Fast start fuels Mililani over Roosevelt in 64-48 win


Mililani's Kayla Torres scored 21 points in a win over Roosevelt in the first round of the OC16/HHSAA Division I Girls Basketball Championships. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Mililani jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a stunning 64-48 win over Roosevelt in the opening round of the OC16/HHSAA Division I Girls Basketball Championships held at Kalani Gymnasium.

Kayla Torres hit for 21 points and Jazmina Lafitaga added 17 in the win. The pair hit three three-pointers in the first quarter as the Trojans raced out to a 21-10 lead.

"For the past couple games we've been starting out slow, so our coaches were preaching we have to have a strong start," said Torres. "With a team like Roosevelt, if we let the get the lead early on, we're going to have a hard time catching up so it was huge part of the game."

Hot shooting by Torres and Lafitaga definitely helped the Trojans' interior players and it showed, with Velisa Meleisea and Kalena Gibson each notching 9 points and combining for 15 boards.

"If we can get two, maybe three of our girls to score from the outside, we'll be a pretty tough out," said Mililani head coach Pat Basilio. "We've been so inconsistent from the outside, so its nice to see it turn around for us."

Roosevelt struggled early, but regained its composure in the second quarter, outscoring Mililani 17-12 in the quarter, thanks in large part to post Keala Quinlan, who scored 11 of her game-high 26 points in the period.

The Rough Riders continued to chip away in the third, getting to within 44-41 on a layup by Ashley Kiko, but Lafitaga capped the third quarter with a pair of free throws following a steal to push the margin to five heading into the fourth.

Roosevelt got as close as 49-45 on a Quinlan basket with 6:12 to play, but Mililani got back-to-back buckets by Kalena Gibson to stretch the lead back to eight.

The Trojans hit just 7-of-12 free throws in the fourth, but knocked down six of the final eight at the stripe to help seal with victory.

"The girls played as a team, as a unit throughout," said Basilio. "I was proud of them, the way they came out (to play against Roosevelt)."

Up next for Mililani in the Division I quarterfinals is second-seeded Lahainaluna. Tip-off between the Trojans and Lunas is set for 5 p.m. back at Kalani.



Reach Brien Ing at [email protected].