WAIMEA — Waimea guard Kierstin Gummerus and Kaye Serapio teamed up to lead the Menehune to a 50-45 win over Kauai High School on Monday night at the Clem Gomes Gym during the Kauai Interscholastic Federation girls basketball game.
Gummerus, finishing the night with a game-high 20 points, including a three-ball and a 7-8 showing at the free throw line, was everywhere — driving the ball, rebounding and guiding the Menehune past an 8-8 deadlock in the opening frame.
“We’re almost there,” said Waimea coach Natalie Mata. “The girls were a lot better than our first outing. But there we made a lot of mistakes. We just have to keep trying to have a better game than the one before.”
Gummerus was just one of four scoring Menehune in the win, picking up nine points in the second quarter when Waimea broke away from an 8-8 deadlock and took an eight-point lead at the half behind a 16-8 scoring run.
Kauai stayed close after getting off to a slow start, reaping four buckets to Waimea’s two to come back with the first quarter deadlock. But the comeback never took off as Waimea held on to its single-digit lead for the remainder of the night.
“There were a lot of fouls — on both teams,” said Kauai coach James Dingus. “That little zone Waimea played, it got our girls confused. They didn’t know when to attack or defend.”
Fouls took their toll in the final stanza when the Raiders lost two of its players to the fifth foul and Waimea lost one in the second half when Kauai came back to outscore Waimea, 29-28, outgunning the Menehune in both the third and fourth frames.
Following Gummerus’ lead, Waimea finished with Kaye Serapio scoring 14 points. Braelyn Cayaban finished with 13 points and Hazel Serapio closed the books on three first-half marks.
Kauai guard Amalya Sales topped the Raiders’ effort on 18 points including a pair from outside the three-point arc and a 4-5 showing off the charity stripe. Tia Jaquias, another guard, dropped seven points. Tiana Manera added six points.
Earlier in the evening, Kauai High School junior varsity picked up its third win of the season with a 41-19 showing over the Waimea JV behind 12 points from Kaylah Santos, seven marks from Brianna Bernardo and six from Alena Bernardo.
“We’re fortunate to have a lot of talented girls,” said Kauai coach Alan Castle of his 14-member squad. “We’re able to rotate the girls on the floor a lot.”
Waimea’s seven-member JV squad got its lead from Deyshia Kennedy who finished with seven points. Alysha Palacio added five points and Tisha Burton found a three-ball in her five points.
With the loss, Kauai drops to 1-2 on the KIF season and next hosts Kapaa High School (1-1) on Wednesday night at the Kauai High School gym. The JV match tips off at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity game starting approximately 20 minutes following the completion of the JV game.
Waimea (2-1) enjoys a short break before heading to the Bernice Hundley Gym, Friday against Kapaa.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
