HONOLULU — Kauai High School’s varsity girls basketball team finished in sixth place at the 2018 Snapple Girls Basketball Championships – Division II state tournament.
In the fifth-place game, Kauai High lost to Hawaii Baptist Academy of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, 49-23, Saturday morning at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.
“I think that’s one of the goals, is to be able to play on the last day and have the team get that experience at Blaisdell,” Kauai head coach James Dingus said in a phone interview Saturday. “We played a pretty good first quarter, and then HBA made some shots. We had a hard time making shots, and it just steamrolled from there.”
Red Raiders senior center Taegan Keep posted a double-double Saturday with 12 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and one steal. HBA’s Sasha Phillip totaled 13 points, three rebounds, one assist and one block.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Kauai defeated Castle of the Oahu Interscholastic Association, 39-36, in a consolation game Friday night at Kalani High School.
In the quarterfinals, Kauai — which was seeded No. 4 in the tournament — lost to Honokaa of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, 28-26, Thursday at Kaimuki High School.
“The first two games were very, very competitive and really tight,” Dingus said. “I think the girls showed a lot of resilience and toughness being able to lose on a buzzer-beater in that first one to Honokaa, and then be able to control their emotions and come back and play a tough game against Castle to come away with a victory.”
Kauai finishes the season with a 9-2 record, going an unbeaten 8-0 in the Kauai Interscholastic Federation regular season.
“It was a really fun group to coach,” Dingus said. “We had some four-year varsity players. We had some freshmen and sophomores contribute. It was a mix of players, but they were all fun to coach. They were all willing to sacrifice a little bit for the team. I’m really proud of them. I’m thankful I was able to coach them. It was a fun ride.”
Information from Hawaii High School Athleic Association.
Division II results
Fifth place: Hawaii Baptist 49, Kauai 23
Third place: Roosevelt 41, Honokaa 32
Championship: Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii 41, Saint Francis 32
