Imani Wimbush scored 15 points and Brittany Perry stepped up with 10 points and 12 rebounds as Radford fought off McKinley 41-36 Thursday to capture its second consecutive Oahu Interscholastic Association White Conference title.
It was the Lady Rams’ first championship under first-year coach Brandy Richardson, the former Kalaheo great.
“I feel happy for our team. They played with heart and they held their composure,” Richardson said.
She was happy with Perry, in particular.
“I’ve been riding her all season. She did a great job cleaning up the boards. She has a nice mid-range game, but she also found other ways to score,” Richardson said.
Radford (8-4 OIA) came into the game in the driver’s seat, still unbeaten in the double-elimination tournament. The Lady Rams edged McKinley 51-48 a week ago in the playoffs.
This time, they did it with solid play from Perry and Korie Johnson under the glass after Wimbush sat for much of the second half with foul trouble. Wimbush still collared a game-high 14 rebounds.
“Coach told me to play smart. It was hard. I wanted to be in the game, but my teammates held it up,” Wimbush said. “McKinley’s a good, aggressive team with good shooters. That forced us to play honest.
The visiting Tigers were tenacious with a fullcourt press that led to 20 Radford turnovers.
“We got back in transition good and our offense was decent. But the rebounding, they did well,” McKinley coach Abel Werner said. “We tried to neutralize Wimbush, but 21 (Perry) had three or four daggers. She hit some big shots. She was the difference.”
Radford controlled the boards with a 43-26 advantage, grabbing 11 offensive caroms in the first half for a 20-16 lead. The Lady Rams extended the lead to 28-16 as Wimbush hustled for six quick points out of the break.
However, she picked up a third foul with 5:17 left in the third and sat down. The Tigers stayed close, pulling within 33-26 on an inbounds pass and bucket by Katey Ezra late in the quarter.
Wimbush, who returned to the game, was assessed a fourth foul with 27 seconds to go in the third and sat again. Radford spread the floor and struggled at times against a tight man-to-man defense. Erratic free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter (4-for-10) by the Rams allowed the Tigers to stay close.
Tiare Sugui’s spin move for a lefty layup brought McKinley within 38-34 with 1:27 remaining. Though Radford missed back-to-back 1-and-1 free throws, McKinley got no closer.
Johnson swished two foul shots for a 40-34 lead with 36 seconds left. The Tigers finally scored again with 8 seconds to go on another layup by Sugui, but it was too late. Johnson’s foul shot with 3.2 seconds left closed out the scoring.
Sybil Coryell led McKinley (8-7 OIA) with 10 points and nine boards. The Tigers shot 33 percent (16-for-48) from the field, including 2-for-12 from the arc. They committed 16 turnovers against Radford’s halfcourt man defense.
Radford shot 35 percent (17-for-48) from the field and 6-for-14 from the foul line.
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At Radford
| McKinley (8-7) |
6 |
10 |
10 |
10 |
— |
36 |
| Radford (8-4) |
12 |
8 |
13 |
8 |
— |
41 |
MCKINLEY—Mariz Navarro 2, Miranda Schmillen 7, Tiare Sugui 9, Laika Aragon 2, Jourdan Mills 4, Sybil Coryell 10, Dorothy Aumua 0, Katey Ezra 2, Tino Mulitauaopele 0 , Savanna Gonzales 0.
RADFORD—Imani Wimbush 15, E’Lexus Evans 0, Rachael Kapesi 7, Tyler Whitener 2, McKenna Wall 0, Brittany Perry 10, Korie Johnson 7.
3-point goals—McKinley 2 (Coryell), Radford 1 (Kapesi).
