By Bob Hogue
Digital Sports Hawaii
SeniorSports Correspondent
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UNDEFEATED! That’s how Radford finished the OIA season Thursday night, as the Lady Rams ripped Aiea in the season finale, 56-43. TaNitra Byrd came off the bench to lead the way with 18 points and Marlena Malepeai added 10 more.
“It feels good. These are a good bunch of girls,” said Radford first-year head coach Tani Dutro. “We were hoping for a close, physical game and Aiea really gave us one.”
In fact, Aiea played very tough, especially in the first half. Capri Holiona, Carol Sio, and Jennifer Yeun each scored two baskets apiece for Na Alii in the first quarter, as the Rams and Na Alii played a fast-paced game with the score tied at 17-all after the first stanza.
Then, with the score knotted up at 21-all with about 5 minutes remaining before halftime, the 6-foot 1-inch Byrd, a second-team all-state selection a year ago as a freshman, took over inside. TaNitra scored six of the Rams next eight points, including two on a perfect lob pass inside the lane on an inbounds play and Radford went into intermission leading 29-21.
The Rams stretched that lead into the second half as Chelsea-Ann Villanueva, Marsharen Dupont, and Bui Barivilala scored on consecutive baskets and the 14-point run over two quarters gave Radford a 35-21 advantage.
Aiea battled back, however, with Holiona putting on a show in the paint. She finished with a team-high 10 points. When Natasha Helsham scored on a breakaway layaup, Na Alli had pulled to within seven points at 46-39.
But once again, Byrd made an impact, scoring eight big points in the fourth quarter, including a breakaway layup to seal the game, and the Rams finished the OIA season with a perfect 12-0 mark. Aiea finished at 8-4.
“It feels really good,” Byrd said afterwards. “Our girls really worked hard. We’ve still got the post-season to go.”
“She gives us a boost out there,” Coach Dutro said. “She was out the entire pre-season (due to injury) and it took awhile for her to get back into shape. By then, the other girls had earned their (starting) spots and that meant she would see what was happening out there and come in and play her role. She really stepped up.”
Next up for Radford will be the OIA tournament where Dutro’s Rams will enter as the top seed from the West.
“I’m worried about a bunch of the teams,” Dutro said. “Farrington is really physical and they match up well with us in that department. Roosevelt can shoot, Kalani can shoot. It’s going to be a challenge.”
“We struggled a lot during the pre-season,” she added. (The Rams were 5-6 before conference play.) It was hard during the beginning of the season, but we learned to trust each other, and the girls stuck together. They needed to learn to stick with me and I needed to learn to stick with them. We’ve come a long way.”
All the way to a perfect conference season!
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