RED RAIDERS CONTROL KIF GIRLS HOOPS FIRST ROUND

LIHU‘E — In a reversal of their Friday night matchup, Kaua‘i High School created a foul dilemma for the Menehune enroute to taking a 40-16 win at the Monday night playoff to determine the KIF girls basketball first round.

In a repeat of Friday night, it was the injection of Ulu Kelekoma into the arena that pulled Kaua‘i into the black as the speedster netted a bucket with 23 seconds left in the first quarter followed by a three-point play from Stephanie Kashiwabara that gave the Raiders an 11-6 lead at the buzzer.

Up until that point Kaua‘i came back to tie the contest at six behind a free throw pair from Farren Higley.

The lead would remain throughout the night with Waimea’s Mallorie Hepa, Janna Soto, and Tiana Samio getting saddled with fouls, Samio and Hepa netting four fouls each at the half with Soto strapped with three.

The win proved costly for the Raiders who will start round two without the service of Lindsay Sugihara who was sidelined with an ankle injury suffered Friday nght, and early in the third quarter Holly Iloreta left the game following an injury in a scuffle for ball control.

Kelekoma and Rachael Taira topped the Raider scoring with eight points each with Farren Higley adding six.

Chantelle Briones came off the bench to lead Waimea with five points with Moani Durant limited to just three points in the loss. Four other Menehune scored a pair each in the loss.

Round two starts tonight as the Kapa‘a Warriors visit the Raiderdome on Lala Road with the JV contest tipping off at 5:30 p.m.

Cheerleader injured

A Waimea High School cheerleader performing a stunt during one of the second half timeouts at the Monday night playoffs was injured after her catchers misjudged her descent.

Following the contest, the Kaua‘i Fire Department first responders and an ambulance from American Medical Response arrived at the Kaua‘i High School Gym to treat the injured pepster.

No condition report was available at press time.