WAIMEA — The Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders took its 2-0 record on the road to Waimea High School Friday night for a rematch of the opening night game the two played on Dec. 11. Unfortunately for Waimea, the end result
WAIMEA — The Kaua‘i High School Red Raiders took its 2-0 record on the road to Waimea High School Friday night for a rematch of the opening night game the two played on Dec. 11.
Unfortunately for Waimea, the end result would not differ much from the first meeting. Although the game at times was more tightly contested, The Red Raiders were still able to pull away with a 66-50 win pushing the team to 3-0 on the season with a commanding lead in the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation.
The game began with both teams struggling to find a rhythm and baskets were rare to come across as the two teams traded them seldomly through the first quarter of play.
The difference maker in the first half was Red Raider guard Kristle Henry. Henry was able to get her offense rolling by penetrating the Menehune defense and looking for her shot or dropping the ball off to a teammate for an open look. Henry was able to get Kaua‘i out to a 31-24 halftime lead and led the team with 11 points and added four rebounds and three assists after two quarters.
The Menehune adjusted in the second half with an interesting strategy — the coaches had two Menehune defenders shadow Henry wherever she was on the offensive side of the floor, even if she didn’t have the ball.
The strategy seemed to pay off for a short period of time as the Red Raiders weren’t able to capitalize on the four-on-three situations it created, and Waimea was able to make some runs cutting the deficit, however it was only a matter of time before Kaua‘i was able to make adjustments of its own and hit open shots or create layups off of the mismatches.
With Waimea trying to take Henry’s impact out of the game, Kaua‘i had to rely on its other players to do its damage and they would not be disappointed.
Guard Casey Anacleto had a huge game adding 17 points, including 9 of those coming from beyond the three-point stripe. Center Kawehi Louis-Diamond contributed with 11 points and was terrorizing Waimea shooters on the defensive end.
Although she was being doubled for the majority of the second half, Henry was still able to contribute finishing with an impressive game high of 22 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
The Menehune stayed competitive for the game, and got solid play from Tiana Apilado, who added 13 points and got to the charity stripe early and often. Paige Connelly turned in a another solid game with 14 points and guarded the paint ferociously when on the floor.
The Menehune efforts weren’t enough to stop the Red Raiders from staying undefeated, and the loss pushes Waimea to 0-3 on the season.
The Red Raiders will host the Kapa‘a High School Warriors (1-1) on Friday, with the Warriors coming off of a thrilling overtime victory over the Menehune on Dec. 18.
The Menehune will have ample time make corrections as its next game will also be against the Warriors on Jan. 4 in Kapa‘a
•Rick Killeen, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or sports@thegardenisland.com.
