Kaiser wins as injuries pile up on Kahuku

The Kaiser girls basketball team keeps collecting wins, while Kahuku just keeps losing players.

The Cougars got 15 points from Micaela Bitanga and went 9-for-11 from the line in the fourth quarter to beat the Red Raiders 45-37 at Kahuku on Friday night.

Kahuku lost guard Fia Tailele-Latu to an injured knee five minutes into the game after a collision with another player at midcourt. She tried to return but had her shoes off by halftime.

"I don’t know her status," Kahuku coach Scott De Silva said. "But I hope it’s temporary. I think (Kaiser coach Simon Bitanga) knows that if we had her it might have been a different outcome, but we just have to deal with it."

Coach Bitanga agreed.

"She’ll make things happen," Bitanga said. "If she would have stayed it would have been a little more exciting. It was like after she left the girls didn’t know what to do next."

With Kahuku’s backcourt leader out, Micaela Bitanga took advantage. She hit one of her two 3-point shots and had little trouble beating the Red Raiders off the dribble. But getting to the lane and doing something while there are two different things, especially against a big Kahuku squad. More often than not, she converted.

"That was really hard," she said. "They are really tough down there, but we’re all friends so it’s all good."

Despite the new lineup, Kahuku cut the lead to 36-33 with two minutes left when Hookela Schwenke, who led Kahuku with 11 points, converted on a fast break. But the Red Raiders, who had 23 turnovers in the game, gave it away three more times and the Cougars made seven free throws, four in four chances by freshman Roselyn Shimaoka, to seal the deal and escape the North Shore with a few bruises and a big win.

Kaiser improved to 7-1 and Kahuku dropped to 6-2.

Kahuku’s got bigger troubles than a loss to Kaiser, though. The Red Raiders struggled to put a cohesive lineup together each week even before Tailele-Latu went down. Kahuku took the floor Friday night without Talia Brown, Pati Anae and Tihane Kamae, who combined to average 19 points per game in limited action. Brown will be out for a month after breaking her ankle Dec. 8 against Kaimuki and Anae will not be back at all after running out of eligibility on Dec. 30. The good news is that Kahuku’s bench scored as many points in the second half (eight) as its starting five did.

Kahuku’s next test comes at Kalani on Thursday, while Kaiser is off until next Saturday because Anuenue, their next scheduled opponent, has already forfeited their season.