Falcons pull away from Cougars to take lead in OIA D1-East race

Kalani's Logan Luke elevates for a shot attempt in the second half against Kaiser. Michael Lasquero | SL

HAWAII KAI — For 28 minutes, the contest between two unbeaten league teams did not disappoint.

But for two 2-minute spurts in the second half, it was clear who was the better team Tuesday night.

Visiting Kalani used a pair of 7-0 runs to begin the third and fourth quarter to pull away from Kaiser for a 50-40 win in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division contest at the Ted Fukushima Athletic Complex.

The Falcons, ranked ninth in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Girls Basketball Power Rankings, improved to 5-0 atop the OIA D1-East standings while handing the Cougars (3-1 league) their first loss of the regular season.

It was a balanced effort for Kalani, who saw four players finished with nine points or more. Senior forward Logan Luke had 13 points, freshman Alayna Akiona added 10 more while senior Kaylie Espinas and junior reserve center Kandyce Woods each had nine points.

In the first half, it was the passing abilities of Daesha Viela (six assists) and the sharpshooting touch of Akiona (three first half 3-pointers) that helped Kalani take a 27-25 lead at the half.

After the break, the Falcons were patient in their sets and able to get better opportunities near the rim with drives, post-ups and backdoors cuts.

"I think we just executed better on offense," Kalani coach Chi Mok said on pulling away in the second half. "In the first half we were just rushing our shots. We weren't letting the defense play, we were just throwing up shots. We kind of just calm them down in the second half, let them execute and work it work it and (we) got some layups off of that."

Kalani also did a better job defending 5-foot-9 sophomore post Taeya Blakeney in the second half. Blakeney powered her way for 10 first-half points, but just had five after the break.

"They (Kaiser) had a big post that was just going at them," said Mok. "They were giving up too much ground in the first half. Second half, we just told them to push back a little bit with your hands up and make her shoot over you."

Ultimately it was the slow starts in the third and fourth quarter that hurt the Cougars.

"It's been our problem this entire season," said Kaiser coach Bri Lagat-Ramos. "We beat ourselves, that's basically what it is. I know the girls are taking it hard, but I know they are going to come back stronger."

Kalani returns home to host Kailua on Friday while Kaiser will look to get back in the win column when it travels to Castle this weekend.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].