Radford proved its the best in the West, right now anyway.

The first-place and unbeaten Rams felt the comfort of their home gym and broke open a close game to run away from second-place Leilehua for a 42-25 Oahu Interscholastic Association girls basketball win Thursday night.

The 10th-ranked Mules (7-2) came in with aspirations of tying No. 8 Radford (9-0) for the top spot in the division, but a lackluster offensive performance dimmed those hopes. Still, energetic Leilehua didn’t go down easy and stayed within striking distance until the late stages.

“This was a huge game against a very good Leilehua team,” Radford coach Charles Chong said. “We knew it was going to be intense. We stressed doing the little things, rebounding good, playing good defense.”

Chong pointed to the defensive work of the Rams’ Kyle Johnson and Punipuao Seei on Mules threats Tywanna Abbott and Tianna Hanohano as one reason behind the victory. Abbott was held to seven points and Hanohano five, well below their averages.

“They (the Rams) got into our passing lanes and we weren’t used to that kind of pressure,” Leilehua coach Elroy Dumlao said. “We continued trying to get it into Tywanna and we thought that it would open it up for the guards. Hanohano, I think, was overpumped. She wanted it really badly all week, but it didn’t happen.”

Point guard Jayde Johnson had the keys to the Radford offense and she didn’t disappoint, tying for game-high scoring honors with Kyle Johnson (no relation) with 10 points. She was also a master of driving and dishing to the bigs underneath.

“If defenders (against our players) go over the 3-point line, coaches tell us to cut, and then we look for them,” Jayde Johnson said. “We still can work on controlling our offense and get better on defense, but we’ve gotten a lot better. We have a lot more synergy and we know how to play with each other now.”

Radford held a 17-6 lead early in the second quarter, but a 10-1 Leilehua run cut it to 18-16 with 4:33 left before halftime. Abbott and Hanohano had 3-pointers and Shaylee Todani had a steal for a layup in the spree.

Radford answered with Jayde Johnson’s strong drive in the lane, but led just 21-18 at the half.

After the break, another Jayde Johnson drive followed by her spin move and pass to Kyle Johnson for a bucket powered an 8-0 game-breaking run for an 11-point lead to start the second half.

The closest Leilehua got from there was 32-23, when Abbott finally navigated the Radford inside defense successfully, but she missed a free throw that could have cut the margin to 8. It was one of five missed Mules free throws with no makes in the final period.

Natalie Jackson added to the Rams’ big edge with two inside buckets on passes from Seei and Salara Dill.

“Radford had great spacing and they used their speed and executed and made shots,” Dumlao said.

Said the Rams’ Chong: “I don’t know the exact number, but I think we only had five turnovers in the second half. We’re really coming along in that area. We were sort of out of control earlier in the season. I told the girls that this was the best game they’ve played this year.”