chailey Cabalis had 10 for Hilo, which improved to 4-0.
Sophomore guard Riana Arima scored a game-high 22 points for the Warriors (4-1), while senior guard Namele Naipo-Arsiga and Casey Poe added 16 and nine, respectively.
Hilo defeated Kamehameha 51-12 in the JV game.
KS-Hawaii 10 16 18 12 — 56
Hilo 18 12 20 14 — 64
c Keaau at Ka‘u: Game information was not available at press time.
Boys
c Kohala 63, Laupahoehoe 29: Sophomore Mikala Jordan scored a game-high 16 points as the visiting Cowboys ran their record to 3-0.
Seniors Kalai Salis-Kapeliela and Makani Kualii and sophomore Hana Caravalho scored nine points apiece for first-place Kohala.
Junior Collin Lodivero led the Seasiders (0-4) with eight points.
Kohala 24 23 11 5 — 63
Laupahoehoe 9 6 6 8 — 29
