Editor’s note: This story has been modified to correct the spelling of Anela Gonzalez.
KEAAU – Keaau saw a green jersey and prepared for the worst.
The foe was Pahoa, but the resistance level didn’t matter to Destynee Williams and Anela Gonzalez.
Even when they went up against Konawaena’s harsher shade of green earlier this season, Cougars coach Shawn Fuiava said they still went full throttle.
“They’re fearless,” Fuiava said. “They don’t care who they are playing, they’re going to go.”
A shooters’ paradise it was not, but Keaau flashed a pair of freshman building blocks Thursday in a BIIF girls basketball matinée to start a tripleheader at its gym. Williams came out like a house of fire and scored 12 points and Gonzalez finished strong with 11 as the Cougars coasted past the Daggers 39-25 in a matchup of two teams at varying levels of the developmental stage.
“They’re young and unsure of themselves, but it’s getting there,” Fuiava said. “Persistent and athletic, we have a bright future.”
The third-year coach has fielded summer league teams the past two years – the invaluable experience is sometimes a luxury not a given at Keaau – giving his girls a chance to play more than 30 games this past offseason.
The benefits were on display against the Daggers (1-6) – who were led by Alyssa Padilla’s 13 points – in a game where each team struggled mightily to find its shooting range, especially the Cougars (3-3), who dominated the offensive glass and took far more shots.
Williams, a point guard, ran the floor and made three baskets right out of the gate, and even as the offensive flow slowed she helped Keaau keep its lead, turning two steals into quick baskets, staking the Cougars to a 19-16 halftime advantage.
Williams could play any position but “nobody can stay with her, so why move her,” Fuiava said.
“She doesn’t change the way she plays whether she’s going up against Konawaena, Hilo, Waiakea,” he said “She attacks them.”
Gonzalez made three baskets in the third and Keaau effectively put the game away by holding Pahoa without a field goal for the first seven-plus minutes of the quarter as the Daggers missed their first eight shots from the field.
“Anela is little bit taller,” Fuiava said. “She’s been training her whole life to play center, and we kind of looked at her and said, ‘Hey, you’re a dynamic player, while settle?’ She’s a high school-level playing guard. She can play all five positions.”
“The seniors have really helped the freshmen come along.”
A burgeoning physical presence, junior Jewel Solmerin banged inside and got to the free-throw line, finishing with eight points for Keaau, which seems destined for the No. 4 seed in the Division I playoffs now that Honokaa has moved down to D-II.
Beyond a return to the playoffs, Fuiava’s goal is for Keaau to announce its presence with a upset.
“We want to surprise someone. We’re challenging now and everyone is aware that Keaau is not a pushover,” he said, noting that the boys and girls programs are run together, raising the comfort level for everyone involved. “It’s time to take notice of Keaau High.”
Padilla, her team’s only senior, made two early 3-pointers and wasn’t shy about shooting, but Pahoa’s next highest-scorer was Kanoe Paio, who finished with five.
Still, the Daggers managed their second-highest scoring output of season. They beat Ka’u 40-37 for their only win, and another victory in their next game, Wednesday at home against winless Hawaii Prep, would go a long way in securing a Division II playoff spot.
“That is very important to us,” coach Rey Corpuz said. “I tell Alyssa to keep shooting, because she can shoot. I need Jescenia (Tadeo-Jose) to step up, and if so Pahoa will be coming up.”
Corpuz echoed the same sentiment as Fuiava: his girls play hard, no matter the opponent, even in lopsided losses to Waiakea (71-5) and Konawaena (72-5).
“The girls play with heart and they fight even when we are getting blown out,” Corpuz said. “You’ll still see me standing up when we get blown out, I never sit down. I love Pahoa. I was raised in Pahoa, and I raised my kids in Pahoa. I love it.”
Pahoa 6 10 3 6 – 25
Keaau 11 8 10 10–39
