Coach Scott DeSilva didn’t want to go to his specialty defense, but when he did, it sure paid off.

The Kahuku girls basketball coach switched out of a straight man defense to a box-and-one, putting defensive ace Fia Tailele-Latu on Kaimuki’s Princess Lauvao for a come-from-behind 62-48 win at the Bulldogs’ gym.

Lauvao finished with a game-high 22 points to go with eight rebounds, six steals and five blocks in a superlative performance.

"At some point, I had to get the ball out of (Lavuao’s) hands," DeSilva said. "She tried to drive and we doubled her."

Pati Anae led Kahuku (2-0) with 19 points and eight rebounds. The Lady Raiders, who had 12 turnovers in the first half, did a better job of controlling the ball and tempo after intermission, pounding the ball inside to Anae, a 6-foot-1 volleyball and basketball standout.

"It takes practice every single day to get back into basketball shape," said Anae, who finished strong with eight points in the final quarter.

Lauvao suffered an injured elbow late in the game, but by then, Tailele-Latu’s smothering defense had neutralized the Kaimuki swingman.

"It was because of my teammates," said Tailele-Latu, who had four steals and three rebounds. "We’ve practiced (the box-and-one) in previous years, but we never used it until this year. Princess is a good ballhandler. I love the challenge."

Kaimuki used a diamond-and-one defense on Tailele-Latu, but they adjusted.

"I’m cautiously optimistic," I gotta see how Talia’s ankle is," DeSilva said of Talia Brown, who suffered an injury in the second half.

Sinamoni Tonga added 10 points off the bench, including eight in the second half. Delycia Seui-Matagi added eight points, six boards and three assists.

Alison Pologa had 10 points, including a couple of treys, for Kaimuki (0-2).

There was 2:38 left in the third quarter when the visiting Lady Raiders broke out of a time out with Tailele-Latu assigned to deny Lauvao the ball. Lauvao, a 5-9 senior transfer from Lahainaluna, hustled for a follow shot that gave Kaimuki a 37-36 lead, but it was Kahuku the rest of the way. The depth advantage, as well as the height edge, were too much.

"We’ve got a lot to work on," Kaimuki coach Mona Fa’asoa said. "We need to work on boxing out ’cause we don’t have height, and we don’t have depth, so it’s hard to run. They all tried hard. It’s hard for them to stay in that state of mind all game. They’re going to be drained, especially when they play that kind of defense on her."