HONOLULU — Kamehameha’s improbable run at an Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls basketball championship fell 32 minutes short.
The Warriors, needing a herculean effort to claim a fourth win in four days, fell victim to to a hot-shooting first quarter by host Iolani as the Raiders prevailed 38-25 in the playoff for the overall 2023 ILH title on Thursday night.
Iolani (12-3) poured in 16 points in the first eight minutes to take a double-digit lead and was never seriously threatened from that point. Later Thursday night, the three-time defending state champion Raiders were awarded the No. 1 overall seed and a first-round bye in next week’s 12-team HHSAA Division I tournament.
Perennial BIIF powerhouse Konawaena was awarded the No. 2 seed, MIL champ Lahainaluna got the 3 and back-to-back OIA winner Campbell is the 4.
Iolani guard Haylie-Anne Ohta led the way with 12 points, forward Mele Sake scored 10 and guard Paige Oh put in nine as those three accounted for all but seven of their team’s points. It was the fourth straight ILH girls hoops championship for coach Dean Young and Iolani, the winner of the 2023 league regular season.
Kamehameha (8-8), clearly running on fumes after going through the ILH tournament the hard way, was held to a season scoring low.
The consolation for Kamehameha is not bad at all: The Warriors already clinched a state berth going into Thursday, thanks to their spirited run through the ILH single-elimination tournament. That included a 46-34 win at Iolani on Tuesday and a 44-39 upset at Maryknoll on Wednesday.
Kamehameha opens the state tournament Monday at home against Kaiser. Iolani on Wednesday at McKinley faces the winner of Maui High and Radford.
Forward Nihoaokealii Dunn led the Warriors with nine points.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.