Closing the Book: Seabury Hall 24-3 (12-0 MIL D-II)
vs. Top 10: 1-2 (.333)
Top 10 wins: MAUI
Top 10 losses: PUN, MAUI
Non-Top 10 losses: HBA
Home: 8-0
Away: 6-0
Neutral: 10-3
Playoffs: 2-0
HHSAA: 2-1
This is what they are: one of the greatest teams in Seabury Hall history
However, like the peak-level teams in history, or herstory, Seabury Hall’s momentum was cut short in the post-season. The Lady Spartans were denied after a 12-0 run through the Maui Interscholastic League’s Division II schedule, and two more wins in the playoffs. Defending state champion Hawaii Baptist, the ILH’s third-place team, made certain of it with a 50-37 win in the state quarterfinals.
Seabury Hall went on to rout Waimea and Damien to finish fifth in the tournament. The staggering end of the state-title dream confirmed three observations.
1) Though Seabury Hall was outstanding in preseason with wins over Maui, HBA and Radford, and gave Punahou a battle, the MIL D-II schedule added little to nothing. The Spartans were pushed only by Lanai, winning by margins of 26, 16, 9, 17 and 18 points. The margins against Molokai and Hana were much more. If this were the ILH, Hana and Molokai would have been more suited for Division III.
2) They flew to Honolulu to compete in the Sacred Hearts Invitational, which was, frankly, the most relaxing of their six off-campus game trips. After that, five times, Seabury Hall’s schedule involved some of the most daunting and tiring voyages. The preseason ferry ride to Lanai to play in the Pine Lasses Classic didn’t have a big impact. But two weeks later, they flew to Molokai for two games. A week later, they endured the picturesque, but monotonous drive to Hana for two more contests.
After four home games, the Spartans rode the ferry to Lanai again. After two more home games, Seabury Hall flew to Molokai for the playoffs. By the time they boarded the plane to play in the state tournament in Hilo.
3) The Spartans’ starting five was experienced and talented, competitive with any team in the state D-I or D-II. Numbers, however, are a challenge each year. In the previous year, they managed to recruit three of their volleyball players to join the team. This season, they reeled in two paddlers and a soccer player.
Coach Keoni Labuanan was relieved to have enough players to have intersquad scrimmages, but like many small schools, Seabury Hall had a significant drop-off from the starters to the reserves.
And yet, they went 24-3. Maui went on to beat Lahainaluna and King Kekaulike, both Top 10 teams. Punahou struggled in the gauntlet of the ILH, but finished the year No. 9 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10. HBA reached the D-II state final before losing to Hanalani, which finished No. 10.
Spartans center Anau Tuivai will play at Hawaii Pacific next season. Fellow senior Ameera Waterford will attend Stanford. Seabury Hall returns a talented group next season — three returning starters plus Meleani Sjostrand, a 5-foot-11 sophomore who played only in MIL games this season.
But the challenges will remain. In a league where the most skilled players are remaining in their home districts, how many will land in Olinda at the Spartans’ campus?
In addition, facing Top 10-level opponents consistently through the season would make a major difference. The ILH had league champion Mid-Pacific, Hanalani, HBA and a fast-rising Damien squad battling in D-II. The BIIF plays a full round-robin schedule of D-I and D-II teams. The same is true in the OIA.
Labuanan said he would be in favor of a shorter MIL D-II slate — less travel and fatigue — so that D-I and D-II schools could cross over during January to play exhibition games. All of the MIL’s D-I girls basketball teams are on Maui with relatively short distances between them. The long hours of studying plus the lack of sleep add up over a three-month season.
“For sure, that would be ideal for us, not to travel as much and play more D-I teams would definitely help us going into states. The sleep part, like you said, nobody talks about. These girls do four hours a night (of studying) as it is being a college prep school,” Labuanan said.
Preseason began with the Maui tournament. Seabury Hall routed Kapaa, 61-26, and Molokai, 65-21. The Spartans then stunned host Maui, 45-37.
“I thought it was a great start because we lost Brittlay (Carillo) at halftime of that (Maui) game. It was good that we pulled it off without her. A lot of the Maui girls played with Ameera and Leela (Waterford) when they were younger, so it was good to get that win,” Labuanan said.
