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Lunas down Sabers, clinch MIL regular-season crown

By Robert Collias 5 min read

LAHAINA -- For the third time this season, the Lahainaluna and Maui high school girls basketball teams faced off.

And for the third time, it was the hard-fought type of game that everyone expected.

The Lunas earned their second straight win over the Sabers on Wednesday night, 42-32 at the Lahainaluna gym, and clinched the Maui Interscholastic League Division I regular-season title and the state tournament berth that goes with it.

"It is a good accomplishment for these young ladies," Lahainaluna coach Iolani Kaniho said. "They worked really hard for this, you know. Maui High is, again, a really quality opponent. We were able to get some breaks go our way and then we were able to close it out."

It was Lahainaluna's second win in three head-to-head matchups against the Sabers (9-2) this season. The Lunas improved to 9-1 and have a game today against Kamehameha Maui -- their third game in three days -- to conclude their regular-season slate.

"It always is (a battle), they are our toughest competition right now," Lahainaluna's Taylor Eldredge said, adding that she expects to see the Sabers again. "Games like this make us get better in every way."

Ledjan Pahukoa led the Lunas with 17 points and Eldredge added 11.

The game was played in front of a raucous, but limited, crowd at the Lahainaluna gym. The Lunas' boys basketball team cheered on their girls counterparts, and the wrestling team looked on from their practice room above the basketball floor.

"They are our biggest support, we always love when they come," Eldredge said.

Maui High led 13-10 at the end of the first quarter and pushed the lead to seven early in the second.

The Lunas took a 22-21 lead into the halftime break after scoring the final eight points of the first half. Cheland Pahukoa's 3-pointer from the left corner with 2:10 left in the second quarter and Eldredge's 3 from the top of the key with 1:22 left finished the run.

Tavina Harris scored early in the second half to up the Lunas' lead to 24-21. Leiana Thornton cut the lead to two with a free throw with 6:42 left in the third quarter.

Eldredge nailed a 3-pointer to make it 27-22 with just over 5 minutes left in the third quarter. Jordyn Luna found Kiana Manuel wide open under the basket for the Sabers to cut the margin to 27-24, but a 3 by Ledjan Pahukoa and two free throws by Kiera Kaniho pushed the Lunas' lead to 32-24 with two minutes left in the third.

The Lunas took a 35-26 lead to the fourth quarter. Ledjan Pahukoa stretched the lead to 12 with another 3-pointer with 6:07 left in the game.

A 3 by Kayla Thornton with 3:44 to play brought the Sabers within 38-32, but they could not get any closer. Lahainaluna scored the final four points of the game at the free-throw line.

Maui High was led by Leiana Thornton's eight points.

"They're tough, they execute well, they come in with their game plan and they execute their game plan very, very, very well, making things really difficult on us," Maui High coach Victor Aguirre said.

In a decision made this week, the MIL tournament starts tonight with the Baldwin-King Kekaulike game at Jon Garcia Gym. The game had been the final regular-season game for the two teams, and they were going to meet in the 4-5 pigtail tournament game on Saturday, but the coaches agreed to make today's game the MIL tournament opener.

The Sabers are the No. 2 seed for the tournament and will face No. 3 Kamehameha Maui in the semifinals at Kaulaheanuiokamoku Gym on Monday.

If the Sabers and Lunas meet in the MIL tournament final for the fourth time this season, a Maui High win would force a fifth face-off for the overall MIL title.

"We're probably going to play them, hopefully, two more times," Aguirre said. "Honestly, it's good for everybody because they are always fun games."

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com

MAUI HIGH (9-2)

Jacy Anne Dela Cruz 2, Kayla Thornton 6, Lyndee Sabas 3, Jordyn Luna 5, Natea Rosete-Tokuhisa 2, Leiana Thornton 8, Kiana Manuel 6.

LAHAINALUNA (9-1)

Ledjan Pahukoa 17, Chaland Pahukoa 3, Tavina Harris 2, Kiera Kaniho 9, Taylor Eldredge 11, Skylyn Fagarang-Alalem 0.

Maui High 13 8 5 6--32

Lahainaluna 10 12 13 7--42

SEABURY HALL BOYS 72

HALEAKALA WALDORF 29

HALEAKALA WALDORF (0-3)

Casey Byer 0, Oskar Friedman 11, Timothy Walsh 0, Cyrus Laury-Schaeffer 11, Adrian Wertheim 7.

SEABURY HALL (5-0)

Luca Connor 2, Anthony Martin 4, James Judge 22, Braydon Cabanilla 0, Ethan Palmer 4, Bryce Churchill 0, Kobe Garcia 12, Elima Dagan 7, Dylan Stolley 3, Zach Devane 4, Leo McKuin 4, Bromo Dorn 10.

Haleakala Waldorf 12 6 0 11--29

Seabury Hall 20 26 16 10--72

MIL Standings

GIRLS

DIVISION I

W L Pct. GB

x-Lahainaluna 9 1 900 --

Maui High 9 2 .818 1⁄2

Kamehameha Maui 5 5 .500 4

King Kekaulike 3 8 .273 61⁄2

Baldwin 0 10 .000 9

DIVISION II

W L Pct. GB

Lanai 4 2 .667 --

Seabury Hall 4 2 .667 --

Molokai 2 2 .500 1

Hana 0 4 .000 3

x-clinched regular-season championship

Wednesday's Result

Lahainaluna 42, Maui High 32

Today's Games

Lahainaluna at Kamehameha Maui, 5:30 p.m.

MIL tournament play-in: King Kekaulike at Baldwin, 5:30 p.m.

BOYS

DIVISION I

W L Pct. GB

Baldwin 7 0 1.000 --

Kamehameha Maui 5 2 .714 2

Lahainaluna 4 3 .571 3

Maui High 1 5 .167 51⁄2

King Kekaulike 0 7 .000 7

DIVISION II

W L Pct. GB

Seabury Hall 5 0 1.000 --

Lanai 4 2 .667 11⁄2

Maui Prep 2 0 1.000 11⁄2

Hana 0 2 .000 31⁄2

Haleakala Waldorf 0 3 .000 4

Molokai 0 4 .000 41⁄2

Wednesday's Result

Seabury Hall 72, Haleakala Waldorf 29

Today's Games

Maui High at Lahainaluna, 7 p.m.

Baldwin at Kamehameha Maui, 7 p.m.

Starting at /week.