WAIMEA — The Kapa‘a Lady Warriors clinched the first round and the Kaua‘i Red Raiders made a huge comeback on the road on a full slate of girls action, Tuesday night. Kapa‘a (5-1) was a 57-19 winner over the Island
WAIMEA — The Kapa‘a Lady Warriors clinched the first round and the Kaua‘i Red Raiders made a huge comeback on the road on a full slate of girls action, Tuesday night.
Kapa‘a (5-1) was a 57-19 winner over the Island School Voyagers (0-6) at the Bernice Hundley Gym in Kapa‘a, leaving no chance for Kaua‘i to force a playoff.
The Red Raiders (4-2) trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half before coming all the way back and taking control of the game in the fourth quarter, on their way to a 54-48 victory over the Waimea Lady Menehune (3-3) at the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea.
Kristle Henry scored a game-high 25 points for Kaua‘i, 17 of them coming in the second half.
Kawehi Louis-Diamond scored 10 points and was a defensive presence, coming up with three big blocked shots during a second-quarter run.
Kelsey Cadiente scored eight, while Casey Anacleto had three points. Jennifer Grady, Kristyn Lorita, Lacey Lucas and Alexis Hernandez all had two points apiece.
Jayme Jacinto led Waimea with 12 points, knocking down three 3-pointers. Vakeesha Lagazo had 11 points, while Paige Connelly scored nine.
Cheyanne Duarte and Brandee Victorino each had seven, with Robin Moura adding a pair to round out the scoring.
Duarte had a game-high four assists, with Lagazo and Jacinto each notching two.
Henry and Cadiente had three assists apiece.
Waimea came out with a vengeance and attacked the paint, forcing Kaua‘i into the penalty at just the 3:32 mark of the first quarter.
Jacinto knocked down a three to give Waimea a 14-2 lead and Connelly followed up an offensive rebound with a lay-up at the first-quarter buzzer for an 18-4 lead.
She had another lay-up for a 20-4 Menehune lead early in the second for what would be Waimea’s biggest lead of the night.
Kaua‘i then rattled off eight straight points on three fast-break lay-ups, followed by a Louis-Diamond jumper. The forward then showed her range as Louis-Diamond nailed a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to pull her team within six points at 30-24.
Henry scored the first four points of the third, as Kaua‘i came all the way back to within two points.
Waimea held on to the lead for the remainder of the period, but was clinging to a 40-39 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.
Cadiente hit Henry with a pass for a lay-up to give the Raiders their first lead at 41-40 and Grady found Henry on another great look underneath for a 45-42 lead.
Jacinto answered right back with a corner 3-pointer to even the score at 45-45, but Kaua‘i ran off an 8-1 run, six points coming on Henry free throws, and held on for the six-point win.
In the junior varsity game, Kaua‘i was a 41-34 winner over Waimea, behind 14 points from Uinise Paua and 13 from Alyssa “Malu” Vegas.
Jessica Soriano led Waimea with 16 points.
Trailing by one at halftime, Kaua‘i pulled away with a 23-15 second half for the victory.
The girls are now off until Jan. 4 when the second round begins.
