Kalani outlasts Radford in emotional playoff victory

Greg Yamamoto | SL

Win one for Al.

An emotional Kalani squad overcame foul trouble and a furious comeback by Radford to post a 44-40 win in the opening round of the OIA Division I playoffs.

"This was thing I was wishing for," said Alina Stephenson of getting a win tonight in honor of her father Alvin, who passed away Thursday. "I knew that we were gonna get it, so for us to able to have it (happen) and win means a lot."

In the first half, both Alina, a senior, and her sister Angel, just a freshman, had their way in the painted area, helping the Falcons build a 20-14 lead at the intermission that could have been a much larger deficit had it not been for the standout play of Shanntay Stroman, who almost single-handedly kept the Rams in it with 10 points in the opening two quarters.

A furious rally midway through the third saw the Rams rally behind the play of Coryn Doss, who scored six points in the quarter, but also disrupted the Falcons with her length on defense. Foul trouble also shackled Kalani, particularly in the third, where both Alina Stephenson and Isabella Baker each picked up foul number four.

Both the elder Stephenson fouled out and Baker fouled out of the contest with just over five minutes left in regulation, forcing the Falcons to turn to its bench for a lift, which they got out of reserve post Hasina Robinson, who had an inspired five rebounds and really provided some needed energy for the home team on both ends.

"She's the one that gets our energy up. Definitely that's her role on the team," said Alina Stephenson of Robinson. "She's the one that lifts our energy and makes us wanna fight harder with all her energy just coming into the game."

Angel Stephenson echoed the impact Robinson had as well.

"This was the best game she ever had," she said. "She really kept things under control today because she knew how important this game was. I'm really proud of her."

That energy was definitely contagious, as not only on the floor but also in the stands, as the Falcon faithful got louder as the game wore on.

And the crowd had reason to erupt on a number of occasions in the closing moments, particularly on a pair of clutch threes by Raine Chinen as well as each made free throw attempt by Kylie Awakuni, who made 3 of 4 from the line to ice the game for the Falcons.

Radford got to within a point at 41-40 on a huge Stroman three with just under 40 seconds to play, but never got any closer. Stroman finished with a game high 22 points and added 11 rebounds and three steals.

The win marked the first time Kalani has advanced beyond the opening round of OIA playoffs since 2019.

"This is the first time I think, in about four or five years, we made it past the first round. so, we're definitely gonna cherish this moment," said Alina Stephenson. "I know today it wasn't the best that we could do, but we pushed through and we all knew that we wanted it and we all know it came from our hearts and that we were gonna execute today."

Angel Stephenson, who had some foul issues of her own in the first half, picked up two more but avoided a fifth, finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds, with four assists and two steals for good measure.

The Rams were without Kourtney Smith, who was injured in Radford's loss to Mililani on Jan. 17.