The T-shirts said it all about Kaimuki basketball: "It doesn't matter how big you are. It's how big you play."

The under-sized Bulldogs beat visiting Kapolei inside, outside, up and down the court in a 55-39 win in the second round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red girls' basketball tournament Friday night.

The Bulldogs (12-0), the only unbeaten team left in the OIA, clinched a state tournament berth. They will host Pearl City, 6 p.m. Tuesday in the winners' bracket. The Hurricanes (8-4) will play Kahuku, 6 p.m. Tuesday in the elimination bracket. The OIA plays a modified double-elimination format.

Despite a clear height deficit, the Bulldogs were simply too fast for the winded Hurricanes, who had just played 24 hours earlier in a first-round game against Kahuku.

"Speed is what we got," Kaimuki coach Mona Faasoa said. "(Our) height is nothing."

"We had no legs in transition," Kapolei coach Jesse Baugh said. "You rncould see they weren't picking it up; they couldn't get back."

The short turnaround time didn't help either.

"We didn't have any time to prepare for Kaimuki," Baugh said. "We just had our lunch period (to prepare). Thirty minutes is not enough to prepare for a team like this."

During the the preseason Iolani Classic, Kaimuki played a Chinese team with a 6-foot-5 player, Fa'asoa said. She let 5-1 Canny Aikau guard her and the junior apparently wasn't fazed.

"She was like, 'It doesn't matter how big you are.'" Fa'asoa said. "She basically doesn't look at anyone's height. She thinks she's just as tall as them."

Fa'asoa admitted that Aikau is closer to 4-10, but listed 5-1 on the roster. Still, Aikau was Kaimuki's second-leading scorer with 11 points, including a 3-pointer.

Wreaking the most havoc on Kapolei was 5-7 guard/forward Ashley Savusa, who led everyone with 21 points, including two 3-pointers.

Kapolei's only lead of the game was 2-0. Kaimuki responded with an 11-0 run and an 11-2 run to start the second quarter in taking a 28-18 lead at the half.

The Hurricanes were able to closely match the Bulldogs in scoring in the third. But fatigued downgraded the Hurricanes. The Bulldogs were able sub starters with the comfortable lead.

"Our game plan was to try to take away their 3s and try to match them 2-for-2," Baugh said. "But it kind of backfired on us. We gave up 2s and 3s. You can only give them one or the other."

Toe Motu and Paige Kaea each had 10 points for Kapolei.

Tuesday is the last elimination game. Kapolei needs to win to assure it is among the top six. The OIA has six berths in the Division I state tournament.

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