Thursday, May 17, 2001
Kalaheo makes it Four for four.
4 in a row
Brandy Richardson puts up
By Grace Wen
a career-high 41 points as the
Mustangs beat Na Alii
for the OIA title
Star-BulletinSenior Brandy Richardson helped Kalaheo close out a fourth straight season without a loss in the Oahu Interscholastic Association by pouring in a career-high 41 points against Aiea in last night's championship game at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Richardson also grabbed 18 rebounds and had six steals last night as Kalaheo captured its fourth straight OIA title. The Mustangs shook off early jitters and overpowered Aiea, 67-51.
"It's just Richardson taking us to the promised land," Kalaheo coach Chico Furtado said. "We struggled a little bit in the first quarter. We made our mark in the second quarter, took a pretty substantial lead into the half."
The three-time all-state player scored eight of Kalaheo's 10 points in the first quarter and only got hotter in the second.
Kalaheo scored first and led 7-5 with five minutes left in the first quarter. But Aiea answered with five points, including two free throws by Aritta Lane at the end to knot the score.
Richardson hit shots from all over the court, including three straight 3-pointers to score the Mustangs' first 12 points of the second quarter. Richardson had 22 points at the half and was virtually unstoppable.
"It was Brandy," Aiea coach Fran Villarmia-Kahawai said. "We couldn't stop Brandy, period. That was basically it.
Aiea's Kylee Nakamura opened the second quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers to keep Na Alii close. But Kalaheo's defense then held Aiea scoreless until late in the period, when Noelani Colburn hit a jumper to pull Aiea within 26-18.
The Mustangs closed out the half with an 8-3 run for a commanding 34-21 lead.
Richardson started the scoring for the Mustangs in the third quarter and posted 11 points as Kalaheo took control of the game.
Despite a 10-0 run in the fourth quarter, Aiea was still down 58-43 and unable to catch the Mustangs.
"We knew we had to step it up," Richardson said. "I wanted to end my senior season not losing an OIA game. This is 48 wins in a row and we wanted to end it on a positive note."
Roosevelt 52, Leilehua 26: Megan Fong scored 11 points as the Rough Riders grabbed the OIA's third spot in this weekend's state tournament.
Roosevelt looked like the sharper team from the get-go and led 15-2 after the first period.
The Rough Riders began the second quarter with back to back 3-pointers from Fong and Lori Nosse and added six more points for a 27-9 lead at the half.
Turnovers hurt the Mules as they coughed up the ball 15 times in the first half. Fong led the Rough Riders with four of Roosevelt's six steals during the half.
Poor shot selection accounted for 22 missed shots and only nine points for Leilehua.
The Mules recovered from the terrible first half with a 13-4 run after the intermission to cut the Rough Riders' lead to nine. Charlotte Garcia finished the run with consecutive jumpers.
But Roosevelt outscored Leilehua 17-4 in the fourth quarter to hold on.
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