DIVISION I GIRLS KAIMUKI BRACKET
Sophomores power Maui past Farrington
Maui High hadn't faced an overtime situation all season -- not that it mattered to Chynna Ramelb and her fellow scrappy Sabers.
Farrington forced an extra period with a last-second basket in regulation, but Maui rallied for a 63-59 victory in the opening round of the Girls State Championships last night at Kaimuki.
Sophomores Ramelb and Shakiyla Heslip came through for the Maui Interscholastic League runner-up each time the Sabers hit a wall. Ramelb hit two of her four 3-pointers at the second- and third-quarter buzzers, and added five of her game-high 19 points in overtime. Heslip sealed the Sabers' win by poking the ball away on the Governors' final possession, and she sprinted ahead and put in a layup at the horn as her teammates went berserk on the court.
"They played with a lot of energy, with a lot of heart and soul," Maui coach Gilbert Silva said of his team. "We're not a tall team. We are a quick team, and Shak tonight, she got a lot of rebounds, a lot of steals. But the energy came from the bench. My (same) girls played almost the whole fourth quarter and overtime. The energy had to come from the bench, and that's what they fed off of."
Maui takes on Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion and undefeated Waiakea today at 6 p.m.
Farrington's Natalie Mata backed down the Sabers defense and dished to Dianna Prescott for a clutch bank shot with 1 second left to send the game into overtime, but Maui's collected sophomores weren't worried.
"When it went to overtime, we weren't scared or nothing. We were ready to win," said Heslip, who finished with 13 points, 13 rebounds and five steals.
Cheyla Vega chipped in 10 points and eight boards and Angel Badua had 11 for the Sabers. Maui nearly negated the Govs' height advantage by hustling to only four fewer rebounds, 51-47.
The Sabers (10-5) and the Governors (12-5) were without two key rotation players, but Farrington had it worse with two starting post players, Lusina Otineru and Sofia Folaumahina out.
"We still thought we could go without them, still had the personnel to be able to play," Farrington coach Caroline Tatupu said. "Unfortunately we didn't come ready to play, didn't execute like we should have. Defensively, we had a lapse and (Maui) just played with a whole lot of heart in the second half."
Several Governors played big in their absence. Janell Nance led Farrington with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Mata added 11 points and 12 boards. Prescott put up 11 points and seven caroms and Valerie Lesu scored all of her 10 points in the second half and overtime.
But every time the Sabers faced a deficit -- and there were many times they did -- Maui responded with a run. The last large Govs lead was at 40-34, but Maui went on a 6-0 spurt to close the third quarter, capped by Ramelb's second buzzer-beating trey from the right corner, and it was neck-and-neck the rest of the way.
"She's been like that all season," Silva said of the sophomore. "We knew the clock was running down, we have set plays where she goes to corners. That worked out tonight, and she was making them. Outstanding."
To open overtime, Jazmine Corpuz kicked out to Badua for one of Maui's eight 3-pointers, and Ramelb followed with a steal and three-point play. Farrington got the deficit to two twice thanks to its fullcourt press, but never recovered.
At Kaimuki H.S. gym
Farrington (12-5) |
13 |
8 |
19 |
10 |
9 |
-- |
59 |
Maui (10-5) |
9 |
11 |
20 |
10 |
13 |
-- |
63 |
FARRINGTON -- Natalie Mata 11, Brydgette Tatupu-Leopoldo 2, Aisha Gaea 2, Janell Nance 19, Valerie Lesu 10, Honour Stone 4, Dianna Prescott 11, Nicole Argel 0.
MAUI -- Cheyla Vega 10, Shakiyla Heslip 13, Miriam Sacapanio-Baisa 0, Angel Badua 11, Jazmine Corpuz 9, Keri Valdez 0, Chynna Ramelb 19, Amanda Black 1, Rochelle Dumlao 0.
3-point goals--Farrington 4 (Mata 2, Lesu 2), Maui 8 (Ramelb 4, Badua 2, Vega, Heslip).
No. 2 Iolani 59, Aiea 48
Jamie Smith poured in 26 points on 8-for-13 shooting as the Raiders outlasted Na Alii.
Iolani advances to face No. 4 Kalani, the third seed in the tournament, today at 8 p.m. at the same site.
Natasha Helsham led Na Alii with 11 points and four assists.
At Kaimuki H.S. gym
Aiea (9-7) |
8 |
11 |
8 |
21 |
-- |
48 |
Iolani (13-2) |
22 |
9 |
17 |
11 |
-- |
59 |
Leading scorers--Aiea: Savannah Albinio-Cudal 11, Natasha Helsham 11. Iolani: Jamie Smith 26.