Rough Riders hold off Moanalua

That's the Roosevelt Rough Riders, who got 26 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks from senior Tasia Kamakawiwoole in a hard-earned 45-37 win over Moanalua last night before 300 fans at Na Menehune's gym.

Roosevelt improved to 3-0 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East, while Moanalua slipped to 1-2 (6-6 overall). The Rough Riders took an early lead and never lost it, though the home team stayed close thanks to scrappy man-to-man defense.

"A win is always good. We survived," Roosevelt coach Clint Chikamori said. "They put some pressure on us and we recovered."

Moanalua trailed by nine in the third quarter, but cut the lead to 37-33 on Jaidon Rego's baby hook shot in the lane with a little more than 4 minutes left. From that point on, though, Na Menehune went cold from the field against Roosevelt's 2-3 zone.

Though Roosevelt shot only 4-for-13 from the free-throw line in the final quarter, Moanalua got no closer than four in the final 2 minutes.

A miss by Joshy Noga on the front end of a 1-and-1 with 1:50 left was snared by teammate Kelcie Namba. That led to another bucket in the post by Kamakawiwoole for a 41-35 lead with 1:37 to go.

A.J. Verdida's baseline jumper with 40 seconds left cut the lead to 42-37, but it was Moanalua's final basket.

Moanalua coach Kristie Morikawa saw signs of improvement.

"We had shots. We had the guts to take the shots, and I'm proud of that for that," she said.

While Kamakawiwoole (5-foot-9) owned the low post, Noga turned out to be a huge weapon against Moanalua's relentless defensive pressure. Only a sophomore, Noga had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists, and her smooth ballhandling was a difference-maker in the final quarter. Roosevelt had 14 turnovers in the first three quarters, but just two in the last stanza.

"The problem is, their guards can handle the ball, but the posts can handle, too," Morikawa bemoaned. "The posts are making the free throws."

It was the kind of versatility that she had heard about long before last night. Morikawa's hairstylist is Noga's mother.

"She told me her last name is Noga, and I said, 'Oh no, Noga? That's trouble for us,' " Morikawa recalled.

Hoku Dela Cruz and Joanna Nicolas led Moanalua with 12 points each. Dela Cruz had six boards, while Nicolas was the other superb sophomore on the floor. She had six rebounds, six steals and four assists. Michelle Hardy led Na Menehune on the boards with 10 caroms.

Hardy, at 5-foot-5, had her hands full trying to cover Kamakawiwoole in the post. Kamakawiwoole shot 12-for-17 from the field.

Moanalua had beaten Roosevelt in the semifinals of its Preseason Peek tournament.

"I feel we could've done better," Dela Cruz said. "(Roosevelt) picked up since we saw them last time. (Kamakawiwoole) is really good and has a lot of moves at the bottom. She seals real good."

Roosevelt leaped to a 12-2 lead, but lost momentum early when forward Mikela Thoemmes picked up her second foul before the second quarter. She finished with three points, three steals and two rebounds.

The Rough Riders shot 41 percent from the field (19-for-46) and just 33 percent from the foul line (6-for-18). Moanalua shot 29 percent from the field (15-for-52) and 50 percent from the line (5-for-10).

MOANALUA--Brittney Calucag 0, Kiley Lau 2, Joanna Nicolas 12, Michelle Hardy 0, Meleane Smith 0, Jaidon Rego 5, Hoku Dela Cruz 12, A.J. Verdida 6, Justine Aguas 0.

3-point goals--Roosevelt 1 (Ramirez), Moanalua 2 (Dela Cruz 2).

Junior varsity--Moanalua 34, Roosevelt 26

OIA Red East

Leisha Liilii led Castle wtih 11.

MCKINLEY--Kylie Sato 3, Ashley Gravley 9, Tatiana Dinson 19, Brenda Walker 16, Hanna Yoo 0, Jorina Faletoi 2, Jackie Tihano 8.

3-point goals--Castle none, McKinley 3 (Tihano 2, Gravley).

