KAPAA — The hosting Kauai Lynx basketball program flexed its muscles to claim the 5/6th grade girls and the 7/8th grade girls division titles Monday at the conclusion of the Veterans Day Weekend tournament contested at the Bernice Hundley Gym on the Kapaa High School campus.
“There were a lot of good games,” said John Kaneholani, the head of the concession providing food for players and spectators at the tournament that tipped off Saturday and ran through Monday afternoon. “There were a lot of games that went overtime. The teams were really well-matched up.”
One of those games took place in the 7/8th grade division semifinals where the Westside girls claimed a 45-44 win over the Dream Team behind 11 points from guard Katelyn Constantino. Liana Hasegawa scored nine points and Haley Mata scored eight points.
The Westside girls were outscored by the Dream Team’s low post Olivia Malafu, who ended the outing with a game-high 32 points. All-around player Lilinoe Makepa-Andaya netted eight points.
The Kauai Lynx 7/8th grade girls advanced to the finals by downing the visiting Hokulele girls from Ka‘u on the Big Island, 47-23, behind 14 points from Kadee Parubrub. Denise Alfonso got eight points and Emma Burgess got six points.
Tyra Wong Yuen set the pace for the visiting Hokulele with seven marks.
Prubrub continued to burn the twine in the finals, where the Lynx claimed the trophy with a 44-33 win over Westside.
Parubrub finished the outing with 18 points. Jadelyn Reynolds dropped 10 points and Cairee Quinones finished with six points.
Westside guard Constantino was held to eight points. Low post Tavina Harris also marked eight points in the effort. Stephanie Companero added six points and Hasegawa was held to five points.
Mikylah Labanon burned the net with 16 points to lead the Rebels to a 24-19 win over the Westside White to advance to the finals of the 5/6th grade division girls.
But the Kauai Lynx 5/6th graders, advancing to the finals following a 32-27 win over Westside Blue, held Labanon to just three points — the Rebels’ only score — in a 51-3 romp for the division crown.
Denise Alfonso, leading the semifinal win with 17 points, set the pace for the 5/6th grade Lynx girls with 20 points. Anaiah Mendez lended nine points, and Lailah Vinhaca-Kalani and Katelyn Colipano each netted eight points for the crown.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
