Kailua Prepares To Take On Sabers

Wednesday - March 28, 2007
By Jack Danilewicz
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For Kailua and its fellow Oahu Interscholastic Association East girls basketball teams, its no secret that the road to the White Conference title ultimately runs through the West.

“When we played Waipahu, we reminded the girls that we only have one chance against the teams from the West,” Kailua High School coach Ramona Takahashi said.

“They’re all ‘must’ wins for us. We made that as a blanket statement about (playing) all of the West teams.”

If the Surfriders seem like they’re already in the post-season mode a month too early, it may be because Kailua is off to its best start in years, having opened Division II play with a pair of road wins at Waipahu (47-22) March 13 and Castle (39-30) March 17.

“For any team at any level, winning on the road is critical,” Takahashi said.

Kailua moved to 3-0 last Thursday night with a 40-32 win over Waianae and faces its stiffest test to date this Friday, when the team travels to Ewa to meet West foe Campbell. Tip-off is set for approximately 6:30 p.m.

The Sabers, who moved down from Division I in the off-season realignment, are among the favorites in the White after beating Castle, Kaiser and Waialua in impressive fashion to open their regular season. Although a long regular season lies ahead, the winner of Wednesday’s game could gain an early edge in the league race largely because it will be the only meeting between the schools before the OIA’s post-season tournament. (Conversely, Kailua will play all of its East rivals twice this regular season.)

Through their pre-season and the early part of their regular season, the Surfriders have thrived on their offensive balance. Junior Kristen Corrales (11.5 points per game) and sophomores Zsalei Kamaka (13.0 ppg) and Ashley Jacobs (12.5 ppg, including a pair of 3-pointers) are all averaging in double figures.

“They complement each other really well,” said Takahashi, who was named the league’s Coach of the Year in 2005, after leading Kailua to wins in six of their last eight en route to a 10-6 record. “The other teams zero in on Kristen. They always know where she is on the court, so it’s nice that the other two are scoring because teams are having to play us more straight up.

“Having that one more year of experience has helped Kristen. She got to play with (former standout) Kalina (Kama) when she was a freshman. She’s had good team-mates, and she’s been able to develop.

“Ashley is a natural scorer - she can shoot the ball well - but her biggest contribution has been her ability to play better defense. Zsalei can dribble-penetrate, and she has good range (as a shooter) as well.”

Takahashi also praised the play of senior center Tia Ulugaono, who has hit her stride as of late.

“In the Castle game, she was rebounding left and right,” Takahashi said. “She was critical for us because she pushed us over the edge with her rebounding when we were struggling on offense. For a post player, she can really run.”

Because the Surfriders figure to match-up favorably with most opposing back-courts, Kailua’s post play could go a long way in determining their fate in Friday’s encounter with Campbell, according to Takahashi.

“I’ve seen them twice, and they look really good,” Takahashi said of Campbell. “We’ll need some scoring in the post, and we’ll need to handle the ball well. They have some athletic kids. We’ll have to board well and limit our turnovers.

“We focused on our defense (early on), and we’ve been focusing on our offense more (recently),“she added.“We can still be better, but we’ve been able to score off of our offensive sets.”

After their game with Campbell on Friday, the Surfriders will play Kaiser and Waialua on the April 4 and 7, respectively.

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