Don't count 'Iolani out of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls basketball title chase just yet.

The Raiders — who suffered through some early season adversity — made room for themselves atop the ILH standings last night by holding off upstart Mid-Pacific, 62-51.

'Iolani, MPI and Punahou now are tied for first place at 3-1.

"It feels great, especially because it definitely was a team effort," said Raiders senior guard Lori Yamashita, who scored 15 points. "Everybody stepped up."

'Iolani, which finished fifth in last year's state tournament, lost its top returning post player, Mahina Haina, after she officially accepted a volleyball scholarship offer from Cal State Northridge in November that restricted her from playing basketball.

Then, in the second week of nonleague action, starting guard Kylie Maeda tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee.

The Raiders opened the ILH season with a 21-point home loss to Punahou.

Last night, 'Iolani led 32-18 early in the second half only to see the Owls rally and tie it at 48-48 on Jenna Savusa's putback with 3:08 remaining in the game.

But sophomore guard Saphyre Rezentes answered with a 3-pointer from the left wing 18 seconds later, and Lahela Usui sank 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to help the Raiders extend the lead.

" 'Iolani's guards are really good, and it's not surprising that they made their free throws," Mid-Pacific coach Wes Masuda said. "But this was a good learning experience for our girls. We wanted to see how much guts they had, and they showed us when they came back from being down (14 points). You just cannot let your guard down once you come back."

Raiders coach Eddie Maruyama said he was not surprised to see the Owls rally.

"They're in their home gym, so you gotta expect them to make their runs," Maruyama said. "But I like the way our girls responded. They've shown character all year."

Savusa fouled out with 1:11 left — and the score at 54-51 — after posting a game-high 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Keaton McFadden, who fouled out with 35 seconds remaining, added 10 points.

Usui led 'Iolani with 19 points and Rezentes added 14 points.

'IOLANI (3-1) 14 16 16 16 — 62

MID-PACIFIC (3-1) 8 9 21 13 — 51

'IOLANI — Saphyre Rezentes 14, Kryn Masutani 0, Lori Yamashita 15, Georgette Lopes-Liutolo 5, Kaitlyn Shikada 2, Lahela Usui 19, Shauni Watanabe 0, Alyssa Li'ili'i 2, Alex Masaquel 5, Brittany Barnes 0, Taimane Passi 0. Totals 22 14-23 62.

MID-PACIFIC — Kirstie Sugimoto 0, Paige Young 0, Ashley Yamachika 4, Mahina Docktor 0, Kiki Robertson 3, Kelli Shibata 0, Shanon Nishimura 3, Jordan Kealoha 8, Taylor Babbitt 3, Keaton McFadden 10, Jenna Savusa 20. Totals 16 18-30 51.

3-point goals — 'Iolani 4 (Rezentes, Yamashita, Lopes-Liutolo, Usui). Mid-Pacific 1 (Nishimura).

Reported by Sean Aoyagi

ILH GIRLS DIVISION II

SACRED HEARTS 62, PUNAHOU 60, OT

Sara Souza hit a late 3-pointer to send the game into overtime, and Naihe Paikai scored 14 points to help the Saints stay unbeaten. Punahou's Sarah Ota scored a game-high 23 points.

PUNAHOU (6-2) 14 14 10 13 9—60

SACRED HEARTS (9-0) 6 16 9 20 11—62

PUNAHOU — Kourtney Wong 0, Brittany Pacarro 0, Ashley Choy 8, Kayla Murata 10, Sarah Ota 23, Kira Bayley 0, Jasmine Kauka 7, Natalie Portwood 0, Daena Mau 4, Stacey Lin 2, Michelle Tam 2, Nicole Shelton 0, Hilary Nakaya 4. Totals 15 26-50 60.

SACRED HEARTS — Kara Vause 1, Rayna Munos 5, Lynsey Overstreet 2, Vanessa Freitas 11, Anjela Kim 0, Sara Souza 10, Hunter Wilson-Pena 2, Basha-Lei Almadova 11, Tess O'Connor 6, Naihe Paikai 14, Paris Johnson 0. Totals 18 25-43 62.

3-point goals — Punahou 4 (Ota 3, Murata 1). Sacred Hearts 1 (Souza).

Reported by Jenzen Kaleopaa

HANALANI 41, HAWAIIAN MISSION 35

Jessica Clanton scored 19 points, lifting the Royals over the Knights. Samantha Ramos led Hawaiian Mission with nine points.

