Waianae had patience to start Thursday’s game against Radford, but it didn’t last.
The Seariders waited until their teammates got open in the early going in the 51-31 loss at the Rams’ gym, but by the second half, Waianae was giving up possessions left and right.
It prompted Seariders coach Cyrilla Manuel to say afterward that: “turnovers killed us.”
Yup, that’s what turnovers can do. And while Radford had some ball possession problems, they paled in comparison to Waianae’s.
“It happens when the girls are trying too hard to make things happen,” said Manuel, whose team missed out on its bid to take the OIA West’s fifth seed for the upcoming playoffs. Instead, the Seariders will be a No. 6 seed.
“We are usually on the go,” the coach added, “instead of trying to run the offense. We need to be more patient. Don’t rush.”
Waianae (5-5) got a superb all-around game from Berlin Johnson, who scored 14 points and made a difference with steals, rebounds, assists and all-out hustle.
“She is one of our leaders,” Manuel said. “She tries her best to make things happen for our team. She attacks the boards and anticipates steals.”
Johnson said the Seariders made the mistake of “getting down on ourselves” during the game.
“And Radford is good,” she added. “They’re fast and they communicate well and hustle and they’ve got height.”
The Seariders had a lot of trouble against the defense of Rams’ 6-foot-1 forward Jasmine Moody and her cohort down low, Kennedy Johnson. They swatted down six shots combined and, with their long arms, altered the preferred path of Waianae shooters countless other times.
“We need to work on our game — on playing better defense and better passing,” said Manuel as the Seariders get ready for a first-round OIA playoff game.
Center Raegina Atiga turned in a solid game for Waianae with seven points, including a 3-pointer in the final period. Charlotte Garcia also gave the Seariders some quality minutes off the bench.
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