WAIMEA — The Kapa‘a High varsity girls basketball team had four ticks to stay alive Monday during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation contest at Clem Gomes Gym.
Trailing 40-43, the Lady Warriors launched a cross-court attack following the split one-and-one effort by Waimea’s Shaylen Guerrero with a little more than a minute remaining in the game. But battling against a tenacious Menehune defense led by guards Hailey Mata and Hazel Serapio, Kapa‘a could only manage a bucket by Tasia Kamoku with four ticks showing on the game clock.
Waimea ran the clock to a 43-42 win following an all-team effort led by its guards.
“Getting better,” said Waimea coach Natalie Mata, who smiled as the team celebrated its alma mater following their first victory in the KIF season.
Scrapping from the opening tipoff, Waimea nailed the opening buckets by Mata and Serapio, only to have Kapa‘a equalize the action on a Hinali‘i Grance missile from outside the three-point arc. The jousting continued to a 12-12 first-quarter deadlock, and a 19-19 stalemate at the break.
Neither team could claim a sizeable advantage in the defensive slugfest where the Menehune defense forced Kapa‘a to get its points from tall person Olivia Malafu, who ended the night with 16 points.
Waimea’s Serapio matched that effort with a game-high 18 points, including a first-quarter three-ball, and three-for-five shooting from the charity stripe.
Kapa‘a guard Hailey Overmyer, who figured strong in the Kapa‘a win over Kaua‘i Saturday, was limited to just three points coming off the bench. Mata, her Menehune counterpart, netted seven points, including a sorely needed three-ball in the fourth quarter.
Grance finished with 11 points for Kapa‘a, including a trio of treys. Tasia Kamoku equaled the production with 11 points, including the late-game bucket that pulled Kapa‘a to within a digit with four seconds showing.
Following Mata and Serapio, the Menehune got five marks from Kiaura Rita-Ortiz, whose face blossomed with a surprised smile on her first trey to open the third quarter. That surprise was shared by Katelyn Constantino, who matched the three-ball from the opposite side.
Shaylen Guerrero finished with seven points for the Menehune.
Waimea next brings its game to the Kaua‘i High School gym today. The junior varsity contest between Kaua‘i and Kapa‘a tips off at 5:30 p.m., with the Waimea and Kaua‘i varsity encounter started 20 minutes following the completion of the JV game.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
