LAHAINA — The Lahainaluna High School girls basketball team is unbeaten, and looks like it could be a factor in the state tournament.

With that type of potential, the Lunas' coach saw some room for improvement even after a 28-point victory.

The reigning Maui Interscholastic League Division I champions continued their perfect start to the season yesterday, defeating Kalaheo 49-21 in a Lahainaluna Winter Tournament game at the Lunas gym.

The Lunas (8-0) scored the first 13 points of the game, led 15-3 after one quarter and had a 32-7 advantage at halftime.

Milika Taufa, the two-time MIL player of the year, scored 13 points, as did Maika Viela.

While the Lunas remained in control over the final two quarters, their coach, Todd Rickard, found some flaws.

''We have to develop more mental toughness,'' Rickard said to The Maui News. ''Just because you have a big lead doesn't mean you slack on defense. You've still got to take care of the ball. You still have to run your sets. We've just got to do a better job. I told the girls that we needed to keep playing, and stop looking at the scoreboard. They've got to learn how to push through when they have the lead, and keep the lead going.''

The Mustangs prevented the deficit from getting much larger after halftime - Kalaheo outscored Lahainaluna 7-6 to start the third quarter.

''We have somewhat of a veteran team, and they know what they're capable of doing. I'm not satisfied with how we played. In the first half we played well. In the second half we laid back a bit, got satisfied with where we were. That kind of thinking is going to affect us in the future. If we get to the state tournament, that kind of thing is going to be hurting us. We've got to learn to play all the way through.''

Mustangs coach Jac Thomas said big things could be in store for the Lunas.

'I'm looking forward to seeing them and wish them luck to win the states,'' he said. ''I predict they're top three in the state right now, with Punahou being the best. I think Lahainaluna is right behind them. They'll have a good challenge against Konawaena tomorrow and see where they stand. Two outer-island teams have a great chance of taking state titles this year.''

Konawaena and Lahainaluna meet today at 7 p.m. in a rematch of a state-tournament consolation game from last season — the Lunas won that one 52-37 on the way to a sixth-place finish.

The Wildcats won state titles in 2004 and 2007, and finished as runners-up in 2005.

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