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They wore the same uniforms with the same numbers, but the Kaimuki Bulldog girls' basketball team that came out for the second half against Roosevelt last night was a different animal.

Putting very different numbers on the scoreboard after intermission, Kaimuki defeated Roosevelt 51-33 in an OIA playoff game at Radford's Jim Alegre gymnasium.

The win gives Kaimuki (15-1) another shot at Pearl City (12-1) on Thursday night at Radford, 20 minutes after the end of the Division II game between Radford and McKinley, which begins at 5 p.m.

Roosevelt (10-6), which entered the tournament as the OIA East's 4th seed saw its Cinderella run come to an end. Both Roosevelt and Kaimuki have qualified for next week's state tournament.

To claim the OIA championship, the Bulldogs will have to defeat Pearl City twice, because earlier in the double elimination tournament the Chargers defeated Kaimuki in a 32-29 defensive struggle that could have gone either way.

Last night's first half looked like a repeat of that game, as neither team could solve the other's defense. Kaimuki left the court at halftime with a narrow 15-13 lead.

Whatever coach Mona Fa'asoa told her team at halftime, she could market it and make a fortune.

"At the half, I just told them to be more aggressive", said Fa'asoa. "They (Roosevelt) were getting 2 or 3 shots so we had to box out more. When they double-teamed us, someone had to be open. I didn't yell. I only do that when it is about attitude."

The new Bulldog version, with a bite bigger than its bark attacked the basket aggressively and outscored Roosevelt 15-4 in the first six minutes of the second half. All five senior starters contributed to an 18 point quarter on 7 of 11 from the field, led by Ashley Savusa's 6 points.

Savusa ended the night as the game's high scorer with 16. Tatiana Mariano led Roosevelt with 12 points.

In the decisive third quarter, Kaimuki dominated the inside with a 9-1 rebounding edge and cut down its turnovers to just 2, after having 12 in the first half.

The Bulldogs stayed aggressive at both ends of the court in the fourth quarter, again scoring 18 points and never letting the Rough Riders get closer than 9 points. Roosevelt missed all 9 of its three-point attempts in the final quarter and when they had to foul to try and catch up, Kaimuki kept its lead safe by making 7 of 11 free throws.

Kaimuki shot 18 of 36 (50%) from the field, including 4 three-pointers and 11 of 16 at the free throw line. Roosevelt was 14 of 51 (27.4%) from the field, with 3 treys and made 2 of 3 free throws.

Kaimuki held a huge 32-13 edge in rebounds.