Kahuku races past Kailua to remain lone unbeaten in OIA East

Greg Yamamoto | SL

Kahuku dominated the first half, then slipped in the third before surging in the final period in a 76-58 victory over Kailua.

Makana Kamakeeaina recorded a 25 point, 14 rebound double-double to pace the Red Raiders, who notched their ninth straight victory in league play this season. The streak for Kahuku in OIA play actually extended to 23 games, dating back to the start of the 2023 campaign.

The visiting Red Raiders jumped out early and led 18-7 after the first and 36-15 at the intermission, in a game that seemed all but out of reach after two quarters, much of that success came in getting missed shots and quickly getting into transition.

"Sometimes we're not boxing out, but most of the time we're always in there grabbing rebounds and that's kind of where our game is rebound and pushing the ball," said Kamakeeaina.

Credit Kailua with battling to trim what was a lead as large as 27 to just 10, as Myah Galdeira hit 1 of 2 free throws at the 5:40 mark of the fourth to make it 58-48 in favor of Kahuku.

From there, an 18-5 scoring advantage all but doomed the home team, though Miyah Galdeira did score the game's final five points, which included a buzzer-beating three.

"I think for us we just had to really dig deep to, you know, find each other and get our lead back," said Kamakeeaina of the final stretch in the fourth. "We did a better job of like finding each other and just getting each other open and taking shots."

Posia Wily had 22 points, five rebounds and three assists and sophomore Tailele Wily-Ava 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Red Raiders, while sisters Miyah and Myah Galdeira combined for 38 points and six threes to pace the Surfriders.

Free throws, especially in Kahuku's foul plagued third period, helped keep Kailua in the contest. As a team the Surfers hit 19 of 28 from the charity stripe, including 8-for-8 for Miyah Galdeira. In contrast, Kahuku made just 3 of 9.