CLOSING THE BOOK: Waiakea girls finish No. 3 in state

Closing the Book: No. 3 Waiakea (20-4, 9-1 BIIF)x

vs. Top 10: 7-4 (.636)

Top 10 wins: KAH, LAH, Century, HIL, HIL, LAH, KAH

Top 10 losses: Canyon Springs, KON, KON, IOL

Non-Top 10 losses: None 

Playoffs: 1-1

HHSAA: 3-1

She wanted to win badly.

Maybe too much, at times. Kelsie Imai drove herself and her teammates to higher heights for four seasons. At 5 feet, 7 inches tall, she is the youngest of the Imai sisters who were integral parts of the Waiakea girls basketball program for the past decade. As a fourth-year starter, Imai led the Warriors to another strong season, averaging 13 points per game and adding physical defense and rebounding for a team that wasn’t big or tall by most standards. 

Waiakea finished at No. 3 in the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10. After losing to Konawaena in the BIIF final, the Warriors ousted Mililani, 55-42, and Lahainaluna, 37-26. Then came a 57-44 loss to ‘Iolani in the semifinal round. The Raiders went on to rally past Konawaena to repeat as state champions.

The Big Island provided two of the top three teams in the state by season's end with Konawaena (state runner-up) and Waiakea (third-place finisher). Hilo did not qualify for states, but still closed the year at No. 7.   

Waiakea learned plenty in year one of Alika Smith’s first season as head coach. Smith has won everywhere as a coach, from Punahou to Kalaheo (Division I and II state titles) and, now, Waiakea girls hoops. 

“Coach Alika told us at our last game, he said he was glad we were his first group of girls that he ever coached. He enjoyed it. He still keeps in touch with us,” said Imai, who signed to play at Hawaii. 

Imai was voted No. 8 in the All-State Fab 15. She’s getting her reps in. There’s a bench press at home. There’s also a basket. She’s always had a certain mamba mentality. Her favorite player was and will always be Kobe Bryant. During this COVID-19 pandemic, she is staying busy, training at home. 

“I have a half court at my house. Eat breakfast, brush my teeth, go outside, jump ropes and ladders, then I do some ball handling drills and shoot around,” Imai said. “I aim to make a certain amount every day, at least 100 (shots).”

The bench pressing is more about tone and reps. 

“I just do light weights,” she said. 

The lockdown has Imai “bored”, but she’s not going anywhere, she says. Imai is taking it seriously, but hasn’t lost her sense of humor.  

“I’m going to lock people in their houses and give them medicine,” she said. 

Imai is only the second Waiakea Warrior voted to the Fab 15 three times. The other Warrior do it was older sister Kamie Imai (2008-10).

Kelsie Imai chatted about the Warriors’ season and her teammates. 

This season was ________. 

Imai: “Full of obstacles. Getting to know every coach. Coach Alika (Smith) and (assistant) Coach Cheyenne (Meyer) and eventually my sister, Kirstie (Imai) was on the staff. Coach Alika asked Kirstie before, but she didn’t really feel comfortable because she didn’t know him, but later she felt like, the girls need me. When she came on the staff, things shaped up especially with the girls’ attitudes because she was more direct. She said she was glad she hopped on eventually.”

This season was the TV show ________. 

Imai: “All-American." 

Review: Starters and key rotation/role players:

Imai — “My role didn’t change. Coach Alika expected me to lead like I did with Coach Brandon (Kauhi). There’s a lot of things I could’ve done more of, but I didn’t. I could’ve scored more, but I was scared that I was going to upset Coach Alika for being selfish. I realized there’s times when you need to be selfish. I feel like I definitely improved on going to my left this season.” 

Keeli-Jade Smith — Averaged 10 points per game. 

Imai: “She was also a team captain. She always went hard. She kept everyone accountable. She didn’t care if you’re a freshman, you’re going to get pushed around. We were hard on them, but when we were freshmen, our seniors did not care. They were hard on us, and that’s part of being on varsity.” 

Destynee Williams — Averaged 9 points per game.

Imai: “She doesn’t realize how good she is. There’s times I had to specifically grab her and tell her, you missed a layup, that’s fine. You’ll get the next one. Sometimes, she’d tell us, I don’t know what I’m going to do without you guys next year. She’ll step up. She’s going to be a leader next year.” 

Bethany Honma — Averaged 7 points per game.

Imai: “She’s another team captain. She’s very positive and she works hard every single practice. At one time, she didn’t have a starting spot, and she worked extra hard and got her job done. She did what she needed to do. She was another senior who didn’t like it when some of us didn’t take practice seriously. She’ll tell you what she wants to say in a nice way. She’s a nice person.” 

Jazelle Dorser — Averaged 6 points per game. 

Imai: “She works hard all the time. She’s was also one of our leaders even though she didn’t have the team captain label. She would help get everyone in line. She’ll be a good leader. She gets upset sometimes, and I’ll tell her to forget about it. She improved a lot since freshman year. She’ll be a leader next year along with Destynee.” 

Tayvia Cabatbat — Averaged 6 points per game.

Imai: “She’s so naturally athletic. There were times when she was down if she wasn’t starting, but that ended when my sister started coaching. Then she started working hard. She’s a great player. She beat herself up after the Konawaena game (because of missed free throws), but now we make jokes about it.” 

What or who surprised you most? 

Imai: “Losing to Konawaena. Both times, but definitely the BIIF championship. We were down so much. I think we had the talent, but our minds weren’t there. Auntie Bobbie (Awa) is a great coach.” 

What were the most adverse challenges? 

Imai: “It was definitely having a new coach because there’s times where if we had Coach Brandon (Kauhi), we would start practicing in the spring. But last year, we didn’t know who our coach was and we weren’t doing anything. Coach Alika had to get himself situated. He came in the summer and met our team, but it was hard. There were some practices in the fall, but I couldn’t go because of volleyball.” 

What was the peak? What was the low? 

Imai: “The peak was in Las Vegas. We spent a lot of time together and we played some great teams.” 

What will you miss about this group? 

Imai: “Definitely the bond that we have. We’re close. We hang out at school. After the season we had, oh my God, we miss each other. It sounds crazy. I’m definitely going to miss my seniors. We played from sixth grade all the way to high school.” 

What are you anticipating for offseason and next season? 

Imai: “They should be OK. If they do what they need to do they should be all right. They’re planning on taking some of the girls to play on a trip in April, but because of the coronavirus thing, I don’t know.” 

After four years of playing three sports, sports fans outside of the Big Island now know Imai more for the incident in the ‘Iolani game. The TV replay showed Imai extending a foot, and Alexis Huntimer had darted in front of Imai at the same time, tripped and fell, got a gash over her left eye. Imai apologized to Huntimer, who went to the trainer's room, got treated and returned to sink 10 free throws in a row. That play resulted in a one-game suspension. Imai missed the third-place game, but Waiakea prevailed against Kahuku, 56-44. 

Do you regret what happened? 

Imai: “I wish it hadn’t happened, but honestly, I swear to God, I didn’t see her. I was paying attention to the ball, Tayvia had the ball and I think it got stolen. I definitely learned something from it.”