Kaimuki neutralizes No. 7 Farrington, 50-35

Kaimuki's Mele Loo-Godinet defends against Farrington leading scorer Molimau Heimuli. Loo-Godinet played solid minutes off the bench in the Bulldogs' win. CJ Caraang | SL

Host Kaimuki got huge contributions across the board to handle Farrington, 50-35, in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division contest Thursday night.

Victoria Kintz scored 13 points and 14 boards and Sirena Titer had a season-high 12 points to help the Bulldogs improve to 3-0 atop the OIA East Division I standings.

Kaelyn Espinda added nine with two triples during a 17-9 third quarter advantage, Sonia Palik had five rebounds and four assists, but it was the play of Mele Loo-Godinet off the bench that changed the tide for the Bulldogs.

The 5-foot-10 junior center helped deny Molimau Heimului, the Govs' leading scorer, and Naomi Peltier in the post for the undersized Bulldogs before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

After giving up four offensive boards in the first two minutes, the Bulldogs inserted Loo-Godinet into the lineup. Her defensive presence in the paint was felt almost instantaneously as a good defensive sequence led to a corner triple by Titer. The made basket gave Kaimuki a 7-4 lead at the 4:43 mark of the first quarter, a lead it would not relinquish.

"This is Mele's biggest game," Kaimuki coach Mona Faasoa said of Loo-Godinet. "Mele normally don't get to play much because we're more like a speed team. This was the first game that Mele played the most. She basically had one job and basically had to stop their big girls from scoring. Although she fouled out, I thought she had a helluva of a game."

With Loo-Godinet holding down the paint and limiting Heimuli, the Governors were forced to take long jumpers. Farrington (2-1) struggled from deep (1-for-19 behind the arc), with the lone make coming in the final 30 seconds of play.

When asked if the offense stalled whenever Heimuli couldn't touch a ball on a possession, Farrington coach Caroline Tatupu said: "it shouldn't, but it looked like it did tonight.

"We've always given our girls the green light. We know that every game teams would try to take Moli out of the game, which gives other girls the opportunity to shoot. We took some shots, they just weren't falling. The ball didn't go our way tonight."

Foul trouble also hampered the Governors as Peltier drew two early fouls in the first quarter and sat the rest of the first half. Heimuli picked up her second foul of the game after Kintz drew a charge midway through the second quarter, and got her third after battling with Kintz for a offensive rebound one minute before halftime. More free throw opportunities at the line helped Kaimuki take a 25-16 lead at the break.

With Heimuli dealing with three fouls, Farrington kept her off the bench to start the third quarter. The gamble backfired as the Bulldogs' lead grew to 15, 37-22, before Heimuli saw her first minutes on the floor of the period. By then momentum was already in Kaimuki's favor as the home team took a insurmountable 17-point lead in the final quarter.

Kaimuki was able to play keep away with the Governors in the fourth quarter as it picked up a statement win in its first year after moving up from Division II.

"Everybody stepped up tonight and I'm proud of everyone doing their job," said Kintz, a two-time All-Hawaii Division II First Team selection. "All week we've been busting butt about defense, playing good defense, and it paid off tonight."

Shayla Cabato-Machado had nine points and Heimuli added eight more with 10 rebounds to lead the Governors in the loss.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].