KAPAA — Kauai High School center Taegan Keep scored 13 points and the Red Raider defense held Kapaa’s Mele Tafea to one point Tuesday night in its 36-24 win before a sparse audience at the Bernice Hundley Gym.
Fueled by four points from Keep and buckets from Marissa Layosa, Shaelynn Erikson and Kaylee Braun, Kauai surged to a 13-3 opening frame lead and never trailed.
“We had not enough players taking shots,” said Kapaa coach William Aki. “That, and play execution.”
Kapaa rebounded in the second quarter and outscored Kauai, 6-3, but still looked at a 16-9 deficit at the break.
“We had some problems with shooting early,” said James Dingus, Kauai coach. “Our free shots weren’t dropping, but it cleared up and we were OK.”
The Raiders pushed through a 14-9 third quarter before matching the Warriors, 6-6, in the final frame as a pair of Warriors fouled out, leaving Aki with no substitutes on his bench.
“They came out flat in the third quarter,” Aki said. “They reverted back to the old Warriors, just like the first quarter.”
Dingus said the press put on by Kapaa appeared to confuse some of the Raiders.
“Our defense did good. But our offense, not so good,” Dingus said. “The slight press confused the girls, and the intensity of the game? This is just a game — you enjoy it. Some of the scowls and faces out there — this is just a game.”
Keep’s 13 points included a 5-for-11 showing on the charity stripe. She was followed by guard Marissa Layosa netting six points and Cici Tanicala ending with five points, including a first-quarter bomb from outside the three-point arc.
Kapaa’s center Tafea was held to a single digit, leading guard Jaliyah Casem to pick up the high-point honors with 14. Lilya Cummings netted her four points in the second half, and Junelle Kayla Tangalin and Anglica Cudiamat each added second-half pairs.
Kauai next travels to the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea on Friday for its final encounter with the Menehune. The JV match will tip off at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity game,
“Waimea is very fast,” Dingus said. “We need to work on countering that. The season is not over, yet. We have two more games ahead of us.”
Earlier in the evening, 10 of the 12-member Kauai High School junior varsity squad found the net in its 41-14 win over the JV Warriors who got eight points from Angeline Roslin and four points from Kullie Belmonte, who got a resounding high-five from Coach Mits Yokotake for her performance on the hardwood.
Anyia Cromartie topped the Kauai JV scoring on 11 points followed by Jessica Cezar, Zoe Santa Maria, and Janmyn Ballesteros each adding five points.
“It’s not over yet,” said Kauai JV coach Martina Kamarollah. “We got two losses in the first round, and we still have games to play.”
