Honolulu, HI
The final two teams sat alone in the 'Iolani Classic Girls' basketball championship match. St Mary’s and Carondelet, two California teams, are looking to battle it out on the final night to take home the koa wood back to California. Both sides, having strong performances throughout the tournament, made it difficult to say who would ultimately be victorious.
Carondelet's path to the Championship match wouldn't be the easy route that many people would have thought. In their opening round match, they faced off with the D1 Biif Champions, Konawaena, and showed everyone why they're one of the top teams that the state has to offer, despite being from the Big Island. After a second-half run, Carondelet would go up against the hosts, 'Iolani, in the tournament semifinal. Sophomore guard Rayah Soriano would have the hot hand and keep 'Iolani close in this match. But with a dominant program like Carondelet is, you never know who will be the leading scorer. Layla Dixon would finish off the night with 23 points and push Carondelet into the championship match.
As for st Mary's, they would have to crawl back late in their semifinal match to punch their ticket into the championship match. St Mary's matched up with the state champs in Kamehameha-Kapalama and took care of business early in the tournament. It would be the team from the PNW that gave st Mary's a hard time. South Medford's constant pressure and quick shooting had st Mary's against the ropes. But when there are 4 quarters to play, you can't let your foot off the gas after 3 being completed. st Mary's would go on to score 22 points in the final quarter, and that would just be enough to barely get by South Medford, setting up a California showdown in the 808.
A back-and-forth battle is what these two teams provided from the opening jump. Back-to-back buckets and high-pressure defense were the tone setters in this championship match, and the temperature just kept turning up. st Mary's would slowly start to pull away in the second quarter, but an injury to Eveliini Smith would slow down the production for the Rams. The Rams would walk into the half with an 8-point lead over Carondelet.
Late in the third quarter, the return of Evelini Smith would help the Rams give an extra boost, and they never looked back after that.
It would be the duo of Dylan Horton and Evelini Smith that pushed St Mary’s over the victory line. They both would combine for 38 of St Mary’s 67 points on the night. Carondelet couldn't find an answer to stop the fast-paced offense and slowly saw its chances slip away. A dominant performance from the team from Stockton, California, would crown them the 2025 'Iolani Classic girls champions. Congratulations to all the teams that participated in this year's edition of the Girls ‘Iolani Classic Tournament. We hope to see you guys again next year for the 42nd edition of the 'Iolani Classic.
Final Score: St Marys 67 - Carondelet 57
For more pictures, head over to our photo gallery.
pictures taken by: Alan Velasco - @oscalev_
