'Iolani girls rally past Campbell, 37-31, in State quarterfinals
By Wes Nakama
Despite several things not going its way through the first three periods, 'Iolani rallied from a nine-point deficit Wednesday night to defeat No. 3 seed Campbell, 37-31, in the Pacific Century Foundation Fund Team Aloha/Flying Hawaiian Foundation Girls State Championships.
An estimated crowd of about 500 at Moanalua Gym watched Justice Kekauoha score a game-high 16 points and grab eight rebounds as the ILH runner-up Raiders improved to 14-9 and advance to Thursday's semifinals against BIIF Champion and No. 2 seed Konawaena. Cayden Parado scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds to lead OIA champion Sabers, who fell to 19-6 and into the consolation bracket.
Campbell led, 8-6, after first period and 18-17 at halftime and then took a 28-19 lead after Parado's free throw capped a 10-0 run with 1:14 remaining in the third period. Parado sank another free throw to make it 29-22 with 6:40 left in the game, but Hailey Fernandez scored on a putback with 5:26 remaining to ignite a stunning 11-0 surge culminating in Charlotte Galloway's free throw with 1:46 on the clock to put 'Iolani ahead, 33-29.
"I just think in the first half we were playing way too fast, and taking ourselves out of the game," Kekauoha said. "The coaches were telling us to just relax and let it flow into our offense, but it all starts on defense."
The Sabers closed it to 33-31 on Aiesha DeWeever's driving layup with 1:12 left, but Galloway answered with a layup off Kekauoha's assist 25 seconds later. Fernandez then effectively sealed the victory with a free throw to make it 36-31 with 15.4 ticks on the clock.
"We're in pretty good shape, we're always running (in practice)," Raiders coach Dean Young said. "So we felt confident that if we just kept pushing with pressure defense and push the transition on offense, then we would wear them out. And, I think in the fourth quarter, they got worn out. But that's a great team, they're well-coached, they have a lot of pieces, they're skilled, they have size, they have shooting."
With Campbell dominating the offensive glass in the first three periods, and 'Iolani struggling from the field and in foul trouble, the one player who largely kept the Raiders in the game was Kekauoha, a quick and highly skilled 5-6 junior guard.
"That's what makes her the player she is, definitely one of the toughest guards in the state, and she proves it, every time," Sabers coach Jassy Corpuz said. "She proves that she uses the offseason and prepares for this."
Young said with his team in foul trouble throughout the first half, they needed more than just Kekauoha to step up.
"We had three starters with foul trouble in the first half, Charlotte hardly played in the first half, and you see what a factor she can be when she's on the court," Young said. "Some of it is being a freshman, she's gotta learn when it's a bad foul, because we need her on the court. It was rough with her out."
Young added that the challenging ILH schedule -- including facing defending state champion Kamehameha three times -- also helped 'Iolani down the stretch."
"The ILH prepared us, the really good Mainland teams we played against, on island and on our trip (during Winter Break) prepared us for really tough fourth-quarter battles," Young said. "End-of-game situations -- not panicking, staying composed, keep believing, keep working together ... I think that paid off for (us) tonight."