Lady Marauders Switch Things Up On The B-ball Court
By Jack Danilewicz
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Whether or not this is the season the Waipahu girls basketball team makes an impact at tournament time remains to be seen, but Marauders head coach Nadine Villarmia noticed one obvious change from the past when she and the Marauders opened practice last week.
“We’ve been more guard-oriented in recent years - we haven’t had the height,” she said.“This year we have some, so it’s a little bit exciting for us. We might be able to play a different style. If we can stay healthy and keep our grades up, we have a chance to do well. We have height and some guards.”
In addition to welcoming several returnees back into the fold, the Marauders also are buoyed by the arrival of a pair of transfers in Jarell Sablan and Moriah Blackmon, who played at Farrington and Saint Francis, respectively. A team that lacked depth a year ago en route to a 3-9 season suddenly has a lot more options.
“It’s exciting with the new bunch of girls that have come out,” Villarmia said. “Jarell is our most aggressive girl. She knows how to play. She can handle the ball for her size (5-foot-9), and she has a good inside game. We haven’t had an athletic girl like that in awhile, so it was pretty exciting to see her show up, and Moriah is our best ball-handler.”
The Marauders, who will have their public unveiling at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when they host Waianae in their preseason opener, will rely on veterans Kelcey Viliamu, Brendalyn Brub and Jessica Lozano early on. Brub is entering her third year as a starter in the back court, where she will play alongside Lozano, a junior, who can play both guard spots.
“Our guard play will be important,“Villarmia said.“We have to be able to take care of the ball. We’re looking for Brendalyn to be more of a leader for us. She’s one of our better shooters and better passers. Jessica is our hardest worker. Defense is her strength. She’s going to do some good stuff for us.”
Viliamu is entering her third year on the varsity and her first as a starter. At 5-foot-9, she is among the taller of the Marauders along with Sablan, and the pair should help to provide an inside presence that has been missing in past years.
“Kelcey’s really improved in her rebounding and her short jump shots,“Villarmia said.“She moves a lot better than last year.”
Waipahu’s inside play figures to key the Marauders’ defense, too, in the coach’s view. “We should be OK there (defensively),” she said.“Our big girls are faster than in the past, so we might be able to press a little more.”
Villarmia also is hoping the girls can benefit from a demanding non-conference schedule as they look ahead to the start of their OIA White West opener next month.
Following Wednesday’s game against Waianae, the Marauders will host Aiea on Friday at approximately 6:30 p.m.
“We try to schedule the harder teams early so we can see what we can do,” she said.
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