Photo courtesy of Aine Kaeo, Coach Cy Peters
Closing the Book: King Kekaulike (18-7, 9-2 MIL)
vs. Top 10: 3-6 (.333)
Top 10 wins: MAUI, LAH, MAUI
Top 10 losses: MAUI, LAH, MAUI, LAH, KON, MS
Non-Top 10 losses: None
Playoffs: 1-1
HHSAA: 1-2
Of all the teams that return nearly all their talent next season, King Kekaulike is in the mix.
With junior MIL player of the year Namahana Kaeo-Young leading and freshman Ledjan Pahukoa bringing long-range firepower, Na Alii ended Lahainaluna’s 164-game win streak in MIL play with a 52-44 road victory. They went on to finish second in the league, earning a state-tournament berth for the first time in six years.
It was a season of monumental achievements. After routing Radford, 61-35, in the opening round of the state tournament before their home crowd, Na Alii traveled to Oahu for the quarterfinals and had perennial powerhouse Konawaena on the ropes. Konawaena pulled out a 40-37 win and later reached the state final.
King Kekaulike’s season ended a day later in a 69-40 loss to ILH runner-up Maryknoll. The journey is just beginning for the promising team from Upcountry Maui.
The win over the Lady Lunas was just the beginning of a wild ride. Historic, it truly was. The odd thing is, Coach Peters didn’t make the drive to West Maui with the team.
“What we did differently, I didn’t ride with the kids. Usually, I drive the school bus, but I had to work. I met them in the shoot around and an assistant coach drove. We did all our road games that way,” Peters said. “I sat with Todd (Rickard) and talked story. We went to the same high school (Lahainaluna). When I went to give a talk to the girls, Lahainaluna has no locker room and we went outside. Last-minute instructions and they were ready to go.”
Inside, Peters wouldn’t relax all game long. When Na Alii clutched up in the final minute, the improbable became more and more real.
“Shucks, for me it was probably the last 30 seconds. The game was close until the second half, until the very end, and we made our free throws. The zone we played was a little different for them to go up against. Most people in our league play man. Our zone press gave them trouble. One of the (Akamine) twins got into foul trouble and another got hurt. Their two best ball handlers,” he said.
“I was really happy for the girls. Lahaina’s streak is something amazing and I don’t think it’ll be touched again. Being a Lahaina graduate I was proud of the team and Coach Todd, but I was also happy to be a part of a team who ended it,” Peters said.
Na Alii didn’t have much time to celebrate together. It was a school night, a long drive home.
“They rode home with their parents. We celebrated in the gym, but we didn’t really get to see each other. We talked about it briefly the next day and prepared for the next game,” Peters said.
They were voted No. 9 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 on the following Monday. On Dec. 27, 10 days after the win at Lahainaluna, King Kekaulike hosted an Alaskan powerhouse, Colony, and pulled out a wild 82-74 win.
“We went into it kind of like a practice game with no meaning, but the game got really good, really fast. And the better the game, the better the kids play. We were hot, hitting 3s,” said Peters, who hopes to travel. “I’m still trying to work it out, going to Alaska for preseason next year. The problem is it’s after Christmas, mid-season for us.”
After 11 wins to open the year, the road got bumpy with a road loss to Maui.
“Maui High is very talented. It seems like over the years I’ve had trouble at their gym. We were up 14 or 16 at the half and we ended up giving that up. That was a big turnaround for us. That game and the next one,” Peter said.
King Kekaulike posted road wins at Baldwin and Kamehameha-Maui to close the calendar year, but losses to Lahainaluna and Maui derailed momentum.
“For me, a lot of it was getting these kids to believe, especially when you lose a couple after going 10-0. When adversity hit, that was the hardest part,” Peters said of a roster that had just two seniors. “Let’s keep going. Let’s weather the storm. If we’re not scoring, just keep going. We’re very young and the bunch doesn’t get to play each together much (in the offseason). As the season went along, they learned to trust each other.”
Na Alii finished 9-2 in regular-season play, third in the standings. They needed to win the playoff tourney or place higher than Maui, the runner-up, for a shot at a state-tournament berth. King Kekaulike toppled Maui, 43-40, then lost to Lahainaluna 44-41, in the playoff tourney final. That set up a rematch with Maui at Lahainaluna’s gym.
“It was a must-win. Kind of like the first time we beat Lahaina, so hey, why not. The focus was turned right away. The goal was to get to state, and practice the next day was, let’s go, let’s get ready. Spirits were pretty good,” Peters said.
King Kekaulike advanced to the state tourney with a 43-40 win.
“They were excited, for sure, but of course, the girls want to travel. We have to play Radford. I didn’t know much. i watched two games on YouTube. I know that their big girl (Angel Assah) was a concern for me because we’re not real big. We kind of built our defense around that, and we wanted to play fast on offense. I felt like we could outrun them. Radford plays in our tournament every year, but this was the one year they didn’t come,” Peters said.
The home team walloped Radford 61-35.
“We played fast. Radford had problems with our press. Our energy level was way higher. It might have been harder for them, having to go to school, fly over,” Peters said. “We weren’t allowing the ball to get inside, we doubled her whenever she got the ball. Even Coach Charles (Chong of Radford) said, ‘We played you guys last year and this isn’t the team I expected.’ “
Family and friends celebrated the victory. Two days later, Na Alii boarded a plane to Oahu.
“We flew in the night before Konawaena,” Peters said.
