Last night Glenn Takara’s Iolani Raiders defeated the Waiakea Warriors 67-45 thanks to senior center Jamie Smith’s 20-point, 15-rebound effort. Waiakea doubled Smith, which led to nine 3-pointers by Chanel Hirata, Kylie Ahlo, Dayna Jandoc and Tami Konishi.
As Paul Honda writes in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, that sets up a classic showdown between Iolani and top-seeded Punahou – two ILH arch rivals.
Punahou reached their fourth consecutive state finals by defeating Radford 58-28 last night, thanks to Shawna-Lei Kuehu and Janelle Nomura, who scored 20 and 13 points, respectively. For Shawna-Lei and her twin sister Shaena-Lyn, it’s another shot at a title after they both missed all of last year with knee injuries. For the Buffanblu, it’s a chance to redeem themselves after last season’s bitter loss to Konawaena in the final.
And of course, for the Raiders, it’s a chance to win their first state championship since 1996 in sweet fashion.
The showdown starts tonight at 8 p.m. in the Stan Sheriff Center.
