[ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kaiser center Sharde Pratt took a shot as McKinley’s Chantal Yadao defended during last night’s game.
Pratt leads Kaiser to win
Even the minutes she lost due to foul trouble couldn't deny Kaiser sophomore center Sharde Pratt from putting together another solid offensive game last night in Hawaii Kai, where the Cougars battled McKinley in a key Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division contest.
But while her scoring carried her team once again, it was Pratt's defensive grit that drove the sixth-ranked Cougars across the finish line in its riveting 41-39 win over the Tigers.
With the win, Kaiser improved to 7-1 and remained a game behind Kahuku in the East. The Cougars, who lost their head-to-head meeting with Kahuku (56-49) on March 25, have three games remaining. They have won six straight and showed their resilience again last night, recovering from a 36-30 deficit with 4:51 remaining in the game.
"A lot of the girls were down, and we just had to pick ourselves up," said Pratt, who finished with a game-high 21 points, despite sitting out most of the second quarter with three fouls. "We have a lot of girls who want to win this year, so we're more together. We feel very confident right now."
Pratt scored 10 consecutive points for Kaiser in the last 4:05, including a pair of conventional three-point plays that jump-started the run, to put Kaiser ahead for good at 40-38 with 1:52 to play. The Cougars then missed five of six free throws in the final 1:12 and needed a pair of blocked shots by Pratt to seal the verdict.
Trailing 41-38, McKinley (4-3) had the ball with 35 seconds remaining and whittled the clock down to 8.6 when Kaiser fouled the Tigers' Bre Carson deliberately to send her to the free-throw line with a chance only to convert two points.
"Coach (Lisa Mann) told us to foul -- we couldn't give them a 3," said Kaiser point guard Shera Yamamoto.
Carson made the first free throw, but missed the second. The Tigers earned one last gasp with 6.6 seconds when Pratt tied up Chantal Yadao to force a jump ball. With the possession arrow in McKinley's favor, the Tigers in-bounded the ball, which went to Yadao, whose shot from inside the lane was blocked by Pratt with 1.5 left.
At Kaiser H.S. Gym
McKinley (4-3) 15 8 9 7 -- 39 Kaiser (7-1) 11 12 4 14 -- 41 MCKINLEY--Chantal Yadao 8, Chelsie Sato 4, Meagan Miyasaka 9, Melody Ababa 11, Bre Carson 7, Noelani Correia 0, Linda Fowler 0.
KAISER--Shera Yamamoto 5, Jaime Nerona 0, Chelsea Kapuniai 1, Sharde Pratt 21, Natasha Aloisio 4, Kehau Bangay 3, Kilioe Aliifua 7.
3-point goals --McKinley 6 (Ababa 3, Yadao 2, Carson), Kaiser 1 (Yamamoto).
Junior varsity--Kaiser 39, McKinley 23
