Returnees Bolster Waialua Hopes
By Jack Danilewicz
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Waialua High juniors Klleirr
Tuyay, Salvie Alfanta and
Brittney Basilio reach for a
rebound during practice.
Photo by Byron Lee.
Waialua girls basketball coach Michele Sales never misses the chance to talk to her team about goals, especially with the Bulldogs on the verge of what could be a breakthrough year for the program.
Indeed,if anything,Waialua’s 2007 season will be all about getting into position to get into position.
“We’ve never gone to the state tournament before - that’s always our No. 1 goal,“Sales said.“We want to go to the state tournament and win the OIA. We go over our goals all of the time.”
The Bulldogs are coming off one of their best seasons in years, having finished 5-5 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s Division II last spring, and welcome back three key veterans in forwards Chelsey Ramirez and Kimberly Meyerowitz, and point guard Misty Maxwell.
The trio will be counted on to provide more than veteran leadership, according to their coach. For the Bulldogs to be successful, Sales believes they will have to set the pace in every game they play, as quickness remains one of Waialua’s strong suits.
“We’ve always been small - most of our girls are under 5-foot-5 - but we’re quick and we like to press right off the bat.We have to be able to run and keep moving. (A half-court) game is a lot harder for us so we’d like to (play up-tempo). Right now, we’re trying to get our (newcomers from the) junior varsity girls to get into that mode.”
Ramirez, a 5-foot-7-inch senior and two-year starter, figures to be the Bulldogs’go-to person early on. She led the Bulldogs in scoring last season, averaging 12 points per game, and figures to be among the best players in the White.
“She’s the only true basketball player on our team,” Sales said. “That’s her strength. She reads a lot of things on the court, and she can see the whole floor well. Offensively, she can be very consistent with her shooting and her passing.”
With two solid years behind her in the program, Ramirez is likely to draw extra attention from opposing schools,making the development of a strong supporting cast a point of emphasis.
“Everyone else will have to step up for us,“Sales said.“Kim steps into the role (of picking up the slack) most of the time. She works really hard for the ball, and she and Chelsey share a lot of the points.Kim is the clean-up crew. She picks up a lot inside.”
Like Ramirez, Maxwell is also a senior and will have the job of directing the Bulldogs’ offense.
“Misty is athletic. She can see the court well and she’s quick,offensively. She’s good at getting the ball to different people.”
Sales is also high on junior guards Klleirr (pronounced Clear) Tuyay and Brittney Basilio, both of whom are among a group of nine juniors who played on the junior varsity last spring.
“One of Brittney’s strengths is that she can get on a roll with her shooting. We’d like her to be more consistent with her shooting. We’re pushing Klleirr to be more of a defensive(-minded) player because she’s so quick.”
With a small lineup, how well the Bulldogs rebound could go a long way in determining the fate of their season.
“We emphasize boxing out every day,” said Sales, who added with a laugh, “sometimes our girls think they can jump with anybody, but they can’t. We’ll have to do better there (in the area of rebounding).”
The Bulldogs, who open the regular season March 14 at Anuenue, figure to be among the favorites in the White, although newcomers to the league for this season will include Campbell and Kaiser, among others.
“Moving back down from (DI), Campbell will be very tough in the West,“Sales said.“The East (teams) are always tough. A lot of our losses were to East teams last year, so we need to knock off a few of those guys.”
Waialua split its first two pre-season games, beating Division I Kaimuki, while losing to Leilehua in overtime.This week,the Bulldogs will take part in the Moanalua Pre-Season Tournament, which runs Wednesday through Saturday. Waialua will play Moanalua in its first-round game Wednesday. The outcome of that game will determine who they play on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
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