Lady Daggers win at home; Kea‘au gets back on track

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Pahoa's Remedy Gonzalez eludes Waiakea's Mercedes Murray (14) and Sadie Calma to take an open shot during Saturday's game at Pahoa Gym. (Tim Wright/Special to West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune-Herald)
Waiakea's Bryia Carenio goes up for a shot against Pahoa's Sophia Moniz. Carenio had a solid performance, scoring 10 points, just behind her teammate Kaya Texeira, who led with 12 points. Pahoa's Sophia Moniz was the top scorer with 18 points, contributing to the victory for the Lady Daggers. (Tim Wright/Special to West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune-Herald)
Waiakea's Sadie Calma drives toward the basket during Saturday's game at Pahoa Gym. (Tim Wright/Special to West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune-Herald)
Pahoa's Ariana Kobayashi soars for a shot during Saturday's game at Pahoa Gym. (Tim Wright/Special to West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune-Herald)
Pahoa's Sophia Moniz takes an off-balance shot while facing pressure from Waiakea's Mercedes Murray. Moniz led all scorers with 18 points, powering the Lady Daggers to victory in Saturday's game at Pahoa Gym. (Tim Wright/Special to West Hawaii Today and Hawaii Tribune-Herald)
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PAHOA — Pahoa girls basketball soared to another win Saturday night against the visiting Waiakea Lady Warriors.

The Lady Daggers won 44-39, improving to 6-1 on the season. Waiakea fell to 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF).

The home team’s top scorer, Sophia Moniz, reached a game-high 18 points. The guests were led by their top scorer, Kaya Texeira, with 12 points. Teammate Bryia Carenio had 10.

Pahoa’s offense continues to stay hot, averaging over 52 points per game. The Lady Daggers will return to action on Jan. 3 against the Lady Vikings at Hilo High.

The Lady Warriors will next play the Lady Cougars on Dec. 30 in Kea‘au Village.

Kohala 59, Ka‘u 37

Kohala girls basketball was victorious once again after a 59-37 thrashing of Ka‘u on Saturday night inside King Kamehameha Park Gymnasium.

The two teams kept it close in the first half, but the Cowgirls responded with a 23-5 third quarter that put them comfortably ahead. From there, Kohala never looked back. The black and gold’s strong performance was in large credit to its defense, which swiped 24 steals.

Kalia Marquez, the Cowgirls’ leading scorer in the BIIF at nearly 15 points a night, scored a game-high 23 points (8-18), three rebounds and five steals. Teammate Adriana Jayne Soriano scored 16 points (6-14), eight rebounds and five steals. Illima Napolean and Mahea Pang also combined for nine steals.

Now at 8-1 on the season and 3-0 in the BIIF, Kohala is averaging 57 points per game while allowing 29.3 in the conference. The Cowgirls’ next test will be Jan. 3 against KSH in Kea‘au.

The Lady Trojans dropped to 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the BIIF, dropping two of their last three. Overall on the season, they’ve averaged 40.3 points per night while allowing 36.2. Ka‘u will return to action on Jan. 6 against the Lady Vikings in Hilo.

KSH 43, Honoka‘a 25

After falling to Konawaena earlier in the week, Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i girls basketball bounced back with a comfortable win over the Lady Dragons on Friday night in Honoka‘a town. The Lady Warriors won 43-25 to move to 8-4 overall on the season and 6-1 in the BIIF.

KSH set the tone from the opening tip, out-scoring the hosts 13-0 in the first quarter. That tenacity continued for the remainder of the night, and the Lady Warriors cruised to victory.

KSH’s Shailan Benevides, who averages 11 points per contest this season, dropped a game-high 13 points. Teammate Kacie Feebo-Santiago, who is the group’s leading scorer at 12.6 points per game, added 12. Aubrey Miyasato and Maci Lonokapu additionally combined for 13 for the Lady Warriors.

Honoka‘a (4-6 overall, 4-4 BIIF) struggled to get going offensively, having no players reach double digits in scoring. However, Kalei Moniz scored a team-high nine points. Her teammates, Kili Correia and Ava Tabucbuc, combined for 10.

KSH is averaging 44 points per game while allowing less than 32. Now back in the win column, the Lady Warriors will return to the floor tonight against the Lady Vikings in Hilo town. Junior varsity plays first at 5:30 p.m.

The Lady Dragons are scoring an average of 41.6 points per game while allowing 40.9. They’ll look to bounce back in their next matchup against island powerhouse Konawaena tonight in Honoka‘a town. Junior varsity will tip off first at 5:30 p.m.

Kea‘au 37, Parker 28

After dropping four straight, Kea‘au girls basketball earned win No. 2 of the season after a 37-28 outing over Parker School on Saturday night inside the Lady Cougars’ gymnasium.

Lenzy Adlawan, Kea‘au’s leading scorer at nearly 10 points per game, dropped a team-high 11 points in the win. Over on the Lady Bulls’ side, the sister duo of Briley and Adalyn Ballard combined for 27 of the team’s 28 points.

Now back in the win column, the 2-5 Lady Cougars will be back in action on Dec. 30 in Waimea, hosting Waiakea.

Parker still remains winless at 0-5. The Lady Bulls will try to redeem themselves on Dec. 30 at Kealakehe against the Lady ‘Riders.