[ DIVISION II BASKETBALL ]
Roosevelt claims
D-II crown
For one year, at least, the Roosevelt Rough Riders are queens of Division II basketball.
Chelsie Kadota rained in four 3-pointers during a pivotal first-quarter scoring deluge, and the Rough Riders overpowered St. Andrew's 67-44 last night in the Hawaiian Airlines Girls State Basketball Division II championship game.
Roosevelt (11-5) ended the Cinderella hopes of tiny St. Andrew's (11-7), a private school in downtown Honolulu. The Rough Riders, D-II champs of the Oahu Interscholastic Association, were the only team to defeat eventual D-I titlist Kahuku during the regular season.
Kadota finished with 14 points and five rebounds to pace Roosevelt. Junior guard Nicole Yoshimoto and sophomore swingman Tati Beasley helped spark Roosevelt's fast break. With St. Andrew's struggling from the field much of the night, the Rough Riders ran the floor at will. Yoshimoto finished with eight points, seven assists and five rebounds. Beasley tallied 12 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and four steals.
"We finally hit some shots. It's better than we've played lately," Roosevelt coach Bobby Keanini said. "Everyone contributed, so it's hard to single anyone out. We played good defense and forced some turnovers, and that gave us good energy."
Caasi Nakasone led St. Andrew's with 15 points, five rebounds and four steals, and Holly Saito added 12 points.
"They were incredible," Keanini said of the Pride. "They keep coming at you, even in the fourth quarter, when we try to wear teams down."
It was an exciting reunion of sorts for Kadota, Nakasone and Saito.
"I played with them in PAL leagues," Kadota said. "It was fun to play them."
Roosevelt, which shot 41 percent from the field, held the Pride to 32-percent shooting (16 of 50). The Rough Riders stayed in a 2-3 zone all game long, but forced 22 turnovers.
Roosevelt led by as many as 29 points, but the resilient Pride refused to surrender.
"To be down that much and not give up, it was a good comeback," St. Andrew's coach Ross Kinsler said. "I'm proud of the girls."
St. Andrew's, with a boisterous crowd for a second night in a row, zoomed to a 9-4 lead. After Lois Ornellas hustled for a pair of three-point plays under the basket, the Pride seemed to be stronger under the glass.
That notion dissipated within the next several minutes.
"We got a little out of control, but you gotta let them work through it. They love to compete," Keanini said.
Kadota, a 5-foot-5 junior, went on a tear. She sank four treys in the space of three minutes and 20 seconds.
"I was like, all right," Kadota said. "I was in a zone."
St. Andrew's stayed in its 2-3 zone, and the Rough Riders punished the Pride. Roosevelt led 21-9 at the end of the opening quarter.
The Pride switched to a man-to-man defense in the second quarter, but Roosevelt's onslaught continued. St. Andrew's continued to slump from the field (21 percent in the first quarter), and after Kadota scored on a backdoor layup and yet another trey, Roosevelt had completed its 29-0 run.
"I knew we'd come back, especially when we're banging our shots like that against the zone," Kadota said.
The Rough Riders led 33-9 with 5:02 remaining in the half and never looked back. By intermission, Roosevelt led 38-15 on 46-percent shooting from the field, and Kadota had 14 points. Her team shot 6-of-15 from the 3-point arc in the first half.
Roosevelt (11-5) 21 17 14 15 -- 67 St. Andrew's (10-5) 9 6 12 17 -- 44 ROOSEVELT--Tati Beasley 12, Chelsie Kadota 14, Dasha Kawakami 9, Larisa Nakasone 6, Miya Frank 0, Capi Uyechi 0, Nicole Yoshimoto 8, Shannon Miyashiro 9, Dara Kiyuna 3, Nicole Okada 6, Chelsea Uchihara 0, Puuwai Crawford-Kapanui 0.
ST. ANDREW'S--Jordan Higa 0, Lindsay Higa 0, Caasi Nakasone 15, Holly Saito 12, Kristen Cortez 0, Emi Klapproth 0, Ginger Grimes 0, Ashley Jung 0, Laurie Miyasato 3, Kellee Tom 0, Lindsey Kawahakui 0, Jazmine Morrill 0, Lois Ornellas 11, Kimberlee Tom 2, Mallory Richards 1.
3-point goals--Roosevelt 8 (Kadota 4, L. Nakasone 2, Kawakami 1, Kiyuna 1). St. Andrew's 0.St. Joseph 47, St. Anthony 34: St. Joseph closed out the game with an 18-6 run to defeat St. Anthony in the Division II third-place game.
Chelsey Riviera hit a 3-pointer to break a 28-all tie late in the third quarter and the Cardinals never trailed thereafter. Felicia Alves scored 10 points to pace St. Joseph (13-5) while Riviera, Duchess Kama and Jazmin Paakaula had nine each. Sierra Dunne scored 14 and Tiara Dole had 10 for the Trojans (7-6).
At Stan Sheriff Center
St. Anthony (7-6) 10 8 10 6 -- 34 St. Joseph (13-5) 8 11 12 16 -- 47 ST. ANTHONY--Tanilei Tesorio 0, Melissa Naole 0, Sierra Dunne 14, Mahea Tassill 7, Noe Uruo 1, Kelsey Campbell 2, Amanda Lumen 0, Tiara Dole 10, Kristen Gazmen 0, Jennifer Zhang 0, Kecia Sakugawa 0, Lindsey Texeira 0.
ST. JOSEPH--Felicia Alves 10, Lindsey Lee 4, Jazmine Paakaula 9, Duchess Kama 9, Rebekah Lee Loy 0, Chelsey Riviera 9, Dawnn Kama 2, Jennifer Lee Loy 4, Tara McCall 0, Ashley Hanohano 0.
3-point goals -- St. Anthony 3 (Dole 2, Tassill), St. Joseph 6 (Riviera 3, Alves 2, Paakaula).