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By Kolby Chang

Royals’ Destiny Castro shoots for two at the top of the key. (photo by Jesse Castro)

The JFK Islanders used a balanced attack to overcome a monster 41-point game from Destiny Castro and defeated the Notre Dame Royals 55-47 Friday night at the JFK gym. The Islanders were led by Rufina Royster ‘s 18 points, while Shaira Cortez added 11 points and Alison Bowman chipped in 10 points.In addition to the 41 points, Castro also tallied six steals and two blocks.

Islanders’ coach Joe Taitano was proud of his team for playing a smart game.

“I think our girls, in terms of executing the offense, did a great job tonight. The screens were there, they took shots, they read the gaps really well, they read the defense and they took their spaces really well,” Taitano said.

Taitano added that he knew Castro was going to get her points so he emphasized putting pressure on her throughout the game. “Destiny’s good but I thought that we created some turnovers on their side and that really helped us out. We were closing the gap every time she put the ball down,” Taitano said.

The Islanders got out to an early eight-point lead after Anita Onedera found Cortez wide open for a layup on an inbounds play to make the score 13-5. Towards the end of the quarter Brittney Meno spun away from her defender and finished strong at the hoop to put Islanders up 17-10 as the Royals appeared to be struggling early.

Islanders’ Rufina Royster pushes through the Royals’ defense to put two points on the board. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Castro got into a groove in the second quarter as she crossed over her defender and went straight to the hoop for a layup. The Royals’ guard split her free throws on her team’s next possession and then swiped away an inbounds pass that lead to an uncontested layup. Castro’s five-point run got the Royals within striking distance at 21-18. Several plays later, Castro picked off another pass and went coast-to-coast for the layup to make it 25-23 going into the half.

The Royals briefly tied the game in the third quarter but the Islanders had an answer for everything that Castro could dish out. Bowman was all over the offensive boards, while Royster showed off her shooting touch and buried some timely three-pointers that kept the Royals at bay. The Islanders closed out the third quarter on top 41-33.

Castro tried valiantly to will her team to victory by nailing two consecutive three-pointers and dropping in a layup midway through the fourth quarter to make the score 47-44. The Islanders, however, stayed the course by running their offense and crowding Castro so the Royals never got any closer than that.

Onedera was pleased to get the win but she knows there is room for improvement. ‘This game we had a lot of turnovers so we can work that. We also had some bad passes so we need to work on those,” she said.

The Islanders also won the JV game 40-32.

Other Scores

Academy 58, St. Paul 47 – Cougars Alina Bonto 37 points, Warriors Joy Pangelinan 26 points. The Cougars are the lone undefeated team in the league.

GW 48, Harvest 33 – Geckos get their first win of the season

Sanchez 25, Guam High 21 – Sharks Shaniah Aguon 8 points, Panthers Emma Martin 9 points

Southern 57, Okkodo 43 – Dolphins Talledo 22 points, Marlisah Tenorio 10 points. The Bulldogs suffer their first loss.

PHOTO GALLERY BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Islanders’ Cianna Reyes tries for two points under the rim. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Islanders’ Anita Orendera on a fast break runs in for a lay-up. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Royals’ Kim Murphy can’t get a shot up and decides to pass the ball out. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Royals’ Kim Murphy struggles to get a shot up. (photo by Jesse Castro)

Royals gather around their coach during a time out. (photo by Jesse Castro)

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