Raider Wahine win KIF 2nd round

LIHU‘E — The Red Raiders dug themselves an early hole, but then dug deep to clinch the second-round title with a 47-39 win over the Lady Menehune, Friday night at the Raider Dome.

Kaua‘i improved to 5-1 in the season’s second half, staying atop the standings on its own and avoiding an extra playoff round.

Now the Raiders will take on the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors, the season’s first-round winners, in the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation championship game, Monday night at the Bernice Hundley Gym in Kapa‘a. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Kapa‘a got the home-court advantage via a coin flip.

Kaua‘i put itself in this position by overcoming a 13-point first-half deficit, as Waimea continued its penchant for fast starts.

But the Raiders evened the game up at 34-34 going into the fourth quarter. Waimea’s Cheyanne Duarte converted a layup and then knocked down a free throw to give the Lady Menehune a 37-34 edge before the Raiders closed out the game with a 13-2 run.

Kristle Henry re-tied the game at 37-37 with a fast-break layup, then found Kelsey Cadiente ahead of the field for a transition layup of her own.

Waimea’s Brandee Victorino finished in the post off a Duarte feed to even things at 39-39, but Uila Ahosivi put the Raiders ahead for good with back-to-back buckets and a four-point Kaua‘i lead.

Kawehi Louis-Diamond then put the game out of reach with a driving layup for a 45-39 lead with just 56 seconds to play and Henry created the final math with a steal and easy two.

Henry led all scorers with 17 points, 12 of them coming in the second half.

Cadiente followed with 14, many coming in transition. Ahosivi scored eight, Louis-Diamond finished with four and Jennifer Grady and Casey Anacleto had two points apiece.

Waimea was led by Victorino’s 14 points, which included a corner 3-pointer for the night’s first points. Duarte had 10 points, Vakeesha Lagazo finished with eight and Searra Kaohi had three. Robin Moura and Paige Connelly each had two.

Waimea came out strong and was knocking down shots as it has been doing in the early stages of most games this season. Victorino, Kaohi and Lagazo quickly put the Menehune up 9-0 with a trio of 3-pointers.

Duarte scored on a drive for an 11-0 lead before Kaua‘i finally got on the board with 38 seconds left in the opening period as Cadiente finished a layup off a turnover.

A 7-0 second-quarter run gave Waimea its largest lead of the night at 21-8, which Kaua‘i trimmed to four at 23-19 thanks to three transition hoops from Cadiente. Lagazo stole back some of the momentum with a 3-pointer just before halftime for a 26-19 Waimea lead.

The Raiders opened the second half as the Menehune had started the first and went on an 11-2 run to grab their first lead of the night at 30-28. Henry had seven points during the run, including a three from the top of the arc.

The teams traded buckets the rest of the third period, with a Louis-Diamond jumper knotting the score at 34-34 just before the buzzer, setting up the final quarter’s sequence of events.

Waimea was playing to keep its season alive, entering the night 3-2 in the second round. A win would have put Waimea, Kaua‘i and the Kapa‘a Lady Warriors — who came away with a 54-24 victory over the Island School Voyagers in Puhi — all at 4-2 and forced an additional round of playoff games.

But the Kaua‘i victory secured it the second-round title and sets the stage for the KIF championship matchup against Kapa‘a, Monday.

In the night’s junior varsity game, Waimea finished the season with a strong effort in a 48-35 win over the Kaua‘i JV.

Nicole Palacio scored a game-high 16 for Waimea, while Jessica Soriano followed closely with 14.

Vinise Paua was the top Kaua‘i scorer with 11.

The boys hit the hardwood tonight as the Kapa‘a Warriors host the Waimea Menehune at the Bernice Hundley Gym. JV will tip at 5:30 p.m., with the varsity to follow.

The Island School Voyagers host the Kaua‘i Red Raiders in a varsity-only contest at 7 p.m.