A week later, before Thanksgiving, they flew to Oahu for the Sacred Hearts Invitational. Seabury Hall stunned HBA, 33-29, then edged OIA West powerhouse Radford, 43-42. They lost in the championship game to Punahou, 49-42.
“It’s funny because we travel so much. Our numbers are so low that we had to recruit girls to come play with us. Only one or two came with us on the trip. The new girls were brand new,” Labuanan said.
The second-year head coach calls it the peak of the Spartans’ season.
“That was a real high of our season, really. Beating Radford was awesome. Leela had to fly back because she was in the school play the night of the Radford game (on a Friday), and flew back for the Punahou game. Brittlay might have missed one or two games, so we had the new girls in the lineup,” he said.
After returning to Maui, the Spartans had Sunday off before defeating Harker, a run-and-gun team from California.
“In the beginning, it was pretty close. They have some good, aggressive guards. It was a good matchup for Ameera. They love to run. We watched them against King Kekaulike and they were running, running, running,” Labuanan said.
After Thanksgiving, the Spartans were voted to the Top 10 at No. 9. Three days later, they boarded the ferry and headed to the Pineapple Isle. Seabury Hall walloped Kalaheo, 61-31, and Kealakehe, 68-10. But Maui got its revenge with a 42-37 win over the Spartans.
“It was really close and they cut the gap, and they put on a press and our girls just kind of didn’t compose themselves well. They tried to break it on their own, we were rushing and threw the ball away. They took the lead and we were down two, three points, and we couldn’t hit. We had to learn to be composed when pressure hits us,” Labuanan said.
Before Christmas, they flew to Molokai and posted 56-25 and 46-21 wins. After Christmas, they made the drive to Hana and won 68-11 and 47-5.
“We’re sleeping in the gym and all that. For the returnees, it was regular business. They knew what to do, how we should play to get the job done,” Labuanan said.
After four home wins over Hana and Lanai, the Spartans were 8-0 in league play.
“Ameera went on a college trip, so she wasn’t there in one of the earlier Lanai games. We played the second day at 10 am and Lanai made it interesting,” Labuanan said of a 42-26 win. “It was tight for awhile and Brittlay played great in those two games.”
The Spartans returned to the road with two more games on Lanai, winning 55-46 and 52-35.
“That first night, they had their homecoming, which was just bananas. They don’t have a football homecoming. They do it for basketball. The crowd, and the whole island, all the elementary, middle and high school kids are there. Parents and grandparents and everything,” Labuanan recalled. “Behind the benches, there’s only two or three rows. Across, there’s 12 to 15 rows, but it was packed. It was a tight game and it was tied at halftime. Their momentum, they hit a couple of threes and the whole gym rocked. It was super fun to be a part of that game.”
The back end of the trip was a 10 a.m. tip-off the next morning.
“The next game is not as much of a crowd, it’s at 10 in the morning, and we had a little more of a gap,” the coach said.
After a pair of wins over Molokai one week later, Seabury Hall closed the regular season 12-0. Then came the playoffs at “The Barn,” Molokai’s gym. The Spartans defeated Hana, 75-22, and Lanai, 51-33, for the title.
“With Ameera and Anau, they’re the veterans. They won the MIL all four years. Having them was phenomenal. The big difference makers. They know what it takes to get the job done, and their younger sisters are very talented,” Labuanan said.
They had six days to prepare for HBA in the opening round of the state tourney at Afook-Chinen Hilo Civic Auditorium.
“It’s weird because at the end of the season there’s so many weird holidays, they have their finals, all this stuff. Three weeks of only two practices and then games,” Labuanan said. “There was some worry by the parents that the girls weren’t taking it serious and they didn’t want them to be off their ‘A’ game, so we intensified it at practices.”
The Spartans brought in different competition for scrimmages. Women’s league teams. A boys team.
“They’re faster and more aggressive, so that was awesome. We did that on Monday and we flew to states on Wednesday,” Labuanan said.
HBA, coming off a 7-2 season in ILH D-II with no playoff games, had 20 days to prepare for the state tourney. The Eagles made the most of it, changing up its defense in the quarterfinal victory.
