Girls Varsity Beats Warriors In Overtime, 37-35
January 3, 2009
by Al Linsky
This team lost all five starters to graduation.
Included in those starters was "all-everything" Jamie Smith.
This observer figured that wins would be very hard to come by this year as the Raiders regrouped, almost starting from scratch. Add to that a brand new coach from Punahou, no less!
Well, I really liked what I saw at 'Iolani gym on Saturday as I'm sure all the Raiders fans in attendance will agree.
The opponent was Kamehameha. The Warriors are ranked #5 in the state, and always are tough. Truthfully, I was hoping we could just keep it close. Little did I know what was in store for the Raider faithful who filled the stands.
The Warriors jumped out to a quick lead. I think it was 8-0 before Tami Konishi started raining three pointers to get the Raiders back in the game.
At the end of the first quarter the Warriors led 12-8, but the Raiders were gaining confidence that they could stay with their friends from Kapalama.
In the second quarter, 'Iolani continued to scrap and run and as Kylie Maeda, Lori Yamashita, and especially Geogette Lopes-Liutolo started to hit, the Raiders built up a 20-15 lead at the half.
The third quarter saw play even out with the Raiders maintaining their lead at 26-20 going into the final quarter.
The Warriors had their best quarter in the fourth as they tied the game at 31-31. Both teams had good chances to put away the victory at the end, but couldn't quite finish it off.
Lori got the Raiders off to a quick start with a layup at the start of overtime. Both coaches continued to call timeouts to try different plays as the winner looked to be the team with the ball last. This time it was the Raiders as they pulled out a spectacular 37-35 win.
To see more photos, please visit iolani-events.org.
