KEALAKEKUA —The main event of the Konawaena Invitational did not disappoint on Friday night. Those that came even got the treat of seeing some extra basketball.
In a preseason matchup of outer-island juggernauts, Konawaena battled back, but fell in a double-overtime classic to Lahainaluna 44-42 at Ellison Onizuka Gymnasium.
Kayjan Pahukoa led the Lunas with 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from behind the arc, all coming in the first half. Senior Erin Hookano added 11 for Lahainaluna and Rachael Balagso nailed a clutch 3-pointer in the second overtime to secure the win.
Cherilyn Molina and Caiyle Kaupu did the heavy-lifting for Konawaena, combining for 31 points — Kaupu with 16 and Molina with 15. The Washington State bound senior guard Molina added five steals, three assists and three rebounds to her stat line, while Kaupu grabbed five boards.
It has been a long time since Konawaena lost on its home floor, so long that even coach Bobbie Awa couldn’t remember the last time it happened. However, the preseason loss to a top contender will serve as a learning — and motivational — experience for the perennial contending ‘Cats.
“I don’t like to lose — don’t get me wrong. And neither do the girls or my other coaches, ” Awa said. “But humble pie can be good.”
The Wildcats and Lunas are the class of the outer-islands when it comes to girls basketball in Hawaii, being the only programs not from the vaunted ILH to win a HHSAA Division I title since division classification began in 2004.
Beyond state tournament success, there are plenty of parallels between the two squads, including each program’s triple-digit win streaks in their home leagues — the Lunas sitting at 135 in the MIL, and Konawaena currently at 104 in the BIIF.
But as much as they have been bitter adversaries through the years as state title contenders, Konawaena and Lahainaluna are friendly rivals, as evident by the demeanor of both teams after the nightcap.
“Konawaena is such a prestigious program — probably the top in the state. We have a lot of respect for coach Bobbie and what they have done. It’s nothing but respect,” Lahainaluna head coach Todd Rickard said. “To even get the opportunity to play a program like this and be able to hang on for this win is great for us. It’s just one game though. We have to move on.”
The feeling was mutual from Awa.
“We have a great relationship with Lahainaluna and have played each other so many times,” she said. “We know each other’s players and style so well that it always makes the battles close.”
Lahainaluna started the game on an impressive run, going a perfect 7-of-7 from the field in the first quarter — including a trio of 3-pointers — to take a 17-5 advantage.
While the 3-pointers fell early, Hookano reeled off four straight baskets in the paint to end the quarter.
The Lunas missed their first shot to open the second, which was a block by Kaupu on a fast break. While it was a nice highlight, it didn’t exactly cool off the Lunas, specifically Pahukoa, who finished the half with 12 points — all from deep.
After a scoreless first quarter, Molina came to life to bring the Wildcats back within striking distance in the second. She scored nine points in the stanza, including a steal and layup just before the end of the half to make it 27-17.
The Wildcats made some strong half-time adjustments and surged back in the third. Kaupu reeled off five points in the opening minute — including a nice basket on a pick and roll and a 3-pointer — and a pair of free throws by Molina made it a one possession game in a blink of an eye.
It stayed that way for the majority of the third quarter, until Kaupu nailed another three to tie it up at 27 apiece. Until the final minute, Lahainaluna did not score in the third quarter — a stark contrast to the blazing first quarter. But a free throw and floater by Braenna Estabillo was enough to erase Konawaena’s first lead of the game and give the MIL champs a narrow 30-29 advantage heading into the fourth.
“We played some horrible defense in the first half, but played great defense in the second half and made some adjustments,” Awa said.
Kaupu kept up her strong second half to give the ‘Cats the lead back, rolling in a layup and completing the 3-point play with a free throw. Molina added three more, but the Lunas responded with four straight points by Balagso to tie it up with just under two minutes left.
With no shot clock in the high school game, Konawaena circulated the ball, seemingly holding for the last shot. However, a travel gave the ball back to the Lunas, but they couldn’t convert on the other end, sending the contest to OT.
Each team scored three points in the first overtime, with a clutch trey from Estabillo keeping the game alive.
After an early turnover and lay-up by the Lunas to open the second overtime, it became a chess match with the Wildcats trailing 40-38.
Molina came up with a steal and layup to knot the game at 40-40 in the second overtime, but Balagso stepped back and hit a 3-pointer to give the Lunas the lead. Konawaena had multiple good looks at threes, but settled for a layup after a third consecutive offensive rebound, making it 43-42.
The play set up a foul and 1-and-1 situation for the Lunas at the line. The first free throw missed and Uchida got a nice look from the corner for the win at the other end, but hit the iron. Kaupu grabbed the rebound and put it in, but was called for a foul before the basket, much to the dismay of the raucous Kealakekua crowd.
The Lunas hit a free throw at the other end with 2.9 seconds left, and the half court heave by the Wildcats missed.
“We are going to be in situations like that,” Awa said. “Maybe they are tired, but we have to continue to play defense and we have to learn to value possessions.”
With full league seasons still on the docket, nobody wants to speak too soon, but down the road if Lahainaluna and Konawaena met up in a state title matchup, no one would be surprised.
“It’s stressful, but it’s preseason,” Rickard said. “It’s nothing like a state tournament game. That’s when the stress comes out.”
Lunas 17 10 3 5 3 6 — 44
Kona 5 12 12 6 3 4 — 42