WAIMEA — Kauai High School’s Marissa Layosa took the ball with just ticks showing on the game clock, Monday night during the Kauai Interscholastic Federation girls basketball games contested at the Clem Gomes Gym in Waimea.
The ball came from a turnover generated by a two-person defense on Waimea’s Kaye Serapio and passed to the Red Raiders’ senior team leader with less than 20 seconds showing on the game clock.
Layosa settled the sphere out of danger and the Raiders took a 67-66 edge over the Menehune.
“That was a good play,” said Kauai coach James Dingus. “Marissa is one of our senior leaders.”
Earlier in the evening, the Kauai junior varsity girls built on an 8-7 first quarter lead to finish with a 45-23 win over the Waimea JV. Jazmine Constantino led the victory with 16 points, including two long distance nets from outside the three-point arc. Tisha Burton topped the Menehune effort with 10 points, including a trey.
The strong victory by the JV girls did not carry over as the varsity Raider women struggled against the torrid Menehune offense led by Kaye Serapio who netted 10 of Waimea’s 14-point showing in the first quarter. Kauai trailed until a late-quarter time out adjusted the Raiders who rebounded to just a four-point deficit, 10-14 at the end of the first quarter.
The Raider adjustments also started the teeter-totter that swayed throughout the game.
Kauai’s Hema Naka‘ahiki-Young’s putback in the second quarter put Kauai in the leader’s seat for the first time, 16-14, and the Raiders hung on to a 28-26 lead at the break.
More see-saw action followed out of the locker rooms as Waimea outgunned Kauai, 21-20 in the third frame led by nine marks from Kaye Serapio and eight points from Kierstin Gummerus who was perfect six-for-six at the charity line in the quarter.
Kauai’s answer was spread over the floor, led by Angeline Nizo bucketing five points, including a three-ball, and Jaley Medeiros getting her five marks from a bucket and a three-for-four showing at the line as the Raiders squeaked to a 48-47 margin at the end of three frames.
The tight competition took its toll in the final stanza as the Menehune suffered three foul casualties on its starting lineup. The action continued with Kaye Serapio taking the lead on a dozen points until Kauai sealed the deal with a point margin.
“This was all about rebounding,” said Waimea coach Natalie Mata. “Kauai had a good game, tonight. It’s about how we respond. We needed this loss. This game did not mean anything because we still have a long road ahead.”
Kaye Serapio finished the night with a game-high 35 points, including a three-for-four performance from the charity stripe. Gummerus added 20 points, including 12-for-12 at the foul line before taking the bench on fouls. Braelynn Cayaban chipped in eight points, Tiana Ramos had a pair, and a digit from Cori Burton rounded out the math.
“This was an exciting final two minutes,” Dingus said. “Both teams were making plays, finding answers to plays, and the players were all doing their thing. This is high school sports at its finest. But this is only the second game and there are improvements we need to work on. It’s nice when we can come to their gym and come away with a win.”
Layosa topped the Red Raider win with 16 points, including a trey and going five-for-13 at the charity stripe. Naka‘ahiki-Young added 14 points, including a trey, and Medeiros ended the night with 11 points along with guard Amalya Sales who got nine of her 11 points in the final stanza, including a three-ball and her perfect two-for-two showing at the charity stripe.
With the win, Kauai next travels to the Bernice Hundley Gym, Friday night against Kapaa. Waimea will make the trip to Kapaa, Wednesday night. The JV games tip off at 5:30 p.m. followed by the varsity contest.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
