HBA blitzes Damien, 60-34 to remain unbeaten

Hawaii Baptist's Ally Wada puts up a shot against Damien. She finished with 10 points on the night. Celine Truong | Special to SL

Host Hawaii Baptist remained unbeaten in Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II play with a 60-34 rout of Damien Thursday night. The Eagles improve to 10-0 in league play while Damien dropped to 6-5.

"It feels like it's good, the girls have been working hard. They've been trying to stay focused throughout and all the credit goes to the girls, not only in their dedication and wanting to get better, but how they care for each other," said Hawaii Baptist coach Keith Sugiura. "We try not to talk about the record and just try to take it one game at a time. I think the girls do a good job of that."

Leading the scoring column for Hawaii Baptist was sisters Rylie and Ally Wada who combined for 22 points. Rylie Wada finished with 12 points and Ally Wada scored an efficient 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting. She also added two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

"We're fortunate to have them," Sugiura said on the Wada sisters. "Rylie has her penetration abilities and her shot (which) I think she's growing confidence in. Ally, she's a little bit of a bigger player so she can play inside and out, kind of a dual threat for us."

Damien, who is in its first year playing varsity girls basketball, were led by center Melina Souza with 12 points and three assists. It is also worth noting that the Monarchs lost projected starting point guard Shania Nakamura two days before the season started.

To counteract the Monarchs' size down low with Souza and Catherine Votovich – game-highs in rebounds (eight) and blocks (two) – Hawaii Baptist turned up its defensive pressure early in the game. The Eagles were able to force 12 Damien turnovers in the first quarter to roll to a 24-7 lead heading into the second quarter.

"I think just being small, there's a certain amount of possessions that we try to aim for each game," explained Sugiura. "For us we try to speed up the game as much as possible. When you have Jenee Brown Stephanie Dang and Rylie Wada, (we) try to get them opportunities in the open court situation as well as some open shots. We try to speed up the game, that's kind of our strategy."

Brown had seven points (3-for-4 shooting), five rebounds and a game-high four assists in the contest. Dang finished five points and two assists while only playing the first quarter. Reserve guard Morgan Lorenzo registered the most steals of the game with three.

Hawaii Baptist plays its next game at home against St. Andrews while Damien will host Le Jardin. Both games are on Saturday.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].