HondaReport.com - Girls' Basketball: No. 8 McKinley ousts Radford, 58-38

Girls' Basketball: No. 8 McKinley ousts Radford, 58-38

The OIA East resumed its domination of the West in playoff action. After going 6-0 against the West in last year's playoffs, the East went 4-0 Friday, including McKinley's win over the West's top seed, Radford.

‘AIEA—Jesse Victorino learned from the past, and the Lady Tigers of McKinley are now a state tournament qualifier.

McKinley, riding a pivotal 8-0 run in the third quarter, rolled over Radford 58-38 last night in the quarterfinal round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association girls’ basketball playoffs.

The win propelled McKinley (15-8, 9-3 OIA), the No. 4 seed in the East, into the semifinals against Kalaheo. McKinley will host Kalaheo Tuesday night at the Lady Tigers’ homecourt. Radford, unbeaten in OIA West play, finished the season 10-1.

“The pressure’s off of these young ladies,” said Victorino, McKinley’s longtime head coach. “We had to wait for someone to win, for us to make the playoffs. We were kind of rusty.”

McKinley, ranked No. 8 in the HondaReport.com Top Ten, had not played a game since April 17. Victorino knew, however, that keeping defensive pressure on the Rams would take a toll, as it did in a 28-point win over Radford during preseason.

“They tried to run with us, and they tired out in the fourth quarter,” Victorino said of the preseason matchup. “Tonight, I kept telling my girls, ‘They’re on the verge.’”

The third quarter proved pivotal.

“They turned up the pressure on defense in the second half,” Radford coach David Lane said. “They kept pushing us.”

Meagan Miyasaka, McKinley’s defensive stopper, led the way with 15 points. The senior guard scored six points in a row, triggering McKinley’s third-quarter blitz. That turned an eight-point cushion into a 33-19 lead with 5:05 to play in the third.

“They made that mini-run early in the third quarter,” Lane said. “Give a lot of credit to them.”

Radford, a defensive-minded team, never recovered. McKinley, using a full-court press and tenacious half-court man defense, continued to pester the Rams. McKinley got a steal and layup by Chantal Yadao, and a 3-pointer from Bre Carson to extend the lead.

By the time reserve forward Linda Fowler scored on a breakaway layup at the buzzer, McKinley had a 47-25 lead going into the final quarter.

Carson, a senior guard, finished with 13 points, and freshman Chelsie Sato added 12 points and eight rebounds. Yadao, a senior guard, added 11 points and nine rebounds.

“Two weeks ago, Meagan blew out her left wrist, but she refused to sit,” Victorino said. “It’s her senior year, and she sure as heck isn’t going to come out of the game that easily. She played right through it. She gave me the stinkeye when I wanted to take her out of the game.”

Carson’s 3-point shot wasn’t on until the third quarter, but her streaky touch kept Radford’s man defense stretched. “Bre causes so much pressure on defenses, she opens things up,” Victorino said.

McKinley, a small team that usually comes up on the short end of the boards in the East, outrebounded Radford 28-24. Twelve of McKinley’s caroms were on the offensive end.

Senior guard Lia Mickey paced Radford with 10 points. Sophomore Tereva Moore added six points and eight boards. Jenna Johnson-Endo, a senior guard, finished with seven points.

McKinley’s pressure defense was a constant, and Victorino figured it would wear the Rams down. The Lady Tigers shot just 25 percent from the field in the first half, but forced Radford into nine turnovers. Sato scored 10 in the first half, and McKinley led 25-17 at intermission.

“We allowed them to think they had improved enough to beat us,” Victorino said.

Moore, a 5-foot-10 defensive weapon, was unable to score in the first half against a McKinley defense that has not been able to stop strong post scorers. “I thought they were gonna put her on the low post,” Victorino said of Moore. “They played into our game. Chelsie (defending against Moore) matches up better up high. Plus, Linda (Fowler) picked up two early fouls.”

McKinley’s experience and intensity were key factors. “We tried getting cuts off our motion offense, but McKinley had good team defense,” Lane said. “They are very, very scrappy. They missed a lot of 3s, but they got every long rebound.”

Radford, a team without a homecourt, had a season to remember. The Rams eked out a number of close wins and never seemed to mind the pressure of playing an all-road schedule.

“I’m very proud of our girls, from one through 12. They do the job, and they represent us very well,” Lane said. “We ran into a very talented team tonight.”

McKinley shot well in the second half, including 10-of-17 in the third quarter. The Lady Tigers finished 22-of-58 from the field (38 percent). They made only 3-of-20 attempts from 3-point range and 9-of-21 from the free-throw line.

Radford shot 12-of-39 from the field (31 percent), including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. The Rams made 8-of-15 tries from the foul line. They turned the ball over 17 times.

Victorino was not permitted to coach in McKinley’s regular-season opening 56-51 loss at Kalaheo. Victorino served a mandatory one-game suspension as a result of a disqualification during the state tournament last year.

He watched the game from the bleachers as McKinley stayed close. Kaiena Huihui scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Kalaheo.

Huihui was sidelined with a foot injury recently, but returned to the lineup in Kalaheo’s win over Mililani.