Radford runs past Kalani in OIA girls basketball playoffs

Jirah Villanueva scored 14 points and Angel Asaah had nine rebounds and three assists as Radford overwhelmed Kalani, 47-23, in the opening round of the OIA Division I girls basketball playoffs.

Radford (11-2 overall), the third-place team in the West, will travel to play Roosevelt, the second-place team in the East, tonight in the quarterfinals. The winner will secure a state-tournament berth. The loser will have a chance to earn a state berth through the consolation bracket.

The Lady Rams played one of their better games of the season coming off a loss to Mililani to close the regular season.

“There’s still a lot of things that we could improve on, but I like how we bounced back after a tough loss and regrouped,” Radford coach Charles Chong said. “We tried to emphasize certain adjustments we have to make. They did, overall, really well tonight. It’s the playoffs, so you’re fighting for your life and you’ve got to play your heart out.”

Kalani could have changed the situation with perimeter shooting, but had an off night. The Rams went with a 2-3 matchup zone against the visiting Falcons, who shot just 3-for-16 from the 3-point arc. Kalani also had 11 of its 12 turnovers in the first three quarters.

“It was tough. We played together and everyone contributed. We worked hard and we deserve more, but Radford is good. They worked hard. They had the intensity,” Kalani senior co-captain Cassady Kobayashi said. “They were like overachievers and they deserve it.”

Asaah was everywhere, hustling for rebounds, making effective passes and diving for loose balls — much like she did as a sophomore starter two years ago.

“Our energy, that carried over, and that mindset we always have that we’re going to win, that we have each other’s backs no matter what,” Asaah said.

The Lady Rams scored the first six points of the game on a layup by Asaah, a putback by Khloe Williams and a steal and layup by Villanueva.

A 3-pointer by Mandi Haraga brought Kalani within 6-5, and that was as close as the Falcons got. Radford closed the first quarter with a 7-2 run. Villanueva’s 3-pointer from NBA range opened the lead to 13-7, and after she hit an elbow jumper, Asaah hit Mackenzie McCormick with an outlet pass, and McCormick found Williams for a transition bucket. Radford went up 19-8 on a baseline jumper by Olena Umetsu and never looked back.

Villanueva had three of her four assists during the second quarter and Mailana Mattos scored six of her eight points during that span.

The Lady Rams led 28-12 at halftime.

Radford then went on a 13-2 run in the third quarter to put the game away.

Kalani did not score a field goal in the second and third quarters. By the fourth quarter, Radford switched to man defense with mostly reserves on the floor.

Williams and Julissa Bollinger added six points each for Radford.

Haraga led Kalani (5-7) with five points. Center Jennesice Sueing had eight rebounds, a block and a steal to go with three points.