Lady Knights Muster Versatility For Key Waialua Game

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Shanyn Fafard-Kaaihue rises to the defense, blocking Ette Ameperosa during a recent practice. Photo by Nathalie Walker, staff photographer.
Shanyn Fafard-Kaaihue
rises to the defense,
blocking Ette
Ameperosa during a
recent practice. Photo
by Nathalie Walker,
staff photographer.

In an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II conference tournament that figures to be closely contested, the Castle girls basketball team hopes it will continue to play to its strength when the Knights begin the post-season this week.

If anything, Castle discovered early on that there is strength in numbers. The Knights have thrived on their ability to play balanced all season en route to earning the league’s third seed.

“We like the fact that we have a pretty versatile lineup,” Castle coach Jeff McKeown said.“We can go with a small lineup, and we also have some size. Overall, we might be more versatile than some of the other (Division II) OIA teams as far as what we can do. From game to game, we never know who’s going to be (our main scorer). Teams can’t focus on one player. We tend to see a lot of zones because of that.”

The girls’ post-season begins on Tuesday when they meet Waialua in a game set for 5:30 p.m. at Kalani High School. A win over the Bulldogs would help the Knights advance to Thursday’s semi-finals where they would meet the winner of Tuesday’s Kalani-Waianae game. A win in the semi-finals would give the Knights an automatic berth in the upcoming Hawaiian Airlines Division II state basketball tournament, which will take place at the Stan Sheriff Center May 16-19.

The top three teams from the OIA qualify for the state tournament, meaning Castle could conceivably lose a league semi-final encounter and rebound to win the third-place game to still qualify. But McKeown and the Knights have their sights set on the top spot. Castle has beaten everyone in the White Division since the OIA divided into two divisions in 2005 - except Kalani, which has won four straight against them.

“We haven’t been able to get over the hump with them,” McKeown admitted. “It’s more of the mental aspect that we have to overcome with them. I think it’s something that gets in our way. The girls are excited for the playoffs. The goal is to win the OIA; the secondary goal is to make the state tournament.”

To the Knights’ benefit, they closed the season by playing three of the East’s top finishers within a 10-day span. Following a loss to Kalani, Castle beat Kailua (the league’s fourth seed) and Kaimuki, which is seeded just ahead of Castle as the second seed.

“It was hopefully good preparation for us heading into the playoffs.We’d rather go through the top teams to get to the (state) tournament.”

First up, the Knights must get by Waialua and junior stand-out Chelsey Ramirez. Castle won the irregular-season meeting 62-40 on April 1, limiting Ramirez to 12 points along the way.

“She was a non-factor in that game because we jumped out to an 18-2 lead, and for the rest of the game, we were coasting,“McKeown recalled.“We’d love to have one of those starts again. Waialua is streaky.You have to avoid those big runs that they’ve been able to make against a lot of the teams from the West.”

Castle will go with the same starters, Titi Kawainui, Candyce Ames, Kellsie Sasaki, U’i Kekauoha and Shanyn Fafard-Kaaihue, against Waialua.

Senior Kawainui is coming off a stellar outing against Kaimuki when her 11-point second half helped outscore the Bulldogs 38-17 after intermission.“It was a really good stretch of basketball for her in an important game,” the coach said. “Defensively, she’s always been solid. Offensively, we’d like to have that (output) every game.”

Kekauoha has given the Knights a steady presence in the post, meanwhile, and tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds in a recent win over Kailua.

“She’s picked up her rebounding. She’s been one of our leaders there.”

While the Knights’ offensive fortunes have taken a turn for the better as of late, defense remains Castle’s strength.

“We’ve had a lot of good defensive efforts,” McKeown said. “Defense will keep you in games. We didn’t play well in the first half against Kaimuki, but our defense kept us in it, and we played really well (overall) in the second half of that game. We haven’t put it together yet - offense and defense.”