LIHU‘E — Trailing by as many as 11 in the second half, it was actually the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors who had to hold on in the closing minutes, but still managed to come away with a 53-50 win over the
LIHU‘E — Trailing by as many as 11 in the second half, it was actually the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors who had to hold on in the closing minutes, but still managed to come away with a 53-50 win over the Kaua‘i Red Raiders, Friday night at the Kaua‘i High School Gym.
Kapa‘a put together a 26-10 run that spanned from the end of the third to the middle of the fourth quarter and gave it a 51-46 lead with 3:16 remaining in the game.
Kaua‘i closed the gap to a single point on a Janessa Grady layup with one minute to play, but Tori Tuttle put Kapa‘a back up by three with a bucket of her own at the 41-second mark.
Down 53-50 with seven seconds to play, Kaua‘i inbounded the ball on the Kapa‘a baseline looking to tie it up, but threw it away for what seemed to be their last opportunity.
However, Kapa‘a turned it back over on their inbounds pass, allowing Janessa Grady to grab the ball and put up a desperation shot that didn’t find the mark. She was unable to get behind the three-point line, so it would not have evened the score had it gone in.
Tuttle led all scorers with 24 points, followed by guard Jessilyn Aki’s 18 — 14 coming in the second half.
Janessa Grady had a season-high 22 points for Kaua‘i, while Kristle Henry scored 13. Kelsey Cadiente and Kawehi Louis-Diamond each scored six.
The Lady Warriors started the game with their typical second unit on the floor, as they have been doing recently against Kaua‘i. The Raiders starting five took advantage and ran out to a 9-0 lead.
The Warriors finally got on the board when Tuttle got her first bucket at the 4:49 mark of the first. They substituted four starters into the game after Kawehi Louis-Diamond’s third score of the quarter put the Raiders up 15-4.
Tuttle keyed a Kapa‘a run in the second quarter, coming up with a big blocked shot which led to a fast-break layup for Aki. She followed that up with a steal and outlet pass to Aki, who found Mahea Hanie-Grace, who then rewarded Tuttle with the layup that cut the Kaua‘i lead to 20-18.
Kira Nakamura knocked down a 3-pointer to give Kapa‘a its first lead of the game at 23-22, but Janessa Grady came back and answered with a triple of her own to take it right back. She then scored the half’s final two buckets to send both teams to the locker room with Kaua‘i holding a 29-23 lead.
Janessa picked up right where she left off and drained a three to open the third quarter and a Kelsey Cadiente layup put Kaua‘i up by its largest margin at 36-25.
Kapa‘a used its pressure defense as the catalyst in the crucial 26-10 run that followed, with Hanie-Grace playing the role of ballhawk and coming up with numerous steals.
Aki was the recipient of most of those turnovers, scoring 12 points in the third quarter. The Hanie-Grace to Aki combination made it a 44-43 deficit at the end of three.
A Tuttle jumper gave Kapa‘a its biggest lead at 51-46, before the final sequence unfolded.
Kapa‘a seemed uncomfortable late in the game, once it took its foot off the gas. The conventional approach of using the clock and not attacking the defense does not seem to play into its strength. The Raiders took advantage and put on some pressure of their own to get themselves back within striking distance.
In JV action that preceded the varsity matchup, Kaua‘i came away with a 54-42 victory, led by 29 points from Casey Anacleto.
Shyanne Sadora scored nine for the Raiders, with Alexis Hernandez and Alyssa Vegas each chipping in five.
Krystal Christian topped the Warriors scoring with 19 points, followed by Brittnee Balonick’s 13.
The girls will be back on the court Tuesday, when the Waimea Lady Menehune will host the Kaua‘i Red Raiders with JV taking the floor at 5:30 p.m., followed by the varsity.
The Island School Voyagers will visit the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors in a JV exhibition game at 5:30 p.m.
