MILILANI -- A little patience paid off for Tatiana Mariano and Roosevelt Friday.

Mariano scored all of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter to lift the visiting Rough Riders to a 49-44 upset over previously-unbeaten Mililani in a second-round game of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Tournament. A crowd of about 450 saw Roosevelt, the fourth seed from the Eastern Division, improve to 9-4 and advance to Tuesday's third round, where it will meet East no. 2 Kaiser.

The Trojans, who had a first-round bye as the Western Division champion, fell to 10-1 and will play Leilehua in an elimination game Tuesday.

"It feels good," Roosevelt coach Hinano Higa said. "Especially for the girls, you know, we've had an up-and-down, roller-coaster season, so for us to pull out the win against the No. 1 seed, it's big for us. I'm happy for the girls."

Mariano, a freshman post, was making her season debut after sitting out the regular season with a shoulder injury. She scored all but five of her team's points in the final quarter. Mariano scored nine straight to turn a two-point lead into a nine-point cushion following her 3-pointer with three minutes to play.

"I was nervous, to be honest, but my teammates held me up," said Mariano about being held scoreless in the first 24 minutes of the game. "They told me that I'm going to do fine and that I'm a great player."

Kira Arruda's fastbreak layup one possession later gave the Rough Riders their largest lead at 41-30. Kayla Wright finally ended a nearly five-minute long scoring drought with her layup at the 1:35 mark, but Roosevelt hit eight of 12 free throws down the stretch to seal it.

"For a minute there Mililani made a run," Higa said. "We kind of had a comfortable lead, then they made that run and (the difference) was just handling the basketball and making better decisions with it. The more we dribbled up the floor - all five of them would chase us - so we wanted to find the next open man."

Mariano, who was 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, said the loss of starting guard Shana Kawakami (torn ACL) created a void in offensive production.

"I definitely felt like I had to pick up for her and we all did, not just myself, so it was a good team win," Mariano said.

Higa said it began and ended with Mariano.

"Tati Mariano was hot for us at the free-throw line, so getting the ball in her hands and having them foul her was the best situation for us and I think her team understood to get the ball to her."

The Trojans found early success with guards Taylor Babbitt, Kayla Wright and Kapili Amamalin penetrating the paint, before finishing at the basket or finding an open shooter. A 10-4 Mililani run gave it a 15-12 lead after the opening quarter.

"I was telling our girls that (Mililani is) athletic," Higa said. "They can get to the rim, they can jump, so we don't want to give them second opportunities at the basket."

Both teams were sloppy on the offensive end - combining for nine turnovers - for much of the second quarter. The Rough Riders reclaimed the lead at 19-17 on a Shanice Kawakami 3-pointer with 1:45 until halftime, but Mililani's Nayla Long sent the teams into the intermission knotted at 19 with her fastbreak layup in the closing second of the second quarter.

Mililani ran most of its offense through Long in the third quarter, but Roosevelt answered each time as the teams combined for five ties and four lead changes in the period. The score was tied at 28 to start the fourth quarter.

The Rough Riders opened the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run and never looked back.

Trojans' coach Pat Basilio said his team's offense sputtered at times due to several players in foul trouble.

"I think what hurt us most is when we had to put Kapili on the bench because of foul trouble," Basilio said. "In the first half, she's in early foul trouble and that took us out of the flow of our offense. She's like the Energizer bunny for us."

Long finished with a team-high 11 points and Amamalin added 10 for Mililani.

Roosevelt has already clinched one of six OIA berths for the state tournament. Mililani can still earn a spot in states, but must rally from the loser's bracket in the double-elimination tournament.

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