KS-Hawaii, HBA advance out of Kalani bracket

Hawaii Baptist's Ally Wada puts up a shot against Castle. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Kamehameha-Hawaii and Hawaii Baptist each picked up quarterfinal wins in the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Girls Basketball Championships at Kalani's gymnasium Wednesday night.

Kamehameha-Hawaii used a strong start and finish to defeat Kapaa, the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion, 44-31 in the first game of the double-header. The Warriors, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II runner-up, made their way into the quarterfinals with a 83-47 win over Damien in the opening round.

Leading Kamehameha-Hawaii in the win was guard Riana Arima with a game-high 17 points. The 5-foot-8 senior also added 10 steals for a double-double performance.

Ariel Cummings had 11 points and six rebounds for Kapaa in the loss.

Hawaii Baptist cruised past Castle, 64-42 in the other quarterfinal game. The Eagles, winners of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II, received a first round bye in the 12-team state tournament while Castle needed to get by Lanai, 65-28 in the first round.

It was a balanced effort for the Eagles, who saw three players finish in double figures. Stephanie Dang had 17 points, Jenee Brown had 16 and Rylie Wada chipped in 14 more.

Leading the Knights in the loss was Asia Almeda with 11 points.

The Warriors and Eagles will move on to face each other in a 5 p.m. semifinal at Kaimuki Thursday. The winner between the two teams will face the winner between Honokaa and University High in the Division II title game.