Kamehameha-Hawaii's Makamake Gabriel puts up a layup. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Kamehameha-Hawaii's Casey Poe dribbles the ball down court. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Wed, Feb 5, 2014 @ Kalani

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Le Jardin

37

KS-Hawaii

56

Final	1	2	3	4
Le Jardin (7-4, 11-8)	7	7	10	13	37
KS-Hawaii (9-4, 14-9)	16	19	12	9	56

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

C. Poe 24 pts  2/3 FTs

K. Kuchenbecker 11 pts  1 3pm  6/10 FTs

C. Poe 15 tot  8 off  7 def

K. Kuchenbecker 18 tot  9 off  9 def

R. Arima 3 ast

K. Kuchenbecker 3 ast

KAHALA – Second chance points was the name of the game in KS-Hawaii’s big win over Le Jardin Wednesday night. 

KS-Hawaii, the two-time defending Division II state champions, took one step towards a three-peat with a 56-37 win over the Le Jardin Bulldogs in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division II Girls Basketball Championships at Kalani High School Gymnasium. The win propels them into the quarter final round against the Farrington, the Oahu Interscholastic Association White Division champion.

“We had to win this game in order to get into the next one. One game at a time in order to get into the state (final),” said senior post Casey Poe.

Poe was the main driving force behind the Warriors victory, leading all scorers with 24 points. She also brought down 15 rebounds to give her a double-double on the night.

“I’ve been on this team my whole high school year,” said Poe. “I took it on myself to try and attack more to score, and try to get this game (decided) from the beginning.”

The Warriors really controlled the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs 53-40. KS-Hawaii also was strong on the offensive glass, having garnered 25 offensive rebounds. This allowed the Warriors to attempt a whopping 72 shot attempts, 24 more than the Bulldogs.

Despite the Warriors’ double-digit win, it was the Bulldogs who had the early lead. Kelly Kuchenbecker’s triple from the wing gave Le Jardin a 3-0 lead before the first minute was over. Kuchenbecker continued her scoring ways, splitting a pair at the line to give the Bulldogs a 7-4 run at the 5:00 mark in the first quarter. 

“We have a tendency to start off slow,” remarked KS-Hawaii coach Garret Arima.

After Kuchenbecker’s free throw, it was all KS-Hawaii from that point forward. A Riana Arima corner trey and Poe fast break bucket jumpstarted a 12-0 Warrior run to close out the first quarter. 

“We buckled down and started to get more serious to finish and control the ball,” said Poe.

A big reason why the Warriors were able to go on such a run was because of their effort on the defensive end. KS-Hawaii forced Le Jardin to commit numerous open court turnovers that allowed many fast break opportunites.  Kiera Kua-Ramirez did the most damage for the Warriors, having collected five of the team’s total 15 steals.

“Out half court trap has been our bread and butter all year. We worked hard on that all year. Basically that’s been our go-to defensively every year,” explained Arima. “We try to force turnovers, we try to force rushed shots, and it worked.”

KS-Hawaii was well in control of the game through three quarters, taking a 47-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

Le Jardin made a run to cut the lead to 15 midway through the fourth quarter, but they were never really able to get back into it and the Warriors were able to win handily.

“Relentless,” Arima said on the Bulldogs. “Le Jardin came back in the end, good team. We’re just glad to get the first one out of the way.”

Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Kacey Kuchenbecker who scored 10 points with 18 rebounds.

KS-Hawaii takes on Farrington tomorrow, Feb. 6 at the same venue. Tip-off is slated for 5:00 p.m.

“Tomorrow’s game is going to be tougher,” Arima said, offering his thoughts on their upcoming matchup. “Farrington is big, they’re well coached. We’re going to come out tomorrow and put a lot of pressure on their guards. Hopefully we can run the ball a little bit, force turnovers. Hopefully the ball falls for us tomorrow.”