KALAHEO — Kimiko Kuwabara’s only score was a three-point launch late in the game. That was the pivotal bucket for the Kilauea Hui who held Wailua at bay for the final two minutes, taking a 28-25 win in the nightcap
KALAHEO — Kimiko Kuwabara’s only score was a three-point launch late in the game.
That was the pivotal bucket for the Kilauea Hui who held Wailua at bay for the final two minutes, taking a 28-25 win in the nightcap of a Kaua‘i Youth Basketball Association double-header in Kalaheo.
Earlier in the evening, Lorrine Lagoc-Agrade and Kelsey Cadiente led the Kaulupono Girls with 13 and 11 points, respectively, to take a 42-25 win over the Lihu‘e Kamikaze.
Kamikaze Jaimee Mariano pulled Lihu‘e back into the fray with back-to-back treys in the third quarter, and despite launching another in the final period, the Kamikaze could not close the gap against the blueshirts.
Mariano finished with 9 points, all coming from outside the three-point arc. Rachael Taira, netting a pair from three-pointland, topped the Kamikaze effort with a dozen points.
Krystal Ijima, showing strong defensive prowess in the paint, joined Korey Arashiro with 4 points each. Bristy-Ann Agu, one of the younger Kamikaze, added 3 points. Lauren James, who celebrated her birthday with a Pizza Hut party after the game, joined Maureen Sibolboro with a pair to round out the effort.
In the abscense of Jayme Jacinto, Lagoc-Agrade and Cadiente paced the Kaulupono win, Agrade netting three treys in her 13-point showing while Cadiente added one from outside the arc.
Kathleen Cadiente finished with 6 points, Kori Sakamoto added 4 including a putback of her own attempt in heavy traffic, with pairs from Brandi Briones, Joanna Andres, Mollie Connelly and Aiko Grande rounding out the win.
April Johnson, Kieren Pond and Kirstie Daly paced the Kilauea Hui edge in its controlled game against Wailua. Johnson finished with 8 points while Pond and Daly each netted 6 points.
With both teams strapped to minimum depth, the girls opted to go for sure shots rather than resort to the running game. That set the stage for Kuwabara’s late-game trey that joined Caroline Troutman’s three-pointer in the opening quadrant.
A pair from Claire Owens, injured early in the contest, rounded out the win.
Wailua guard Michelle Toy finished with a game-high 10 points followed by Chelsie Villatora netting 7 points, and Destiny Smith getting 6 points. A pair from Hanalei Gomes rounded out the effort.
The KYBA 18 Under girls enter their final week of play with games today at the Kilauea Neighborhood Center.
Next week’s games are Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