“That’s the worst our stars played. The shooting, we were like 3-for-11 one person and 4-for-17 for another. Everybody couldn’t hit a shot. It was tied at halftime, and I’m like, we’re not going to miss every shot. It’s got to drop sometime,” Labuanan said. “Our shots didn’t fall and HBA’s did. If you look at the shot chart, it was rough. We got shots, what we wanted. We got some 1-on-1 breakaways, but we just couldn’t finish layups. Sometimes, we settled too much for outside (shots). Anau started out really good. We only had 18 points at one point, and Anau had nine.”
Unlike the early matchup at the Sacred Hearts Invitational, HBA put Hayley Taka on Anau Tuivai and used other posts, including Sasha Philip, to bring instant double-team coverage on the block.
“That was an adjustment that really changed how the game went on,” Labuanan said. “HBA just played tight man. (Alexis) Dang played really good. She and Ameera both play great defense and Dang got a couple of clutch steals when they needed it.”
Seabury Hall’s title chase ended. They bounced back with a 62-42 win over Waimea and a 53-30 win over Damien.
“Of course, mixed emotions. Expectations were high, but I think after that first day, the loss, it was very disheartening, but they didn’t let that bum them out too much,” Labuanan said. “Especially for Anau and Ameera, after the first day and we weren’t in the running, they just enjoyed being with the girls, especially the new girls. The new girls have a lot of personality, and we’re staying at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel with other teams. Hawaii Baptist, Farrington, Lanai.”
Coach Labuanan chatted about the starters and key reserves, and the future.
This season was ________.
Labuanan: “I thought it was a climb.”
This season was the movie ________.
Labuanan: “Road Trip. It’s a comedy and all they’re doing riding this bus, traveling across the country, sleeping in all kinds of places, interacting with all kinds of places. We travel more than we’re at home. All of our situations, we’re at other places.”
Review: Starters and key rotation/role players
Anau Tuivai, 14 ppg, 6-1, Sr.
Labuanan: “Of course, her strength is her work ethic. No matter what, preseason, offseason, in the games, at practices, she’s always going hard. She’s the first one sweating any time. By far, the best. What she will work on is expanding her game. In college, she won’t be the big man in the middle. At first she was going to Notre Dame de Namur, but I don’t know what happened, but now she’s going to Hawaii Pacific.”
Ameera Waterford, 12 ppg, 5-7, Sr.
Labuanan: “Her major strength is her speed and her length. Her defense is her best part of her game. She’s a track hurdler and she qualified for states in the 100 last year. She’s athletic and has deceptively long arms. She’s going to attend Stanford. She was a national merit honor finalist, so she had some choices from some big-time schools. She decided last week or the week before.”
Brittlay Carillo, 7 ppg (MIL), 5-7, So.
Labuanan: “For Brittlay, filling in to be the point guard and all around, I think her guts and her heart drive her. Sometimes, you look at her and she doesn’t look like the fastest and she’s not the tallest, but she has the heart. She will not back down from driving. She won’t back down from guarding anybody and that’s her best attribute. I’d like her to take more shots. It’s not like she passes up that many, but sometimes, she didn’t want the ball in her hands to score. She’s comfortable bringing it up, running the offense. And she had injuries in the Maui tournament, and at Sacred Hearts, but she tossed it out. Anau, Pio, Leela, Ameera, Brittlay and Mele play for Upcountry Elite, and it changed to Top Notch. I’ve been there the past seven years.”
Leela Waterford, 9 ppg (MIL), 5-8, So.
Labuanan: “Her shooting, she was our most consistent 3-point shooter. What surprised me about her this year is her toughness came out a lot more. She was the younger sister before and didn’t like contact, but she was in there rebounding this year, fighting for loose balls. That was good to see from her. I’d like to her to gain more confidence in handling the ball, she’s not the most confident in that area.”
Piohia Tuivai, 5-9, So.
Labuanan: “Her strengths, I honestly think she intimidates girls on defense. She volleyball spikes people’s shots out of bounds. She goes for it. On 50-50 balls, she’s ripping it. She’s aggressive. She has aggression and intimidation factors that are her strengths. I’d like her to take it inside more. She loves to shoot 3s and she’s a good shooter, but she’ll be more consistent when she can take it inside. Anau has more of the broad shoulders. Pio loves being a wing player. She’s strong, though.”
