KALAHEO — Kaulupono high school division girls used the long ball, balanced scoring, and its quickness on the court to stay ahead of the Kauai Lynx Blue, 46-37 Tuesday night at the Kalaheo Neighborhood Center.
The win gives Kaulupono the high school girls division title in the youth basketball summer league games and came following the forfeiture of the Kauai Ballers to the Kauai Lynx Gray in the match for third place.
Kaulupono used the court time opened up by the non-game to hone its skills from beyond the three-point arc while waiting on the Lynx Blue to make its appearance.
Marissa Layosa topped the night’s scoring on 17 points for the Lynx Blue, but the effort fell short on the stretch as Kaulupono kept the ball out of reach while ticking down the game clock on its win.
With scoring balanced between Monique Joy Lorenzo in the first half, Kaye Serapio and Braelyn Cayaban in the second half, Kaulupono pulled ahead in the latter part of the first half after each squad metered out point-for-point buckets to a 9-9 deadlock.
Fueled by Lorenzo peeling off 11 of the team’s 23 points on a trio of three balls, Kaulupono built up an eight-point lead at the half, 23-15, on six bombs from outside the three-point mark while the Lynx Blue mustered a trio of treys in its 15 points.
Kaulupono picked up the pace in the second half, equalling its first-half 23 points to Kauai Lynx Blue’s 22 points behind the hands of Serapio who poured in 13 of her game-total 16 points, and Cayaban who netted eight of her game-total 12 points in the final 16 minutes of play.
Lorenzo finished the night with 13 points, dropping just a bucket in the second half. Hazel Serapio netted a first-half trey and Kierstin Gummerus, coming off the plane from a volleyball tournament in Arizona, was two-for-three at the charity stripe in the first half.
Following Layosa’s game-high 17 points, the Kauai Lynx Blue saw Bailey Perreira balance her eight-point contribution over two halves, Amalya Sales and Alena Bernardo each netted five points, and Kaylee Braun, sharing the paint with Tiana Manera on low post duty, got a second-half pair.
In the night’s finale, a fifth grade girls division, the Kilauea Hot Shots came out with just five players to face off against a bench overflowing with Kaulupono players.
The Kaulupono fifth grade girls took off running to a 35-8 win over the fourth graders-playing up from Kilauea. Bella Esposita and Wailana Christian led the Kaulupono win on 14 and six points, respectively while Darla Squire topped the Kialuea Hot Shots’ scoring on six points.
Games in the youth basketball summer league continue Thursday with three games on tap starting at 6 p.m. when Na Koa 5 go up against the Hot Shots. Na Koa White take on the Hot Shots in a 7 p.m. tipoff, and Na Koa Green face the Thunder in the 8 p.m. finale.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
