KAPAA — Waimea guards Kaye Serapio and Kierstin Gummerus combined for 59 points Friday night as the Menehune defeated Kapaa, 71-63 in Kauai Interscholastic Federation girls basketball action before a near capacity crowd at the Bernice Hundley gym in Kapaa.
Braelyn Cayaban dropped in seven points and Hazel Serapio had five in the fast-paced, see-saw match against the Warriors to close the calendar and blemish Kapaa’s second round record with its first loss.
“This was a tune-up match,” said Waimea coach Natalie Mata. “We switched up on defense to see what works. The girls were fine as long as we played at our own pace. There isn’t that much to say — the girls speak with their actions on the court.”
Waimea, holder of the first round title, set the stage for the single-game playoff for the KIF title against Kapaa, holder of the second round title following its win over Kauai Wednesday night on the road.
The playoff game will tip off 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea.
The Waimea defense buzzed around Kapaa’s Mele Tafea — one of four seniors honored during the Warriors’ final home stand — who finished with 19 points as the Lady Warriors’ scoring leader. Tafea was limited to a pair in the second half before being buzzed out with more than two minutes remaining on the game clock.
“Our defense stuttered out there,” said Kapaa coach William Aki. “We had our moments, but in the end, we gave up too many points on the foul line.”
Kaye Serapio went to the charity stripe 15 times through three quarters of play, reaping 10 points from her appearances, and Gummerus, the Menehune scoring leader with 30 points, was at the stripe for 19 appearances, pulling in 14 points from the showings. Kaye Serapio ended the night with 29 marks in the scorebook.
In contrast, the Lady Warriors were at the line for a total of 14 appearances by six players. Lilya Cummings, ending the night with 11 points for Kapaa.
Warrior point guard Jaliyah Casem, another of the Kapaa seniors feted, got the green light for 11 points. Angelica Cudiamat was limited to one three-ball in the opening frame, and Tiani Kaui, the fourth senior honored, didn’t score.
Earlier in the evening, Waimea’s Tisha Burton scored four of her game-total six points in overtime to lead the Menehune junior varsity to a 27-23 win over Kapaa.
With 37 seconds remaining in the contest, Kapaa’s Kaydence Kaui put back a three-ball attempt to force the overtime where the JV Warriors were held to three marks from Tatum Luczon. Jada Ines topped the Kapaa scoring on 10 points.
Burton and Giyrah Rapanot topped the JV Menehune scoring with six points each, and Constantino finished with five points.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
