KA`U TROJANS GIRLS BASKETBALL plays the season opener tonight in Kea`au against the Kamehamaha Warriors. Coach Cy Lopez recently described his team to Hawai`i Tribune-Herald writer Matt Gerhard: “I give the girls credit. No matter what the score, from start to finish, they play 110 percent.” The story in yesterday’s Tribune-Herald also quoted Trojan junior Deisha Navarro saying, “It’s basically just keeping our heads up and fighting no matter what the score is. We’re working hard, we’re improving, and I feel like as long as all of us keep our teamwork together, we’ll be fine.” She described Lopez: “He tells us to never give up. If we put our hearts on the court, we’ll get better results.” “Everybody fights until the end,” Navarro told the Tribune-Herald sports writer. Gerhard described the spirit of the team during the recent preseason tournament: “The score was out of hand and had been for some time, but you wouldn’t have known it by watching Cy Lopez or his Ka`u girls basketball team. Sophomore Lea Aipia-Dolan and her teammates continued to try to attack the basket as if the game was tied, while Lopez did everything he could to keep his team in the game. With the undersized Trojans trailing Waiakea by more than 40 points, the coach called three second-half timeouts to rally the troops.” In another game, such strategy led to a win “when Lopez called a timeout with Ka`u trailing by one against Kealakehe in the waning seconds to draw up a ‘secret inbounds play.’ Bridget Pasion missed a shot from the perimeter, but Kerri Domondon corralled the rebound and hit a buzzer-beater to give the Trojans the victory,” reported the Tribune-Herald. The story also reported that “the second-year coach would like to make winning a custom at Ka`u, but he knows that player development is crucial. Save for a long drive to the north or south, age-group club basketball options are sparse, and as a result Lopez said many of his players haven’t touched the ball before they get to high school. In addition, many of his players’ first focus is volleyball.” Gerhard wrote that Lopez and “his coaches are aiming to start a Parks and Recreation league in the district. “We live out in the sticks, and we’re a small school, but we can’t get intimidated,” Lopez told the Tribune-Herald. The sports writer sized up the team: “Ka`u, which has only one senior, can’t match up with most teams size-wise, but it will try to make up for it with quickness and will feature a three-guard lineup with juniors Navarro and Domondon capable of running the point. Pasion, a junior, is the best pure shooter on the team, and Aipia-Dolan, a sophomore, can play either guard or forward. At roughly five-feet eight-inches tall, junior Maka Flores-Carvalho is the tallest player on the roster and can provide muscle inside. Lopez also talked about the team: “Denisha is a real team leader, and Kerri has unreal quickness with the ball.” Lopez “praised Aipia-Dolan for her ‘animal instincts’ to always keep fighting on the court.” Lopez told the Tribune-Herald that “the Trojans may have to play some two-three zone defense to overcome lack of height, and he’d also like to see crisper passing develop so that Ka`u can play up-tempo on offense.” See more at hawaiitribune-herald.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Dec 2013 19:46:13 +0000
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