LIHU‘E — The Red Raiders tightened up defensively in the second quarter and opened up a sizeable lead on their way to a 52-40 win over the Lady Warriors to open the second round of the KIF season, Tuesday night
LIHU‘E — The Red Raiders tightened up defensively in the second quarter and opened up a sizeable lead on their way to a 52-40 win over the Lady Warriors to open the second round of the KIF season, Tuesday night at the Raider Dome.
Kaua‘i (5-2) notched its first win of the season over Kapa‘a (5-2), who won the conference’s opening round, but will now need to move up in the standings to avoid a playoff.
Kristle Henry led all scorers with 18 points, going 10-of-12 at the foul line.
Six of Henry’s points came during a critical 12-1 run in the second quarter that extended a two-point lead up to 13.
Kelsey Cadiente scored 13 for the Red Raiders, eight coming in the fourth quarter to help thwart any Kapa‘a comeback attempts.
Jennifer Grady and Kawehi Louis-Diamond had six points apiece, while Bristy-Ann Agu had five. Lacey Lucas and Uila Ahasivi each had two points.
Jessilyn Aki led Kapa‘a with 15 points and Raquelle Matayoshi added 11. Ka‘anoi Marshall and Mahea Hanie-Grace had six points apiece, while Reggie McCabe added two.
Leading 12-10 early in the second quarter, Kapa‘a scored nine straight points, which included offensive rebounds from Ahasivi and Lucas, each finishing with put-back lay-ups.
Faced with a 13-point deficit at 24-11, Kapa‘a inched closer with three Matayoshi free throws and a Hanie-Grace jumper to get within eight by halftime, 24-16.
Another pair of Matayoshi foul shots brought the Lady Warriors within five at 31-26, but the Raider Wahine used a 7-2 run to re-gain the momentum, highlighted by a Cadiente 3-pointer off an inbounds pass.
Kaua‘i never led by fewer than seven points throughout the fourth quarter and had its biggest lead of the evening at 52-37 before Aki nailed a 30-footer at the buzzer to create the final math.
In the junior varsity game that preceded the varsity, Kaua‘i was a 29-26 winner over Kapa‘a.
Uinise Paua had a team-high 10 points for the Raider JV. Alyssa “Malu” Vegas had six points and Shaylee Huni added four.
Sierra Chung had three points, all in the fourth quarter, and Ashley Ramelb, Daezsa Tomas and Pualani Dizol had two points apiece.
Kapa‘a was led by Lele Silva’s 10 points. Kekai Gonsalves scored six, Nahea Quereto and Lele Hanie each had four and Uilani McCabe added two.
Trailing 17-15 going into the final quarter, Kaua‘i almost matched its three-quarter total with 14 in the fourth — eight coming from Paua.
The girls are back in action Friday night when Kapa‘a will host the Waimea Lady Menehune. JV will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by varsity.
The Island School Voyagers will host Kaua‘i in a varsity-only matchup at 7 p.m.
