KAPA‘A — Kapa‘a High School girls basketball teams — both the varsity and junior varsity — picked up wins on Monday night to open the new year and the second round of Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation play, at the Bernice Hundley Gym.
Playing before an audience of several hundred fans, the JV Warriors escaped a strong second-half comeback by the JV Red Raiders, 24-22. The varsity Lady Warriors overwhelmed the Kaua‘i High squad, 72-27, following limiting the Red Raiders to just two buckets in the first 14 minutes of the 16-minute half.
Limited to just single-digit scoring through four quarters, the JV Warriors held an 8-5 bulge at the half, with Trinity Guillen putting in four of the eight marks. Treys from Aadyn Umalla and Kaine Hurd in the third frame pushed Kapa‘a ahead to a seven-point margin as the Red Raiders could produce just four marks from Kailea Sokau-Masulitt.
The JV Raiders roared back in the fourth frame to outgun Kapa‘a, 13-8, behind five points from Sokau-Masulitt and four points from Kamaile Manibog, leading to Kaua‘i High chasing just two points in the final ticks of the game, 24-22.
A last-second attempt by the JV Raiders fell short.
Kenzie Ka‘aihue Paopao topped the JV Warrior win on six points, with Umalla and Hurd finishing with five points apiece, including each Warrior bucketing a trey.
Sokau-Masulitt finished with a game-high 13 points in the Raiders’ effort, followed by Manibog adding five points.
In varsity play, Lady Warrior Denise Alfonso fired off a game-high 19 points to lead Kapa‘a in overwhelming the Red Raiders, 72-27. Olivia Malafu came off the bench and added 11 points in the win, where Kapa‘a set the pace by outscoring Kaua‘i 19-2 in the opening frame.
Kyla Hopton led the distance shooting with three treys toward her 11-point contribution. Guard Taira Samiano added a pair of treys, and Jada Nakamura ignited the bench in cheer with her three-ball in the fourth quarter. Overall, Kapa‘a peeled off eight buckets from outside the three-point mark, while Kaua‘i could drop just two on a number of attempts.
Hema Naka‘ahiki-Young dropped one of the treys in her 13-point game total, and Cairee Quinones dropped her three-ball in the second quarter for Kaua‘i High. Ciaralah Tolentino finished with three points, three-for-four from the charity stripe, and Joliena Cumlat, Jadelyn Reynolds and Cadee Parubrub each netted pairs.
Kaua‘i High hosts Waimea High in a single game on Wednesday, starting at 6:30 p.m.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