King Kekaulike got some eye-popping long-range shooting by Pahukoa and led Konawaena early. The Wildcats needed a huge game from Kaliana Salazar-Harrell with Caiyle Kaupu in foul trouble. Kaupu finished with six points and six rebounds, but Konawaena rallied for the 40-37 win at Kalani High School.
“It was a great opportunity for us to move forward at state. I was happy with the effort, but looking back, it might have slipped on us. I’m still proud of our young team and the way they played,” Peters said. “I think overall they gained confidence, especially with how we played Konawaena. But the Maryknoll game, they had a hard time getting up. I understood that. This is the first state tournament in six years. My first year was when we beat a very good Moanalua team. We were down 14 or 15 at the half and winning in overtime. Then we lost to Punahou the next night, and it was hard to get up the next day. It’s a learning process for me and the kids.”
Coach Peters chatted about his players and the future on Monday.
This season was ________.
Peters: “The beginning to what we hope will be success the next few years with our young team.”
This season was the movie ________.
Peters: “
Review: Starters and key rotation/role players: Strengths, improvements (since 2018-19 season) and things to improve on this offseason.
Ledjan Pahukoa, 16 ppg (overall)
Peters: “Her strengths are her shooting and ball handling. The thing with her she’s a hard worker. First in the sprints and everything, so she’ll definitely get better. What she improved most is working with her teammates. She’s able to include her teammates in the offense.
“Everybody bought into their roles without complaint. Pretty much, they all said, my two bigs especially, their job was the get every rebound. They embraced that a little bit going forward. Everybody has to play defense. Everybody has the green light to shoot. She’s the only one who has the green light to shoot that long ball, maybe not for a 30-footer, but she takes it once in awhile and I’m glad when it goes it.”
“Getting stronger, physically, for sure. With that, you get more confident about taking the contact. And continue to get her teammates involved. Everything going forward, the ball starts with in her hands or Namahana’s hands.”
Namahana Kaeo-Young, 10 ppg, MIL player of the year, 5-5, Jr.
Peters: “Namana is a very humble kid. It’s hard for me to tell her go beat someone. Her biggest improvement is her defense got way better and we’ve talked about it. She’s a good ball handler. I would like her to be less humble, ‘Hey, give me the ball.’ She ended up being MIL player of the year. Her offense was always good, but rebounding, defense, she really improved.”
Cailyn Ukida, 10 ppg, 5-3, Sr.
Peters: “She’s been a starter with us for four years at point guard. She had a late start to the season. She had injuries. She’s all-around. She can score, more of a driver than a shooter. She’s very fast with the ball in her hand. Her defense is always up to par. She does a little bit of everything.”
Ashante Wong, 5-7, So.
Peters: “She had a very good season. Her first season with us. Very good defender, very good hustler, all over the court. Our best rebounder. She didn’t play her freshman year and I got on her to get out and play. I have another niece on the team, Analee Peters, and she played quite a few minutes for us.”
TC Pahukoa, 5-5, Jr.
Peters: “She’s invaluable to our team. She plays every position. A good defender. She does what nobody else does. She’ll score sometimes. She’ll rebound, handle the ball. She’s a Swiss Army knife for us.”
Kreyajan Pahukoa, 5-4, Jr.
Peters: “She launches, too. If she hits it, she hits it. Her defense has improved a lot since sophomore year, especially on ball. She plays guard in our zone and she has a lot of ground to cover. She also got better at driving to the basket.”
Kalia Purdy, 5-8, So.
Peters: “She has a hard assignment of guarding the bigs every game. She did a great job. As a sophomore, as a starter, she got much better this year. Her offense got better even though we run everything through our guards. Her offense got much better.”
Did the rotation change?
Peters: “It changed a little, maybe one spot. A lot of it was we had people injured, not so much of chemistry. It wasn’t a drastic change. If we have to fill in, TC Pahukoa will step in. That’s good luxury to have, someone who can play all five spots. Even if I had to sub out a point guard or a big, she could sub in for either.”
What or who surprised you most?
Peters: “I could say Ledjan did. She’s a freshman at the varsity level, but the one who surprised us most was Ashante Wong. We didn’t really realize she could play a big role until the season went on.”
What were the most adverse challenges?
Peters: “Being young, and in the summer, they don’t play together. Most teams on Maui play on the same club. I don’t do club, so they play for different clubs. So getting them to play together, it took awhile in the middle and the end.”
What was the peak? What was the low?
Peters: “Of course, it went up and down a lot through the year. The peak was Lahainaluna, then the low, losing to Lahainaluna and Maui. Losing after being up 14 at half (against Maui). Then it went up again with the win to get to state. Konawaena, I don’t know if I want to call it a low. We were in that game. We could’ve made it to the next night.”
What will you miss about this group?
Peters: “I had both of them four years. Alia (Ah You) practiced hard. She’s a good kid. Cailyn had some injuries so we missed her a lot in preseason. She started for three years, very athletic and she might not be 100 pounds, but she jumps one of the highest, one of the fastest. She got accepted to UNLV. I think she’s going to try out.”
What are you anticipating for offseason and next season?
Peters: “There’s a women’s league in the summer. The first one was in March and that got cancelled. The other one starts in June or July. Our girls will play with their clubs. One of our assistant coaches, Karlee Peters, she’s also my niece. She’s a personal trainer at a gym and she’s going to start working with them. When I’m able to use the gym after their summer tournaments, we start getting together in the gym probably when school starts. We’re all up in the air right now.
“We’ve been together for a year, so even if we’re not together in the summer, we have chemistry. The next goal is still to win the MIL because Lahainaluna won it again. They return everybody and I heard they have a really good incoming freshman.”
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