Faylin Sales, 5-4, Jr.
Labuanan: “She came off the bench and she always works hard with a smile on her face. She’s never mad about running or hitting the weight room. She’s tiny and very skinny, but she’s always working hard and her aggression, she’s a fighter. I want her to improve her confidence with the ball, squaring up to the basket and being a threat instead of passing it out.”
Meleani Sjostrand, 5-11, So.
Labuanan: “She transferred from Kamehameha-Maui, and she was eligible to play in the MIL season. She couldn’t play preseason and state tournament. I had no idea she was going to attend Seabury and they went through the whole appeal process. Her rebounding was awesome, especially her offensive rebounding. She’s strong and she ran the 400 as a freshman. In the weight room, she was the strongest. She’s an athlete. Her dad is 6-4 or 6-5. She plays mostly basketball. Her lower half is very strong. She would have made a huge difference (at states).”
Did the rotation change?
Labuanan: “During the regular season, I went to Mele a lot. Towards the end, they got word that she couldn’t play in states, so I went back to to Faylin coming off the bench.”
What or who surprised you most?
Labuanan: “I’ve got to say Faylin. She brought the energy when we needed it. Her highest score was six. She’s not going to get all the points and steals, but energy wise, she surprised me. Another one is Brittlay. She went through the knee injury and I was surprised how she battled though all of it. She has four older sisters who all played basketball and one older brother.”
What were the most adverse challenges?
Labuanan: “There’s a lot of off-the-court issues we had than off the court. Not bad stuff, but for us to get focused back on basketball was the hard part. By the end, they really did just focus on the team and basketball.”
What was the peak? What was the low?
Labuanan: “The peak was probably our preseason. That was the highest we felt in that Sacred Hearts tournament, beating Hawaii Baptist, beating Radford by one, and losing to Punahou by seven.”
What will you miss about this group?
Labuanan: “Their leadership. We’re just hoping someone steps up next year and takes over. Anau, every day at practice, she was getting the warmups started before practice, getting the drills going even when the girls didn’t have the energy. She would be the one bringing them up. Ameera, too, she was super busy doing her senior activities. Honor society and all that stuff. But her leadership was great.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, but what are you anticipating for offseason and next season?
Labuanan: “We were kind of waiting to see what was going on. We were talking with Lanai about combining for a (travel) team, but when all this broke out, everything came to a standstill. The girls are doing online training with (former All-State player of the year) Maiki Viela, which is great. Maiki has a lot of knowledge. We were thinking of playing in the women’s league. My assistant coach (Sylvania Amor) plays in it and she was going to put a team together, and all this happened.”
Next year will be another high-expectation season?
Labuanan: “Pio, Brittlay, Leela and Meleani will be juniors. Some of them do cross country, but every fall, we have a track coach work with them on the field. Three days a week running and two days a week in the weight room. (Athletic Director) Ryan Hogue assured us we have a spot in the Sacred Hearts (Invitational). I really like that tournament. The Maui High tourney, hopefully. Kekaulike’s preseason tournament was the same week as the Sacred Hearts this time. Two years ago, we played in that one. That one grew to 12 teams. We want to get in that if it doesn’t conflict with Sacred Hearts.
“If the same girls come back from last year, I would want Bryanna (Molina) to improve. I think she can really contribute. She has some size (5-9). She did play basketball before, but she took a long break. If she puts her heart into it, she can become a real big factor next year. She also plays volleyball and she paddled.
“We’re hoping some of the eighth graders step up. A lot of them play soccer, which is the same as basketball season. You never know. Sometimes we get students to the high school who didn’t go to our middle school.”
There were a lot of young rosters statewide this season, but Seabury Hall competed with some of the best teams.
Labuanan: “The girls know they can compete with the D-I teams. I know they’re all talking to each other on social media. I was looking forward to playing Hanalani. They’re a really good team. The freshmen they’ve got, they’ve got some good freshmen.”
Does Seabury Hall have a JV team?
Labuanan: No. In the MIL (D-II), Lanai has a JV. Molokai and Hana don’t have JV. Lanai JV flies over to play the D-I schools.”
Comments