WAIMEA — The Waimea High School junior varsity girls basketball team wrapped up its division championships in a Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation (KIF) contest at Clem Gomes Gym.
The Menehune celebrated the final contests of the season by sweeping the Red Raiders with a 73-5 win in the JV games, and taking a 55-25 win in varsity game.
Sparked by a game-high 37 points, including a pair from outside the 3-point arc, Cyani Bagaoisan-Rita led the JV squad to wrap up the Central Pacific Bank KIF title for the JV girls, who ended the season with an undefeated record.
Wailana Tanigawa-Christian helped the victory with 18 points, including a pair of long distance bombs, and La‘akea Kauwe ended the night with 13 points.
Maddie Perreira and Chloe Kaluahine each netted a bucket for the JV Red Raiders. Jaelyn Maeda-Kalani added a charity point in the third quarter for the Red Raiders.
Hailey Mata and Leah Guerrero shared high point honors with 11 points apiece in the varsity girls win. Guerrero marked a long distance bomb in the third stanza where she led all players in the 16-point Waimea run.
Alyssa Gummerus, the sole freshman on the Menehune team, fired off a trey in the opening stanza toward her game-total 11 points that included going two-for-two from the charity stripe.
Dino Pabre, the new athletic director at Waimea High School, said the team has seven juniors, a sophomore, and one freshman. In lieu of not having any senior class members on the team, the audience instead was treated to all of the juniors’ names being recited following the contest where Red Raiders guard Cheyley Jacobs, a Kaua‘i senior, picked up high point honors with eight points on a pair of 3-balls.
Kaua‘i tall post Lailah Kalani finished with six points in the effort.
Kapa‘a High School girls, earlier locking up the CPB/KIF girls basketball championship on Wednesday, will be the KIF representative to the 2024 Heide &Cook Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II girls basketball championships that will contest on O‘ahu on Feb. 6-9.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
