Hawaii Basketball

Disrespect versus improbability…

The Konawaena Wildcats will be out to prove they rightly deserved the #1-seed in this year’s tournament when they face the “no-one-expected-us-to-be-here” Punahou Buffanblu in the finals of the Hawaii Girls Basketball State Tournament. The two teams come into the game after hard-earned wins in the semifinals and will be looking to impose their style of play on the other and capture the 2007 title.

What will each team need to do to win?…

Konawaena will need to execute their offense effectively and get easy opportunities for star forward Jazzmin Awa-Williams who is coming fresh off of a 27 point performance in the semifinals against Iolani. More importantly, the Wildcats will have to handle Punahou’s pressure. If they are able to limit their turnovers and play the same “keep-um-in-front-of-you” defense that stifled the Raiders in the second half of last night’s game, Punahou will have a difficult time putting up enough points to win.

Important Roles: Awa-Williams will need to do it all. Besides scoring, she’ll have to help her guards handle the Buffanblu press and help the bigs control the boards. The Hanato-Smith sisters will need to limit turnovers and make the most out of their offensive opportunities while forward Mana Hopkins will play an important role as a finisher once the Wildcats get past the first wave of Punahou pressure.

The Punahou Buffanblu will need to continue doing what they’ve been doing all season and then some. What that means is the Buffanblu will need to play their same hectic style of defense forcing turnovers and breaking the Wildcats’ offensive rhythm while also figuring out a way to score in their half court sets.

Important Roles: Everyone will need to contribute for the Buffanblu and Coach Mike Taylor is sure to give as many as 10-12 players the chance… Forward Chelsea Deptula will probably have the task of matching up with Awa-Williams which should take a huge toll, so it’ll be interesting to see if she’s also able to contribute on offense and on the boards (which Punahou will need her to do). The guards (Janelle Nomura, Melanie Feldman, and Dara Tompkinson) will also have to show up on the offensive end for the Buffablu scoring at least 20-25 point between the three of them.