HANALANI (5-4) 7 11 14 9—41

HAWAIIAN MISSION (2-6) 7 6 13 9—35

HANALANI — Kira Oyama 1, Mariah Schoniwitz 7, Kim Feng 5, Chelsea Kido 0, Jody Shimabukuru 0, Christina Armstrong 6, Ashley Stamm 3, Jackie Earl 0, Jessica Zhar 0, Jessica Clanton 19, Jade Gonzalez 0. Totals 17 3-16 41.

HAWAIIAN MISSION — Jana Sauder 0, Alana Muller 7, Melissa Mishima 0, Samantha Ramos 9, Julia Sauder 0, Caroline Kim 0, Marikka Zavas 0, Erika Tsubokura 2, Paris Rollins 3, Hope Leao 1, Stephanie Valencia 7, Jessi Tsukayama 0, Janae Wong 6. Totals 15 4-17 35.

3-point goals — Hanalani 4 (Clanton 2, Feng, Schoniwitz). Hawaiian Mission 5 (Ramos 3, Muller, Wong).

Reported by Caroline Kim

ILH BOYS DIVISION I

MID-PACIFIC 55, SAINT LOUIS 52

Andrew Swanson scored a game-high 20 points to lead the visiting Owls past the Crusaders. Marcus Umu led Saint Louis with 12 points.

MID-PACIFIC (1-2) 10 14 16 15—55

SAINT LOUIS (0-2) 10 11 6 25—52

MID-PACIFIC — Shaun Dobovan 5, Shane Kurihara 5, Shai Brown 0, Patrick Matthews 10, Marcus Doi 0, Ty Kono 12, Andrew Swanson 20, Dayton Uchiyama 3. Totals 17 17-26 55.

SAINT LOUIS — Acen Cabral 9, Quinn Arakawa 9, Marcus Umu 12, Nainoa Frank 4, Drew Viena 2, Max Botticelli 0, Mika Wong 5, Starr Sua-Passi 0, Bryan Cieslik 0, Jaris Popaca-Falefa 11. Totals 18 10-13 52.

3-point goals — Mid-Pacific 4 (Kono 2, Dobovan, Matthews). Saint Louis 6 (Popacca-Falefa 3, Arakawa, Umu, Wong).

Reported by Gail Juan

DAMIEN 53, MARYKNOLL 39

Breysen Lee and Jacob Cachola each scored 11 points, lifting the host Monarchs over the Spartans. Jacob Mayer led Maryknoll with 12 points.

MARYKNOLL (1-3) 10 8 14 7—39

DAMIEN (1-1) 10 16 13 14—53

MARYKNOLL — Andrew Wu 2, Masashi Uematsu 8, Craig Shoji 0, Chad Sumulong 0, Trevor Ventura 3, Isaiah Dowdell 6, Jacob Mayer 12, Hirokazu Sasaki 2, A'I Cashman-Fernandez 1, Kekoa Welsh 0, Jordan Tomas 1, Nua Iuvale 4. Totals 11 15-30 39.

DAMIEN — Mark Baay 6, Nephi Tuitele 4, Dylan Yonamine-Baysa 5, Matt Labaguen 6, Breysen Lee 11, Kevin Aganos 2, Jeremy Torcuato 0, JB Ferriera 0, Tyler Tamayo 6, Jacob Cachola 11, Lonn Iwashita 2. Totals 21 8-11 53.

3-point goals — Maryknoll 2 (Uematsu). Damien 1 (Yonamine-Baysa).

Reported by Royce Worley

ILH BOYS DIVISION II

HAWAIIAN MISSION 61, LANAKILA BAPTIST 57, OT

Kalai Lee hit a jumper with a minute left to send the game into overtime and Jomell Navales scored 11 points to fuel the host Knights. Chase Hazelwood scored 25 points for the Warriors.

LANAKILA BAPTIST (1-5) 6 16 15 17 3—57

HAWAIIAN MISSION (2-3) 21 9 6 18 7—61

LANAKILA BAPTIST — Michael Miranda 2, Josh Pananganan 5, Chase Hazelwood 25, Marcus Takahashi 0, Jordan Kabato 16, Jordan Soriano 0, Zack Ramos 0, Aaron Ono 0, Richard Abbley 7, Joseph Lawson 0, Matt Kakilala 2. Totals 22 12-27 57.

HAWAIIAN MISSION — Guyson Joseph 2, Kalai Lee 7, Grant Kono 12, Bobby Santiwan 4, Devon Tsai 0, Christian Domingo 9, Ryan Santos 6, Ryan Asatani 10, Jomell Navales 11. Totals 22 11-13 61.

3-point goals — Lanakila Baptist 2 (Hazelwood 2). Hawaiian Mission 6 (Kono 2, Santos 2, Asatani, Navales).

Reported by Caroline Kim

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