HHSAA Division II GIRLS BASKETBALL: Top-seeded Radford 44, #4 Kapaa, 44-31

By Kyle Sakamoto

In a matchup of overtime survivors from the previous day, No. 1 seed Radford showed plenty of life in the second half Thursday against Kapaa.

Jemory Castro scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Radford pulled away in the second half to beat No. 4 seed Kapaa, 44-31, in the semifinals of the state Division II girls basketball tournament at Farrington.

Radford will play Kamehameha-Hawaii for the title Friday at 5 p.m. at the Neal Blaisdell Arena.

"The girls worked really hard for this," said Radford coach Tani Almont-Done. "We're happy to continue the tradition in basketball at Radford with coaches like Jim Alegre."

The Rams went on a 17-1 run to take a 37-23 lead with 5 minutes remaining. Kelsey Bash scored seven of her 10 points during the surge.

"We told them they can't score anymore," Almont-Done said. "We need to keep them there since we were having trouble bringing the ball up the floor."

The Warriors went 11:35 without a field goal.

"Defense brought us this far," Almont-Done said.

Radford's Korie Johnson had 10 rebounds, and Imani Wimbush and Rachel Kapesi each added nine. The Rams held a 37-21 advantage on the boards.

Kapaa had 18 steals and forced 27 turnovers, but hurt itself by shooting just 7 of 18 from the free-throw line.

On Wedneday, Radford beat Hawaii Prep in overtime, while Kapaa beat Hawaii Baptist in two overtimes.

Kapaa's Kahea Hanie-Grace had 12 points and 10 steals, and Jessilyn Aki added 11 points.