BY BILL O’REAR | STEPHENS MEDIA ADVERTISING HILO — Sophomore Casey Poe scored 16 points, and senior Chelsea Poe added 11 to lead Kamehameha-Hawaii to a come-from-behind 45-40 win over Honokaa as the Warriors claimed the Big Island Interscholastic Federation
BY BILL O’REAR | STEPHENS MEDIA
HILO — Sophomore Casey Poe scored 16 points, and senior Chelsea Poe added 11 to lead Kamehameha-Hawaii to a come-from-behind 45-40 win over Honokaa as the Warriors claimed the Big Island Interscholastic Federation girls Division II basketball championship on Saturday night.
In fighting past the Dragons at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, the Warriors (10-2) pocketed their fifth straight overall BIIF crown. They will be the league’s top seed in this week’s Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II girls basketball tournament on Oahu. The Warriors will be joined by runner-up Honokaa (8-4) and third-place Hawaii Prep (9-4).
The 12-team state Division II tournament runs Tuesday through Friday.
Kamehameha trailed throughout much of the game before outscoring Honokaa 16-8 in the fourth quarter to pull out the tough victory.
Kamehameha took the lead on junior Keana Kaohimaunu’s long 3-pointer at the 4:10 mark. The Dragons tied it at 39-39 on junior Yvonne Daniels’ layup before the Warriors grabbed the lead for good on two Chelsea Poe free throws with 1:28 left.
Daniels led the Dragons with 17 points, and senior Precious Chong had 10 points and nine rebounds. The visitors also got a standout defensive effort from senior Kasia Wilson and sophomore center Hunter Liftee.
“In the fourth quarter we hit some big shots, kept our composure and took care of the ball,” Kamehameha coach Garrett Arima said. “All of those things were big for us, and we’re really proud of our girls’ effort. They played hard all the way.”
The Dragons, under coach James Lukzen, turned in a terrific first half, dominating the game through the first period, leading 16-11 at the buzzer. They then took a 19-11 advantage on Jasmine Castro’s 3-pointer early in the second quarter. But Kamehameha finally settled down and outscored Honokaa 13-7 in the period and led 24-23 at the intermission.
The Dragons then outscored the Warriors 9-5 in the third quarter and led 32-29 heading into the final eight minutes.
Honokaa 16 7 9 8 — 40
KS-Hawaii 11 13 5 16 — 45
Third place
c Hawaii Prep 56, Ka’u 32: Sophomore Chancis Fernandez scored 22 points as Ka Makani clinched the BIIF’s third and final state Division II tournament berth.
Teammates Nani Lum, Shayla Ignacio and Eliyah Fernandez each added seven points in a solid HPA attack.
Senior Pilialoha Kailiawa scored 12 points, and senior Janessa Jara added 11 to lead the Trojans (4-9).
Hawaii Prep 14 16 13 13 — 56
Ka’u 7 5 12 8 — 32
sports@hawaiitribune-herald.com
