KAPA‘A — Ala McCabe was visibly frustrated for most of the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors’ home battle with the Kaua‘i Red Raiders, Tuesday night at the Kapa‘a High School Gym. Her free throws were not falling and she was struggling to
KAPA‘A — Ala McCabe was visibly frustrated for most of the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors’ home battle with the Kaua‘i Red Raiders, Tuesday night at the Kapa‘a High School Gym.
Her free throws were not falling and she was struggling to find the touch in the paint. But when it mattered most late in the fourth quarter, she was the catalyst in the decisive stretch of Kapa‘a’s 50-37 win.
McCabe scored eight of her nine points in the fourth quarter, including back-to-back buckets after Kaua‘i had closed the gap to one point at 36-35 on a Kelsey Cadiente offensive rebound and putback.
With the Warriors leading 42-37, McCabe knocked down a 3-pointer that gave Kapa‘a enough cushion to pull away in the closing minutes.
Jessilyn Aki led Kapa‘a with 12 points on the night, followed by Ala’s nine and Kira Nakamura’s seven. Mahea Hanie-Grace and Justine Holt chipped in five points apiece.
Kaua‘i’s Kristle Henry led the way with 12 points, followed by Cadiente with 10 and Kawehi Louis with eight.
Kapa‘a opened the game with its typical second unit on the court, getting the bulk of the first-quarter minutes. Henry nailed an early three off glass to give the Raiders a 7-3 edge, but Nakamura matched it with a 3-pointer of her own for Kapa‘a.
The Raiders held an 11-10 lead at the end of the first, as the Warriors starters got themselves into the action.
Kaua‘i led 15-14 before Hanie-Grace nailed a three to give Kapa‘a a 17-15 lead, which it would relinquish only briefly for the rest of the night.
The Warriors forced a number of second-quarter turnovers on their way to a 22-19 halftime lead.
Kapa‘a’s second unit again started the second half, as Kaua‘i’s Janessa Grady asserted herself on both backboards, grabbing virtually every rebound at each end.
Holt scored two quick buckets for Kapa‘a to build to a 26-22 lead, before the starting unit came back on the floor.
The Raiders kept it tight and were down three points at 32-29 entering the fourth.
Tori Tuttle and Reggie McCabe notched quick scores to give Kapa‘a a 36-29 lead, its biggest of the night to that point.
Cadiente pulled her team back with a couple scores, including an offensive rebound and putback to make it a 36-35 count, before Ala McCabe put the game away for the Warriors.
Cadiente, who suffered a leg injury in these teams’ previous game, was hurt again late in the fourth quarter, appearing to re-injure her leg with under three minutes to play.
In the JV game that preceded the varsity contest, Casey Anacleto nailed a 3-pointer in the final minute to lead Kaua‘i to a 39-36 victory.
Anacleto led her team with 14 points, followed by Alexis Hernandez with 10. Shyanne Sadora added six for Kaua‘i.
Krystal Christian scored a game-high 15 for the Warriors, while Brittnee Balonick and Ka‘anoi Marshall had 12 and six points, respectively.
Friday night, Kaua‘i will play host to the Waimea Lady Menehune with JV action tipping off at 5:30 p.m., followed by varsity.
Kapa‘a will have a JV exhibition game against the Island School Voyagers at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Island School.
