Mililani's Nayla Long jumps up to grab a rebound against Kaiser. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mililani's Kapili Amamalani grabs a pass. She led the Trojan's with 18pts. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Ashley Soong puts up a jump shot. She led Kaiser with 15pts. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mililani and Kaiser players fight for a rebound. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Tue, Feb 5, 2013 @ McKinley

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Kaiser

47

Mililani

69

Final	1	2	3	4
Kaiser (11-3, 12-7)	13	8	11	15	47
Mililani (12-1, 13-3)	16	9	25	19	69

K. Amamalin 18 pts  4/5 FTs

A. Soong 15 pts  1/2 FTs

Kapili Amamalin led a quintet of double-digit scorers with 18 points and Mililani exploded in the second half to roll Kaiser, 69-47, in an opening round game of the Hawaiian Airlines Division I state girls' basketball tournament Tuesday night at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium.

The Trojans will play top-seeded and two-time defending state champion Konawaena in a quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday at McKinley.

In two previous quarterfinal appearances, Mililani has not advanced to the semifinals, including last year, when it lost to 'Iolani. Konawaena has won eight of its last nine quarterfinal appearances, including the past four.

"In order to be the best, you have go out and beat the best," Trojans' coach Pat Basilio said. "I really didn't mind what the brackets were. I just wanted to get the girls back on the court after that game (loss to Leilehua for the OIA title) last week. And I think they responded. The resolve is there and their attitudes are all great and I think we're ready to try to make a run."

Indeed, as the starting five all scored in double figures. Kaylee Torres had 15 points, Nayla Long and Kira Arruda added 12 apiece and Mikaela Limper had 10 for the Trojans, who scored 25 points in the third quarter to pull away from the Cougars. Long also had 13 rebounds.

Ashley Soong led Kaiser with 15 points.

The game was close most of the first half with the Trojans leading most of the way. The Cougars tied the game at 13 late in the first quarter on Soong's putback. But Kira Arruda sank a 3-pointer just before the end of the quarter to give Mililani a 16-13.

A defensive struggle took up the first half of the second quarter before the Trojans broke the scoring drought with a 3-pointer by Torres at four minutes, 21 seconds.

The Cougars would pull to within 23-21 with 50 seconds left in the half, but Torres scored off a putback before the half ended to give Mililani a 25-21 lead into the break.

Long jump-started the Trojans' second half, scoring the first four points for her team. Then it seemed everyone followed her lead. Amamalin scored six, as did Limper with her two 3-pointers to aid the Trojans in their 25-point third-quarter barrage.

"The same way we came out against Leilehua (in the OIA Red title game) - little bit tentative, little bit on the conservative side - I told them, 'You gotta open up the game. We have our brand of basketball and we cannot be catering to what the other team brings to the court. If we bring our basketball and we lose the game, we lose playing our way,'" Basilio said.

"We had too much turnovers," Kaiser coach Simon Bitanga said. "You're not going to win any game with turnovers. Our girls weren't going to the basket….We're young. We're going to be back."

The Trojans got a nice defensive effort off the bench in 5-foot-11 freshman Shantell Appleby, who had three blocked shots and four rebounds in the first half. She added another block and two more boards in the second half.

"She's been coming along," Basilio said. "She still has a lot to learn, but I know she brings a different dimension when she's in there because of her height alone and her energy on the court. She'll be big down the stretch."

It was a physical game, as each team had 19 fouls. Soong, Kaiser's scoring force, fouled out in the third quarter. Torres, Amamalin and Limper each had four fouls for the Trojans.