Campbell holds off Radford in league semifinal

Brian Bautista | SL

One step closer.

Campbell held off a late push by Radford for a 34-31 OIA Division I girls basketball semifinal win at James Alegre Gymnasium Monday night.

The Sabers (12-0 league), who never trailed against the Rams (10-3), moves on to take on Mililani for the league crown Wednesday night with both teams trying for their first-ever OIA championship.

Taysia Molina-Shulte was the leading scorer for Campbell with 10 points. Aliyah Bantolina did a little bit of everything with five points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocked shots. Julien Parado was also solid with four points, seven boards and six assists.

The Sabers as a whole distributed the ball well and executed with success as they assisted on 13 of their 15 made baskets.

Campbell took a 20-11 lead at the half and was in control for most of the game. The Rams made a push in the third quarter to cut the lead to three, but a steal and score just before the end of the period ignited a 8-0 Campbell run that gave the Sabers a 31-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.

"Our shots fell at the right time," said Campbell coach Jasmine Corpuz.

Still, Radford made the Sabers earn it as the Rams were able to pressure Campbell into turnovers when the Sabers tried to use a stall offense. Mailana Mattos' fast break basket off of a steal made it a 33-31 game with under a minute to play to put pressure on Campbell. However, the Rams could not take advantage down the stretch and the Sabers were able to hold on for the win.

"Proud of the girls, it really came down to grit and really came down to keeping their composure and believing in themselves and each other and it really showed at the end," said Corpuz.

Mattos led the Rams in the loss with 10 points and two made triples.