Kapaa High School’s girls basketball team defeated Waimea 46-43 at home Monday night to win the first round of the season. “It feels really good. Amazing,” said Kapaa’s Ariel Cummings. She finished the game with eight points. Warriors head coach
Kapaa High School’s girls basketball team defeated Waimea 46-43 at home Monday night to win the first round of the season.
“It feels really good. Amazing,” said Kapaa’s Ariel Cummings.
She finished the game with eight points.
Warriors head coach William Aki said implementing a press defense to put pressure on Waimea’s offense was what won the game for his team.
“Pressing, breaking their press and a little more ball control,” he said. “What held us back a little was our attempts on baskets. We took a lot of attempts but hardly made any. We got to cut down on that.”
Kapaa’s press resulted in Waimea turning the ball over several times from inaccurate inbound passes.
From those turnovers, the Warriors scored eight unanswered points toward the end of the period.
“We were on a roll,” Cummings said. “We made basket after basket. That was pretty cool.”
Waimea faced an eight-point deficit going into the final quarter.
The Menehune charged down the lane and drew fouls to get to the free throw line.
Waimea’s Caitlyn Owen led that charge and scored 11 of her 13 points during the fourth quarter, seven of which came from made free throws.
“Our free throws were the team’s best strength,” said Waimea head coach Brandon Moises. “At that point, anyway to stop the clock and get points gives us a chance to get back.
“Eventually, time runs out,” he added. “We’re on the short end, but we’ll live to see tomorrow.”
Moises also said while his team had several chances at the free throw line, in turn it also gave Kapaa chances as well.
Kapaa’s Ui’lani McCabe was fouled several times down the stretch and made four of 12 free throws.
She finished the game with nine points.
Kapaa overcame a slow start in which the team only scored four points during the first quarter.
Aki said it took his team the entire quarter to settle down from playoff game jitters.
“It’s just the moment of the game,” he said. “We try to get the girls under control. Sometimes it’s hard because the game is going so fast and the girls lose their heads a little.”
Turnovers from stolen passes plagued both teams for most of the game.
“Every game we play, we always got a lot of turnovers no matter how much times we practice,” Aki said. “We trying to cut that down.”
Moises said perhaps the result would have been different if his team had not made so many mistakes.
“For all those mistakes, we [only] lost by three points,” he said.
Both teams didn’t get much time for rest as they played a rematch Tuesday night at Waimea to start round two of the season. The result wasn’t final before press deadline.
“We have to come out with the same intensity we did tonight. Hopefully, the outcome works in our favor,” Aki said.
