KAPA‘A — Kapa‘a Lady Warrior Olivia Malafu combined with power forward Denise Alfonso to lead Kapa‘a to a 61-25 win over Waimea on Friday night during a Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation girls basketball game at Bernice Hundley Gym.
Malafu bucketed 20 points, and Alfonso added 17 points, including a third quarter three-ball in the contest where the Warriors marked double-digit scoring in all four quarters, highlighted by a strong first half where Kapa‘a took a 33-15 lead at the break.
Waimea was plagued with turnovers that Kapa‘a capitalized on in the opening frame. Waimea was kept empty until the final two minutes when Katelyn Constantino uncorked the net on a field goal. Mary Joy Angala followed with a pair from outside the three-point arc.
The Warriors utilized its height advantage and speed to beat the Menehune to the ball, limited the Westside girls to just a bucket in the third quarter by Constantino.
Constantino led the Menehune with four of its eight points in the fourth quarter to emerge as the team’s scoring leader with eight points along with Angala, who finished with eight points after adding a fourth quarter bucket to her pair of first quarter three-balls.
Ari Acosta had two hard-fought buckets in traffic in the second frame, and Hailey Mata was limited to just a three-ball in that second frame.
Joining the Warrior scoring leaders, Jada Nakamura blossomed for 11 points, nine marks dropping in the first half. Norma Tuulangavalu added seven marks over two periods. Kyla Hopton marked four points in the second frame, and a pair from Taira Samiano in the fourth period closed the scorebooks.
With the win, Kapa‘a girls remain undefeated as the KIF closed the girls’ first round of play.
The next KIF girls basketball game takes place following the Winter Break when Kaua‘i visits Kapa‘a at Bernice Hundley Gym on Jan. 2. The Junior Varsity contest tips off at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity game starting 20 minutes after the JV contest.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
