Roosevelt races past Govs to stay unbeaten, 67-41

Roosevelt guard Sharice Kawakami puts up a layup attempt against Farrington. Sylvia Lee | SL

Overcoming a momentary detour, two teams headed in opposite directions continued along the same paths as undefeated Roosevelt (4-0) ran past winless Farrington (0-4), 67-41, before a small crowd at the Governors' gym.

After Farrington's Megan Aguinaldo hit a 3-pointer to give her team an 8-2 lead with 5:48 left in the opening quarter, Roosevelt, sparked by non-starter Starr Rivera, applied a press that paved their road to victory.

Over the next five minutes, Roosevelt scored 22 unanswered points, while forcing 10 Farrington turnovers. Rivera scored all 10 of her points during that decisive run.

"Starr comes off the bench and brings her energy, skills and pressure on the ball", said Roosevelt coach Hinano Higa.

By the end of the quarter, the Rough Riders had a 26-12 lead, which they stretched to 51-22 at the half. In the first half Roosevelt connected on 20 of 30 field goals (67%) while Farrington made 8 pf 27 (30%) and had 20 turnovers.

As in their previous three wins, Roosevelt had balanced scoring with four players in double figures. Staters Sharice Kawakami and Devyn Kauhi each had 11, while Rivera and Chelsea Wong off the bench had 10 apiece. Four other players had at least 6 points and the Roosevelt bench outscored Farrington's 26-4.

Farrington was led in scoring by Jeneva Toilolo's 13 points. Nani Cabato-Machado had 10, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Penina Faumui added 9.

Leading by 38 points after three quarters, with the outcome no longer in doubt, Roosevelt went without a field goal in the fourth quarter and missed 5 of 6 free throw attempts.

Said coach Higa about playing with the big lead in the final quarter, "How to defend a team like Farrington with its physical size is something we have to practice. We need better passing and cannot be loose. We are slowly progressing. We have to work on closing out games."

Roosevelt,which has won its first four games by an average of 28 points, can expect a much closer game next Saturday when the Rough Riders travel to the North Shore to face undefeated Kahuku.