Kahuku Girls Stronger From Loss
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usThe Kahuku girls basketball team that suffered an upset at the hands of Kaiser last month won’t be anywhere to be found on Friday night when the teams oppose one another in a re-match.
But for all the disappointment of that evening, it also marked the beginning of the Red Raiders’transformation, according to Kahuku coach Val Anae.
“It was one of those nights you never want to have happen again, but it was a good lesson,“Anae said of Kahuku’s 53-49 defeat to the Cougars on April 4. “Even in the pre-game warm-ups, our attitude was lax. We were never able to get into it. But after that, we were able to prepare ourselves mentally and physically for (a 71-62 win on April 11 over) Kalaheo. If we continue to jell, we can be a big surprise come playoff time. The girls have the ability to play with just about anybody.
Friday’s game with Kaiser is the regular-season finale for both teams,although they could see each other again in the OIA playoffs. Kahuku had taken a 5-4 record into the weekend, making Friday’s game with the Cougars all the more important with seedings for the conference tournament still to be decided.
Although the Red Raiders are the defending OIA champions,they are a very different team personnel-wise from a year ago, having only returned two starters in guards Camilla Ah-Hoy and Artevia Wily.
“We’ve come along a little slower than I thought, but the girls are adjusting,” said Anae, a standout at Kahuku herself before playing her college basketball at BYU.“We have a new coach and a new system, so we had some (transition) problems early. But we’ve ironed all that out now and we’re starting to play more as a team.The girls are settling in and are more understanding of what’s expected of them.We have tremendous athletes.”
In Ah-Hoy and Wily, the Red Raiders feature one of the top guard tandems in the state. Ah Hoy, who will attend Oregon State on a volleyball scholarship in the fall, is currently leading Kahuku in rebounding, assists and steals.
“Camilla is a coach’s dream,” Anae said. “She has an incredible attitude, and she’s a tremendous athlete. She works all day and never complains. Some days she goes to volleyball practice, then she practices with us, and then she stays after and works with the JV team until we finally throw her out of the gym.
“She’s also a great defensive player,“she continued.“Defensively, she has a real determination to shut people down.Artevia is a great ball-handler who can also finish. I think she can play at the next level. Between the two, there’s lots of leadership there and experience.”
While Ah Hoy and Wily have lived up to all pre-season expectations, Anae credited the development of their supporting cast with accounting for much of the Red Raiders’ strong play in the last three weeks.
“We have a lot of firepower,“she said.“In the beginning, everything was on Artevia and Camilla. Our offense still struggles at times, but our defense is starting to come, and that’s helped.”
A pair of seniors - Christine Meredith and Lote Livai - and junior Lenora Nauahi will join Ah Hoy and Wily in the starting lineup for Friday’s game with Kaiser. Off the bench, the Red Raiders have also received support of late from seniors Ane Vea and Lily Latu, as well as juniors Nicole Nautu and Brittany Fesolai.
As Friday approaches, Kaiser’s personnel is as of as much interest to the Red Raiders as their own. Kaiser forward Sharde Pratt is one of the league’s top players and a former teammate of Wily’s last July on the Hawaii Select All-Star team that captured the Vision Sports Youth National Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas.
Anae also remembers vividly the performance of Kaiser point guard Keely Batanga, who lit up the Red Raiders for 18 points in their earlier encounter.
“She drove on us at will, and the more she made, the more confident she became,” Anae said of Batanga.
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