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By Paul Honda
Editor
HondaReport.com
Tuesday, March 23, 2004

KAHUKU—If success can be measured by how well a team responds to adversity, the Kahuku Lady Raiders are relatively wealthy.

Despite the loss of two players to injury, Kahuku overwhelmed Farrington, 63-26, last night at Thomas G.S. Walker Gymnasium.

Guards Monarisa Ale and Karla Tailele sparked a tenacious defense, and Aisha Ale provided an offensive spark as the Lady Raiders opened regular-season play with a win. Tailele finished with 19 points, seven steals and five rebounds. Aisha Ale tallied 10 points and seven caroms, and Monarisa Ale tallied 10 points.

Sunshine Misa-Uli had six points and six rebounds to pace Farrington. Kristen Va’a also scored six points. Kahuku’s smothering pressure defense forced Farrington into 30 turnovers.

Kahuku, which shares the No. 1 ranking in the HondaReport.com Girls’ Basketball Top Ten with Konawaena, played without guards Camilla AhHoy and Artevia Wily. AhHoy has a groin injury, and Wily sustained a knee injury last week at the Lady Cardinal Classic. Both sophomores are out indefinitely.

In addition, reserve guard Tina Soliai played with a minor injury.

The Lady Raiders, unbeaten in preseason until a loss to Konawaena Saturday, were back on track against Farrington’s team that knocked Kahuku out of the Oahu Interscholastic Association playoff semifinals last year.

"We don’t have to play them again, so that’s something I don’t have to worry about,” longtime Farrington coach Jenic Tumaneng said.

Opening the regular season with a resounding win was what the doctor order. “Everybody was really hungry, mad about losing that game. But you gotta shake it off because it’s only preseason,” Tailele said.

Despite the lopsided result, Kahuku coach Wendy Anae wasn’t quite satisfied. “I’m not happy with the way we started out,” she said.

The Lady Raider offense chugged along in the opening minutes against Farrington’s 2-3 zone. AhHoy fed Monarisa Ale for a fastbreak layup to give Kahuku an 8-6 lead, and the Lady Raiders never gave the lead back.

"A lot of teams now are playing zone against us. We just need to keep working on it, be patient and execute,” Tailele said.

Kahuku didn’t unveil its fullcourt press until midway through the opening quarter. Still, Farrington struggled against the Lady Raiders’ halfcourt man-to-man. “We kind of wanted to surprise them, I guess,” Tailele said. “That’s where we get most of our points from.”

At one point in the first stanza, Farrington committed four turnovers in a row in its halfcourt offense. “The first time we played them, we weren’t ready for their press,” Tumaneng said, referring to a preseason loss to Kahuku. “This time, we spent time on our pressbreaker, but our halfcourt didn’t execute.”

Still, after Shirlyn Tambu swished a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the first quarter, the Lady Govs trailed by just one point, 10-9. Kahuku was hospitable, missing all four of its foul shots.

Kahuku’s fullcourt press paid dividends in the second quarter. Four turnovers by Farrington led to all of Kahuku’s points in a 10-0 run. Aisha Ale was relentless under the glass on both ends, while Monarisa Ale and Tailele were pesky on the passing lanes, helping Kahuku take a 20-9 lead with 4:19 remaining in the half.

Kristen Va’a’s free throw finally ended Kahuku’s blitz, but Tailele drilled a trey from the top of the key. Kahuku closed the half with a 7-2 run and led at intermission, 27-12.

Farrington committed 17 first-half turnovers.

Kahuku switched its halfcourt defense to a 1-3-1 zone, but it was the fullcourt press that wreaked havoc. Farrington committed five turnovers to start the third quarter, and Kahuku responded with a 9-0 run. Anny Soliai’s short bank shot gave the Lady Raiders a commanding 36-12 lead with 2:16 left in the third.

After a rebounding deadlock in the first half—each team had 12 boards—Kahuku dominated the paint after intermission. The Lady Raiders finished with a 37-24 edge on the glass.

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