KAPA‘A — In this season’s early games, Kaua‘i girls basketball coach Sandi Nadatani-Mendez said it’s crucial to come out of the gates quick. After Tuesday night, Nadatani-Mendez couldn’t have been happier with the way her Red Raiders started against the
KAPA‘A — In this season’s early games, Kaua‘i girls basketball coach Sandi Nadatani-Mendez said it’s crucial to come out of the gates quick.
After Tuesday night, Nadatani-Mendez couldn’t have been happier with the way her Red Raiders started against the Kapa‘a Warriors.
The Red Raider girls came out swinging with an 8-0 run from the opening tip, then pulled away with a team effort to blow past the Kapa‘a Warriors, 43-14 Tuesday night at Kapa‘a High School.
“It’s very important for us to get out to a quick start, and we need our girls to come out strong,” Nadatani-Mendez said. “They did that. They played as a team tonight. They had many opportunities to take the ball to the basket themselves instead of dishing it, but that doesn’t work for us.”
Igniting the fast start for the Red Raiders was Kristle Henry.
In the Red Raiders’ opening run, the junior guard had a hand in six of those points — she scored four and assisted on another.
Nadatani-Mendez said Henry’s performance Tuesday night was something that has been brewing for years.
“She’s been playing since she was five. She’s a ball girl,” Nadatani-Mendez said. “She does a lot for this team.”
Opening the second quarter, Kapa‘a cut the Red Raider lead to four with two quick buckets by Reggie McCabe to make the score 8-4. But the Warriors couldn’t sustain their attack, because the shots just didn’t go in.
The Warriors shot 6-38 for the game.
Meanwhile, the Red Raiders kept pouring it on. The Kaua‘i girls dominated in the paint, scooping up offensive rebounds and kicking the ball back out to the guards time after time. Henry was a thief in the midcourt, using several steals to further bury the opposition. With the score just getting out of reach in the third quarter, Henry put the game away when she scored four points in about 15 seconds, using a fast break and then a steal to push Kapa‘a’s lead to 33-10.
As a team, the Red Raiders shot 16-39 from the floor.
Kaua‘i pulled even further ahead at the line.
The Red Raiders were 11-25 on foul shots, while the Warriors only managed one point on six attempts at the line.
“We got to try and get more scoring on the inside,” Kapa‘a head coach Willy Aki said. “Kaua‘i played pretty good. Our defense was all right. We just need to score more.”
Aki said the Warrior wahine may have been struggling with some-early season jitters, but he expects his girls to shake them off in coming games.
McCabe led the way for the Warriors with seven points, while Nahealani Quereto added a three-pointer.
For the Red Raiders, Henry led all scorers with 12 points. The Raiders received a balanced scoring effort after Henry, with Bristy Agu adding seven points, Kawehi Louis-Diamond with 6 and Jennifer Grady with four.
Both teams return to the court on Tuesday. The Warriors face off against Island School at Kapa‘a, while the Red Radiers will host the Waimea Menehune. Both games start at 7 p.m.
