OIA Girls Basketball
Kaiser cruises past Moanalua for eighth straight win


  

Sat, Jan 23, 2016 @ Kaiser


Final 1 2 3 4  
Moanalua (2-8, 3-11) 6 94625
Kaiser (8-2, 13-10) 16 17 15 250
Chelsea Soong 13 pts  1 3pm
Sienna Ho 7 pts  2 3pm
Cori Sun 11 tot  3 off  8 def
Delylah Sanerivi 5 tot  3 off  2 def




Kaiser jumped out to 7-0 lead and never looked back in a 50-25 win over Moanalua on Senior Night. The win marked the eighth consecutive for the Cougars, who have not lost since a forfeited game against Kalaheo on Dec. 19.

Chelsea Soong scored a season-high 13 points for the Cougars, with 11 coming in the first half. Just about all of her buckets came off of hustle plays, where Soong always seemed to be in the right spot for a rebound or loose ball.

"Her first sport is soccer, but she comes out and plays her heart out," said guard Rose Shimaoka. She wasn't even going to come out this year but she decided to come out and help (the team)."

Shimaoka added 11 points, nine rebounds, five steals and three assists and Brooke Ho 10 points and eight rebounds for the Cougars, who only suit up seven players, but had all of them notch at least two points and one rebound.

"I try to keep the girls tempo up and try to make plays so that the other girls can score. Just try to be an all-around team player," said Shimaoka.

When Kaiser was not off and running in transition, the Cougars settled well into half court sets, with post Brooke Ho triggering much of the action with passes from the painted area out to the wings.

"She's been important, getting all the rebounds and being a big for us," said Shimaoka of Ho.

Kaiser head coach Simon Bitanga agreed.

"I would say one of the top 10 bigs in the state so I keep telling her the only person that's really going to stop her is herself," he remarked. "Brooke has been a big asset to us and I'm happy to have her."

From there, Shimaoka, Soong and Skylar Kimura were able to consistently break past the extended Na Menehune defense, which opened up opportunties for open looks on the wings as well as in the post.

A decided advantage on the offensive glass in the first half played a factor, with the home team pulling down 10 rebounds for second chances to Moanalua's three.

The Cougars led by 19 at the intermission.

Moanalua came out in the second half with even more pronounced ball pressure in the front court, forcing five steals in the third quarter, but only managed to convert those opportunities into four points.

"We were trying to let (the younger girls) feel some of the game situation with pressure (in the second half)," said Bitanga. "I'm telling the game is 0-0 so they feel the pressure, and our girls are going to learn from their mistakes."

Shimaoka, who only managed four points in the first half, led the Cougars offensively in the second half with seven points.

The Cougars continued to control the glass in the second half, out rebounding Na Menehune by a 27 to 12 margin. Shimaoka and Cori Sun each pulled down eight boards in the final two quarters. Sun had a game-high 11.

Kaiser finished the regular season with an 8-2 mark, and secured the second seed out of the East in the OIA playoffs. Na Menehune season ends with a 2-8 mark.



Reach Brien Ing at [email protected].




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