KAILUA-KONA — At the halfway mark of the BIIF water polo season, much remains as predicted before the season began.
Kamehameha (5-0) and Hawaii Prep (4-0) are still undefeated after Saturday’s action at Kona Community Aquatic Center, adding even more intrigue to the juggernaut showdown April 11 at Kamehameha.
The rest of the league is treading water in the standings, hoping to lock up the two remaining playoff spots.
The Warriors rallied past Hilo 19-1 and fended off a feisty Konawaena squad 18-6. Kamehameha — the undisputed BIIF champion for more than a half-decade — has outscored its opponents 84-13 this season.
Ka Makani also earned two wins, swimming past Hilo 15-2 and pulling out their tightest game of the season against Kealakehe.
HPA raced out to a 10-4 lead in the third quarter against the Waveriders, but the west side squad would not go away on Senior Day. Kealakehe chipped away, getting within five goals late, but HPA turned away the comeback attempt, leaving the pool with a 13-8 victory. Janelle Laros led the way with a game-high five goals in the contest for Ka Makani.
“This is about the halfway mark and all of our girls who were brand new to the game have gone from not knowing anything about water polo, to knowing a whole lot,” Kealakehe head coach Derek Monell said. “The girls gave HPA — the first or second best team in the league — a run today. It was really nice to see. We kept focus the whole game, got some scores and made them work. We are getting there.”
It was a different story in Kealakehe’s second matchup of the day — an important meeting against Waiakea with postseason implications.
The Waveriders let the Warriors (1-4) claw within two goals at 5-3 with three minutes remaining, but hung on for the win.
“We went out to lunch for a little bit during the Waiakea game,” Monell said. “The girls may have thought we were going to have an easy time of it, and once you think that, in any sport, somebody will teach you a lesson. We got the win, but it was not pretty at all.”
Kealakehe (2-4) and Konawaena (4-2) are battling it out for the No. 3 seed in the BIIF playoffs, and it could also be decided April 11, the next time the teams meet up. When the two rivals squared off in the first game of the season, the Wildcats squeaked out a controversial 9-7 win.
In the individual scoring race, Kamehameha’s Halia Nahale-a took over the lead from Konawaena’s Mikala Fernandez with her second double-digit day of the season. Nahale-a scored 11 goals to bring her season total to 27. Fernand had six and is two back at 25, but also has an extra game under her belt.