KALAHEO — The two off-island 14 and Under girls basketball squads split their respective games as the KYBA/County opened their 8-team girls invitational Thursday night at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center. The Maui Community Na Wahine lifted off against the Kaua‘i
KALAHEO — The two off-island 14 and Under girls basketball squads split their respective games as the KYBA/County opened their 8-team girls invitational Thursday night at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
The Maui Community Na Wahine lifted off against the Kaua‘i Fire Raiders, 43-16 as Ofa Namoa came off the bench to finish with a game-high 16 points as the tall girl planted on the inside for the second and third efforts as well as snagging key defensive rebounds. Meanwhile, the Kona Tigers were not as fortunate as Waimea “A” took off behind Resha Banasihan and Victoria Espino combining for 14 points in their 23-18 win.
Ariel Duell and Sage DeCosta each tapped in seven points behind Namoa’s lead with Leah Hashimoto adding five, and Kaitlin Dela Cruz notching four. A pair from Desiree Borges rounded out the math for Na Wahine.
The Kaua‘i Fire Raiders got balanced scoring from Jamilee Jimenez, Wailana Borrero, and Nicole Fujimoto who each notched four points. Pairs from Lauren James and Shana Tafiti accounted for their scoring.
With Banasihan chalking up eight markers and Espino finishing with six, Waimea “A” got four from guard Natalie Mata, three from Tatum Gonsalves, and a pair from Lorrine Lagoc-Agrade in their win.
The Kona Tigers were led by Kimberly Brown who finished with six points followed by Alyssa Del Rosario and Wehi Harrison each adding three, Del Rosario lighting up the net from threepointland in the third quarter.
Dannielle Bean, Chelsey Pasamonte, and Marissa Pettes each added a pair to round out the Tigers’ scoring.
Earlier in the evening, balanced scoring from Georgette Dela Cruz, Kori Sakamoto, and Sera Pascual saw Waimea “B” leave with a 44-4 win over Gee’s Angels.
Aiko Grande led all scorers with ten points followed by Dela Cruz’s eight points and Sakamoto and Pascual each chalking up six markers.
Kayla Werner, Jayme Jacinto, and Chaelyn Briones each finished with four points, and a pair from Jeanna Andres rounded out the win. Shayln Tupou and Arrisa Thronas notched buckets for the Angels.
Mai‘lika Napoleon, Jondi Das, and Kelsey Cadiente each chalked up five points as the Lihu‘e Comets downed Wailua, 34-13.
Jodie Das added four, Kira Taylon finished with three, and a digit from Jaimee Mariano closed the scorebooks.
Gabby Matayoshi led the Wailua with four aided by Kaira Kupihea, Emma Donigen, Kira Nakamura, and Alicia Higa each chipping in a pair. Britney Salvador notched a digit to round out the action.
Karen Matsumoto of the KYBA program who is spearheading the goodwill tournament said that after getting here, coach Terry Takata of the Kona Tigers offered to play games against the Kapa‘a JV girls team, and extended his itinerary to include a goodwill game against the Kaua‘i Fire Raiders.
The tournament concludes with the championships on Saturday afternoon followed by the awards ceremony and a potluck gettogether at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
