For Honokaa, it’s not how long you maintain a lead, but when you lead that matters most. The Dragons trailed for most of their HHSAA Division II state quarterfinal game against No. 4 seeded Kauai on Thursday, but with one second to go, Honokaa drained a shot to claim a 28-26 victory at Kaimuki High School on Oahu.
The Big Island squad was led by Kayla Branco, who netted 1o points. Bailey Perreira scored a team high nine for the Red Raiders. Honokaa scored 14 of their 28 points off turnovers.
The Dragons managed to lead in the game for only a grand total of 1 minute and 7 seconds, while Kauai controlled the contest for nearly 28 minutes, which included a 12 point advantage with 5:19 remaining in the second quarter.
However, Honokaa found a rhythm after going down by double digits and by halftime, the they cut the deficit to four.
With the Red Raiders up 21-17 heading into the third quarter, it would have been hard to predict how low scoring the second half would be. Honokaa managed only five points in the third quarter and six over the final eight minutes, but Kauai struggled even more, managing only 3 and 2 points respectively.
Honokaa will be back in action today at 7 p.m. when they take on No. 1 seeded St. Francis/Castle at Kaimuki High School on Oahu.