Junior varsity--Castle 27, McKinley 26

No. 2 Farrington 66, Kailua 39
Kirsten Liana scored a game-high 15 points as the Governors dominated the Surfriders.

Ashley Jacobs scored 14 points, including two 3-pointers, for Kailua.

KAILUA--Jayna Hanawahine 1, Tawny Kiko 0, Sola Williams 6, Teuila Asele 2, Zsalei Kamaka 11, Ka'u Kohatsu 0, Alysha Franco 0, Anu Ahyun 5, Ashley Jacobs 14.

3-point goals--Farrington none, Kailua 2 (Jacob 2).

Junior varsity--Farrington 57, Kailua 28

OIA Red West

Genevieve Cuesta scored 13 points to lead Waianae in the loss.

WAIANAE--Alisa Tupuola 0, Alesa Ramaila 3, Emma Atiga 0, Maili Enos-Branigan 3, Emma Tanoi 0, Beverly Madrid 7, Genevieve Cuesta 13, Evalani Yoshimura 2, Shantel Buckner 8.

3-point goals--Radford 1 (D. Brown), Waianae 3 (Cuesta 2, Madrid).

Junior varsity--Radford 39, Waianae 28

Aiea 52, Mililani 49, OT
Natasha Helsham scored seven of her 15 points in the second half and overtime to help Na Alii rally past the host Trojans to remain undefeated in league play.

Chelsea Basilio hit two 3-pointers and Mililani led 30-21 after the first half. But Aiea rallied behind Helsham and Crystal Tagudin, who scored nine of her 13 points after the break.

MILILANI--Chelsea Basilio 16, Glenelle Nitta 3, Kellise De La Cruz 0, Samantha Yuki 2, Jordan Sakai 5, Amber Ogata 3, Abby McKoy 0, Darcey Goulsby 11, Sophie Chang 4, Khyla Alcantra 4, Pomai Grube-Hose 1.

3-point goals--Aiea 2 (Fong, Tagudin), Mililani 4 (Basilio 2, Nitta, Ogata).

Junior varsity--Mililani 38, Aiea 29

Kapolei 40, Campbell 32
The Hurricanes outscored the Sabers 29-19 in the second half for the win.

Oli Kila scored 16 points for Campbell.

CAMPBELL--Ama Lui 4, Jaysha Delizo 2, Karen Tano 0, Jazmin Brown 4, Chantaty Samante 6, Sammi Aki 0, Ikoa Dias-Kekahuna 0, Stormi Wright 0, Ariel Medlin 0, Randi Wright 0, Oli Kila 16, Chelsey McDonald 0.

3-point goals--Kapolei 2 (Tapat), Campbell none.

Junior varsity--Kapolei 49, Campbell 43

OIA White

The Bulldogs had 12 players score against struggling Anunue.

KAIMUKI--Olivia Phommachanh 5, Pua Akaka 5, Sasha Tokuda 2, Brooke Borce 3, Tanya Villanueva 9, Dinishah Faasoa 2, Justell Arthur 5, Brittney Anglin 4, Letisha Faasoa 3, Dejah Faasoa 4, Mikki Morihara 2, Ashley Fortson 2.

3-point goals--Anuenue 1 (Walker), Kaimuki 4 (Phommachanh, Akaka, Villanueva, L. Faasoa).

Kaiser 58, Nanakuli 29
Chelsy Okuma scored 29 points, including three 3-pointers, as the Cougars routed the Golden Hawks.

Violet Mau led Nanakuli with 22.

Kaiser--Alaiza Del Andre 0, Hailey Durham 9, Lijah Boyverman 0, Chelsy Okuma 29, Keely Bitanga 16, Kaitlyn Nakano 0, Daryn Vorderbrugge 3, Bailey Miller 0, Shelby Pei 1.

3-point goals--Nanakuli none, Kaiser (Okuma 3, Bitanga 3, Vorderbrugge).

Junior varsity--Kaiser 47, Nanakuli 21