KEAAU – Katelynn Kubo got behind Hawaii Prep’s defense, took a long pass and deposited it into the net for an early two-goal lead.
It was the junior’s only goal of the match, but her importance couldn’t be overstated. With Kubo back, so was the Warriors’ counterattack and order was restored Wednesday in Big Island Interscholastic Federation water polo.
Four days after Ka Makani handed Kamehameha its first BIIF loss in six years, the Warriors responded with a 13-0 victory at Naeole Pool to deal HPA its first defeat of the season.
“She give us leadership and helps with team speed,” coach Dan Lyons said. “But we played really good defense. On Saturday we gave up a lot of goals on the counterattack, and today we didn’t. One girls can’t defend the counterattack.”
Kubo’s swimming prowess helped opened up the pool for the rest of her teammates. Halia Nahale-A had more room to maneuver as did fellow senior Pua Wong, and each scored five goals as the Warriors (9-1) clinched the top seed at the BIIF tournament.
“Katelynn brings an incredible amount of speed to their team,” HPA coach Greg McKenna said.
While Kamehameha was at full strength again, HPA (8-1) was playing without co-captain Louisa Duggan, who was ill. The junior scored the game-winner Saturday’s double-OT victory.
Kubo missed the 12-11 loss to compete in a band competition in San Francisco, but her return seemed to make all the difference.
“I was sad at first when I heard that we lost,” Kubo said, “but I knew that a loss would help us later on because it would help us learn.
“We’re always trying to improve. It was a team effort.”
On Saturday, Kamehameha didn’t contest the quarter-opening sprints – water polo’s version of the jump ball – but Kubo handled those on Wednesday and often won them. She also defended HPA’s inside player and then swam back to play a key role as a distributor in Kamehameha’s offense.
“Kubo plays everywhere,” Lyons said. “We were the faster team today.”
He said the Warriors made 20 bad passes on Saturday, but he counted only two Wednesday.
Two of their best passes came as they took control of the match in the second quarter. Kubo passed up her own shot and fed Wong in close for a 4-0 lead, and then Nahale-A set up Wong for a tip-in minutes later.
“The (band) competition was fun, but I was happy to be back,” Kubo said, “I missed my teammates.”
Kenisha-Ann Rowe and Alyssa Pelanca also scored for Kamehameha. HPA had a first-quarter goal disallowed and Warriors goalkeeper Jeyci Kaili made eight saves in a rare BIIF shutout. Shooting from the perimeter, HPA’s Sarah Im hit the crossbar a handful of times.
Ka Makani, who bounced back to beat Waiakea 7-3 on Wednesday, will draw the second seed at BIIFs. If HPA wins Saturday at home against Hilo then both of the league’s berths at the HHSAA tournament will be on the line in the semifinals April 24 at Kona Community Aquatic Center. HPA plays Konawaena (6-4) at 3 p.m. Kamehameha plays Kealakehe (3-6) at 4:30 p.m.
“We can only grow from this experience,” McKenna said. “I believe our girls will recover from this and look forward to a hopeful rematch in the BIIF championship.”