Three BIIF basketball matches were played on the isle’s leeward side Monday night — Konawaena High boys at Hilo High, Pahoa High girls at Waiakea High and Hilo girls at Honoka‘a High.
Hilo 54, Konawaena 46
The Vikings’s boys varsity squad won its regular season opener, moving to 1-0 in BIIF DI play and 3-1 overall with a 54-46 home win over Konawaena.
Hilo took a commanding lead early, putting up 16 points during the first quarter while holding the Wildcats to just four.
However, Konawaena did not relent — and sliced its deficit in the second frame, coming within three points of the Vikings for a moment before Hilo closed out the half leading 31-22.
The Vikings came out hot again in the third quarter, ending it ahead 42-30. Despite outscoring Hilo 16-12 during the final frame, the Wildcats’ early deficit haunted them to the end.
Payton Pana had yet another massive game, scoring 23 points for Hilo. Jared Fuerte also contributed nine points for the Vikings.
Abraham Ogata and Elijah Morgan were Konawaena’s top scorers, notching ten points each. Cash Prettyman was close behind with nine points.
Hilo will be back on its home court Friday to chase a 2-0 start, taking on Kealakehe High (0-1 BIIF, 1-1 ovr., 0-0 DI) for the Waveriders’ DI opener. JV tips off at 5:30 p.m. and varsity follows.
The Wildcats will have a two-week break from DI play. Their next outing will be Dec. 16 at home against defending DII state champion Kohala High. On Dec. 22, Konawaena will host Kealakehe for the pair’s cross-Kona rivalry matchup.
JV score: Konawaena 50 – Hilo 39.
Waiakea 65, Pahoa 12
The Warriors continued steamrolling their local competition with their fourth 50-plus point BIIF victory.
Waiakea is now 4-0 on the isle and 7-2 overall. The Warriors competed in KS-Kapalama’s I Mua Invitational last weekend, collecting two more wins — 57-55 over Lahainaluna High and 51-47 over Kahuku High — and suffering a loss to Arizona’s Hamilton High, which went on to lose the tournament title match to KS-Kapalama.
On Monday, the Warriors outscored the Daggers 28-2 in the first quarter, 14-2 in the second, 10-7 in the third and 13-12 in the fourth.
Top scorer for Waiakea was Pua‘ena Herrington with 15 points. The 5’10 sophomore has averaged 15.3 points per game this season — and had an excellent weekend on O‘ahu with 20 points against Hamilton, 23 against Lahainaluna and another 20 against Kahuku.
The Warriors’ No. 2 scorer Monday night was Jolie Mantz with ten points. The 5’5 senior is so far Waiakea’s top scorer at 17.6 ppg. She also notched big numbers last weekend — scoring 23 points versus Lahainaluna, 19 on Hamilton and 16 on Kahuku.
Eight other players put up points for Waiakea — including Bryia Carenio with nine, Maya Kaneshiro with eight and Mercedes Murray with seven.
Pahoa was led by Jaylynn Kaawaloa-Alidon’s nine points.
Waiakea will begin a four-game road stint, starting with a Thursday evening bout against Hawaii Prep (1-1 BIIF, 1-0 DII, 3-3 ovr.).
Now 0-2, the Daggers will have some time to regroup before their first home game, next Tuesday (Dec. 12) against Honoka‘a (1-1).
Honoka‘a 35, Hilo 20
The Vikings’ girls varsity team has been unable to catch a break, falling to 0-2 in BIIF play and 0-4 overall after a road loss to the Dragons.
Honoka‘a was led by Telia Iaeli with 11 points and Rylee Velasquez with ten points.
Hilo’s Malia Simram and Stephanie Hirowatari led the Vikings’ offense with six points each.
The Dragons will be back in action at 6 p.m. tonight at Konawaena (1-0 BIIF, 7-2 ovr.).
On Thursday, Hilo will have a chance to get its first win — and a .500 BIIF DI record — hosting Kea‘au High (1-1), with JV tipping off at 5:30 p.m. and varsity following.