Last time Kaua‘i and Kapa‘a High Schools met, the two schools went bucket for bucket before Kapa‘a enjoyed a late game surge to win by 19 points. But that wasn’t the case this time as the game came down to
Last time Kaua‘i and Kapa‘a High Schools met, the two schools went bucket for bucket before Kapa‘a enjoyed a late game surge to win by 19 points. But that wasn’t the case this time as the game came down to the final seconds.
Kapa‘a narrowly beat Kaua‘i, 36-35.
“It was a lot tighter,” Kapa‘a head coach Terry Maguire said. “Luckily they pulled it out at crunch time.”
Kaua‘i’s Krystal Ijima came up with the big steal and eventually sank it to put the Raiders up a point. When pushed up to the other side, Kapa‘a’s Brittney Carvalho broke away from the scuffle to come up with the ball and sink it for the pair that would put them over Kaua‘i.
With seconds to go, Kaua‘i had time for one more shot. Wailana Borrero threw the ball across the court, hoping that one of her teammates would come up with a buzzer beater. Kapa‘a was able to steal the ball and hold onto it for the win.
Kapa‘a’s Poe Gantt came up with 13 points. Teammate Mailika Napoleon scored 6.
Kaua‘i’s leading scorer of the night was Kathleen Cadiente who nailed 10.
It wasn’t a good day for free throws, however. Kapa‘a was only 5 for 22, while Kaua‘i was 2 for 12.
As the first round came to a close, Maguire started thinking about how to start the second.
“I’m still looking for that team that’s gelling,” she said. “I’m waiting for them to execute what we’ve been practicing. They won this time but they really had to work for it.”
