Starting backcourt helps Saint Francis stay in stride

Kaimi Kalei, Nani Santos and Kealani Neves gives the Saints a steady group of ball handlers. Greg Yamamoto | SL

Last season's Saint Francis girls basketball team can be described with one word — big.

With a starting lineup that featured 6-foot senior Olivia Vaeatangitau, 5-foot-10 Misiona Ribeiro, 5-foot-8 Skye Ah Yat and 6-foot-1 freshman reserve Mata Sagapolutele, the Saints were able to win their first nine Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II contests before falling to eventual state champ Mid-Pacific.

Saint Francis had a distinct size advantage over the Owls, whose tallest player was 5-foot-8 freshman Paige Fahrni, but struggled against Mid-Pacific's full-court press defense and half-court trap. With junior combo guard Kaimi Kalei as the Saints' only capable ball-handler, the Owls forced Saint Francis into 26 turnovers in a 43-37 win.

But this season is different.

Instead of relying on their bigs to carry the load — like it did a season ago — Saint Francis has gone to a guard-heavy lineup with the additions of Kealani Neves and Nani Santos.

The Saints' new identity was on full display last Saturday when Neves, Santos and Kalei all finished in double figures in a 64-32 win over University Lab. The victory also helped Saint Francis continue its winning ways as it improved to 11-0 and 3-0 in league play.

"This year, since we have better ball-handlers and scorers, we go with three guards and two bigs, so we can mix it up," said Saint Francis coach Chris Hoe. "It's a lot harder for the other teams to defend when we have more ball handlers."

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].