CLARION – St. Marys’ Kayla Hoohuli pretty much single-handedly lifted her team into the second round of the PIAA Class AAA girls playoffs Saturday afternoon at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym, scoring a career-high 52 points while adding 10 rebounds, nine steals and five blocked shots in a 64-55 win over Hampton. 
Kayla Hoohuli, St. Marys
File photo by Paul Burdick
"I kind of felt it the entire game, but towards the end is when I felt it the most because time is running down and there were only eight minutes left," Hoohuli said.
The 5-foot-8 junior guard, whose last name is Hawaiian and pronounced Ho-ho-hu-li, scored 33 of St. Marys' 36 second-half points while contributing 23 straight Lady Dutch tallies in the second quarter until late in the fourth. She then polished off the game by going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the contest's final 92 seconds while also adding a layup for 12 totals points during that stretch. That helped St. Marys end the game on a 15-6 run.
"I saw a little girl on fire who really wants to win," St. Marys head coach Bob Swanson said. "She shot the eyes out of it."
Hoohuli hit 15 of 29 shots from the field, including 6 of 12 from 3-point range. At least three of her triples were from 30 or more feet. She was also 16 of 18 from the free-throw line.
"When she lined up for that first three that far behind the arc, to be honest, I wasn't really that happy because I knew she was going to shoot it," Swanson said. "Then she hit it and I figured if she wanted to shoot them on a night like tonight, she can shoot all she wants."
Hoohuli's 52 points are believed to have tied a District 9 girls record for points in a game, and although definitive records aren't available, they're also believed to be the second most in a girls PIAA playoff game, according to the web site www.pahoops.org. Mahanoy Area's Megan Yedsenna had 55 in the 1989 Class A Eastern final, a win over Old Forge.
2. West Forest’s Sneeringer tops 2,000 career points: It must have been in the water Saturday at Tippin Gym, because later in the day – there were four PIAA playoff games total at the Tip – West Forest's Geena Sneeringer became just the fourth girls player in District 9 history and the 144th known girls player in Pennsylvania history to reach 2,000 career points. She scored 20 in a 52-19 win over Southern Fulton and has 2,013 in her career.
3. Reed hits 1,000 career points as Greensburg CC wins state game for first time in 30 years: It was a memorable day for the Greensburg Central Catholic boys basketball team Saturday, as the Centurions won their first PIAA state playoff game since 1980 with a 57-45 win over North Star in Class AA while junior Jesse Reed hit the 1,000-career point mark. Reed scored 21 points, to go with 14 rebounds, and has 1,014 career points.
4. Mt. Lebanon boys and girls win PIAA first-round game: After claiming dual WPIAL basketball championships, the Mt. Lebanon boys and girls basketball teams took their first steps toward possible dual PIAA state titles with first-round wins over the weekend. The Mt. Lebo girls beat WPIAL-rival Fox Chapel 63-33 Friday night and will now take on Erie Strong Vincent on Tuesday in the second round. The Blue Devil boys then did their part Saturday with a 59-41 win over McKeesport thanks to 17 Paul Lang points. Mt. Lebanon will face North Allegheny on Wednesday.
5. WPIAL nearly owns Western half of PIAA "AA" boys bracket: There were eight games in the western side of the PIAA Class AA boys playoff bracket Saturday, and the WPIAL came awfully close to a clean sweep of the games going 7-1. The lone loser was Jeannette, which fell to Mercyhurst Prep 73-42. Washington, Shady Side Academy, Greensburg Central Catholic, Beaver Falls, Rochester, North Catholic and South Fayette were all victorious, guaranteeing the WPIAL at least one team in the semifinals next week. Last year, the WPIAL went 6-2 in the opening round and had both semifinal teams. North Catholic ended up winning the western title before following in double overtime in the state championship game.
Hoohuli's performance is one to remember
From a personal standpoint, what Hoohuli did Saturday vs. Hampton was the single greatest individual performance – high school or college – that I have witnessed in my nearly two decades of watching or covering high school or collegiate sports. As the points kept piling up in the second half, and the shots kept falling from well beyond the arc, all of us on press row at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym just kept looking at each other and saying "Can you believe this? You have to be kidding?"
I hope that everyone who was in attendance realized what they were watching, because they may never see anything like it again. Geez, 52 points is rare enough in itself. But in a state playoff game, a game that was tied with just over two minutes to go, for a team that had one state playoff win in school history? No way, that has to be a first. And it wasn't just the scoring. She was within a steal of a triple-double.
And while the 52 points are sure to open eyes around the state, if not around the country, for those of us in District 9, it really wasn't a shock. She has been doing this on a consistent basis all season, really for three years now. Heck, she has 112 points in three career PIAA playoff games (37.3 ppg) and leads the state in scoring at over 30 points per game. I know she plays at St. Marys in a district that doesn't get a ton of media coverage, but hopefully this game wakes people up to the fact that she is a legitimate PIAA Class AAA Player of the Year Candidate.
What's on tap
The PIAA basketball playoffs continue Tuesday and Wednesday with second-round action. Complete brackets, as always, can be found at www.piaa.org.
