Angel Asaah scored nine points, including a three-point play that broke a 38-all tie, as Radford escaped with a 47-42 win over Nanakuli on Thursday night at James Alegre Gymnasium.
Manutagi Seei added nine points and seven boards, and she swished two foul shots with 21.7 seconds left to seal the win.
“We were ready for Nanakuli to bring good basketball to us. We were all confident in ourselves. We just had to play as a team to achieve our goal,” said Asaah, who sat nearly half the game with rare foul trouble but still tallied nine rebounds. “I’m glad I was able to help my team and even from the bench cheer them on. As long as I can give them that support, I know that I’m still playing with them. In our hearts, we’re all together.”
Lyxc Liana led Nanakuli (10-10) with 12 points, including two free throws to pull the visitors within 45-42 in the final stretch. Destiny Hicks had 10 points, six rebounds and three steals before fouling out on a charge with 2:45 left. Ceci Enos battled in the paint and finished with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
“I said, you guys are going to have to come off the bench and pick up the slack until Angel can come back. I’m really proud of how the team held their poise,” Rams coach Charles Chong said.
Reserve Amalia Houff stepped up with five key rebounds while Asaah sat down. Another reserve, Mailana Mattos, came up with eight points, all in the second half.
The win propelled the Rams into the semifinal round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association girls basketball playoffs. Radford will host Moanalua on Saturday. Nanakuli’s state-tourney hopes are still alive. The Golden Hawks will host Kalani, which lost to Moanalua, on Saturday.
“I’m excited to play with them, excited to play with the seniors,” Asaah said. “It’s their last year. We’re all doing this for them, so that their last ride is the best ride they’ve had here.”
Radford (15-8) went undefeated in the West during the regular season, but needed a win in the quarterfinals to advance to the state tournament. The win was not pretty, with more than a dozen missed free throws (12-for-25), but mission accomplished for Radford. Nanakuli had its shot.
“We had our opportunities, but I give it up to our girls. They’re very hard-working. They’re very coachable and they fought to the end,” coach Sasha Montez said. “We had some frustration fouls, some charges called on us. Lyxc hit a lot of key shots for us and got us momentum. We didn’t take advantage of it like we should have.”
