Radford rallies in the second half to top Kaiser, 40-36

Radford's Jasmine Moody blocks a shot attempt by Kaiser's Brooke Ho. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Hawaii Kai – 6-foot-1 forward Jasmine Moody had a double-double performance with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks for the Radford Rams (10-6 overall) who rallied past the Kaiser Cougars, 40-36, to advance to the quarter finals of the 2014 OIA girls Red playoffs.

In a winner-advance and loser-go-home scenario, West No. 5 seed Radford trailed East No. 4 Kaiser 19-14 at the half, but the Rams outscored the Cougars 26-17 in the second half in the rally.

Radford sophomore guard Jazmin Peralta was co-leading scorer for the Rams with 11 points and 5 rebounds.

"Our coaches told us 3 keys that we need to do, stick together, stay hungry, and no possession beneath us. Every day we practice that and we remembered that and it felt good to win," commented Radford’s Moody and Peralta.

Junior guard Chantelle Arce led the balanced attack from Kaiser with 11 points and 3 made 3-pointers. Fellow guard sophomore Roselyn Shimaoka had an outstanding game for the Cougars with 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists.

The nail in the coffin came when Radford’s Moody made a cut towards the basket got the pass and was able to lay it in plus the foul with 22 seconds left the game. Moody would hit the free throw and put the Rams up 38-36.

"We knew we were the two biggest people so we knew if we used each other we could beat them," Moody remarked about playing with Sydnee Wynn a 6-foot-1 freshmen just brought up from the junior varsity level who only played in the second half and finshed with 6 points and 7 rebounds. "She saw me open, the pass was great and all I had to do was finish," said Moody about the big play.

Kaiser would get a good look with Shimaoka with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The ball would strike Iron for the Cougars and help the Rams preserve the win.

Radford will travel to Mililani to take on the west No. 1 seeded Trojans tomorrow night at 6:30 P.M. in the quarterfinals of the OIA girls Red basketball playoffs.