Waimea goes 2-on-2 to clinch KYBA 17U title

KAPA‘A — The championship of the Girls 17 and Under  division came down to two-on-two play, Saturday.

When the dust settled, Waimea held off a foul-plagued Gee’s Angels for a 36-26 win and the Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association G17U bowl at the Bernice Hundley Gym in Kapa‘a.

Kapa‘a took the third place bowl with a 33-32 win.Aiko Grande came up with a bucket in the last ticks against the Kapa‘a Titaz, but a one-for-four showing at the charity stripe took its toll on Kaulupono.

“If you can’t hit the free throws, this is what happens,” said Kaulupono coach Bobby Kamakele, after the Westside team was relegated into the third place game following similar woes earlier in the week.

Overall, Kaulupono finished the Saturday match 11-20 at the charity stripe, offering them numerous opportunities for a win. The Kapa‘a Titaz finished 4-7 at the foul line.

Buckets from Kelsey Cadiente and Casey Anacleto kept Kaulupono in the driver’s seat 15-14 at the half.

Ash-Lyn Lee came alive in the second half, netting a trey in the third period to combine with guard Mahea Hanie-Grace’s two buckets to pull ahead 23-20 in the third quarter.

The see-saw battle continued, and despite a 12-10 Kaulupono showing in the final frame, the effort came up short.

Justine Holt paced the Kapa‘a win on nine points spread through two halves followed by Lee with two treys in her game-total eight points.

Hanie-Grace finished with six second-half points and Mele Milsbrand added five points, including a second-quarter trey.

Grande topped the Kaulupono effort with nine points, including a sorely-needed fourth quarter trey followed by Sanoe Kaohelauli‘i adding eight points, six coming from the charity stripe. Kelsey Cadiente, Anacleto, and Kathleen Cadiente each chipped in four points.

Waimea, in its title bid, opened strong behind four points from Paige Connelly in a 7-0 opening frame over the Angels.

But the Angels, frustrated by a scoreless opening period struck back behind Jessilyn Aki coming up with five of the Angels’ six second-period points.

Waimea answered with seven more points to stay ahead 14-6 at the half, and never looked back.

The Angels had their opportunities as well, but a 5-22 showing at the free throw line did not help as fouls continued to mount. Waimea fared only slightly better, getting a 10-30 showing from the charity stripe.

But those fouls took its toll on the game as Erin Connelly fouled out with only 10 ticks peeled off the fourth quarter, but not before adding 11 points to Waimea’s tally.

Erin’s foul depleted the Waimea bench, and a similar situation hit the Angels as Lehua McCabe buzzed out with less than 30 seconds peeled off the final period, depleting the Angels’ reserves and facing a 24-16 deficit.

At the 3:58 mark, Reggie McCabe buzzed out, leaving the Angels with a four-on-five situation that was equalized at the 2:35 mark when Paige Connelly joined her sister on the bench leaving a four-on-four court.

But two more Angels, including starter Aki, dropped within 20 seconds of each other at the 1:38 mark leaving two Angels against four Waimea players on the court.

In a gesture of sportsmanship, Waimea’s coaching staff called a time out and pulled two players off the court to equalize the field two-on-two.

When the final buzzer sounded, Aki finished with a game-high 17 points to lead the Angels’ effort before fouling out at the 1:20 mark. Raquelle Matayoshi, Reggie McCabe and Lehua McCabe each finished with three points.

Erin Connelly topped the Waimea scoring with 11 points with Bristy-Ann Agu adding 10 points. Cheyanne Duarte finished with seven points before buzzing out. Paige Connelly finished with four points, and Brandi Briones netted three. Nei Moana Henriques was thrilled when she netted her final ball in a string of four attempts at the line.

With school right around the corner, the only remaining games are the Girls and Boys 18 and Over matches that play on Tuesday night with three games on tap starting at 6 p.m. at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.