In the words of the great New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, Sunday afternoon was “deja vu all over again” as the Konawaena Stingrays — comprised of girls from the Konawaena High school basketball program — defeated visiting Lahainaluna 59-52 in the championship game of the seventh annual Stingrays Wahine Basketball tournament held at Kekuaokalani gym.
“This was a great game for us to have because this is the team that is going to travel to the mainland,” coach Jessica Hanato said after the game. “This is the caliber we will be playing and this is a nice away to jump start the summer.”
The Wildcats defeated the Lunas in the HHSAA Division I title game back in February. That first meeting was a back-and-forth battle in the first half with the team from Maui taking a two point advantage at the break.
The Wildcats were able to pull away in the second half, with Chanelle Molina as the catalyst, scoring 27 points and grabbing eight rounds to help lead Konawaena to its sixth state championship. Mercedes “Ihi” Victor followed with 14 points.
While the game Sunday at Old Airport Park had some slightly different parameters, such as playing 16 minute halves and having only six players per team, it is eerie how similar the game played out to that February title game.
Both teams battled in the first half. The Stingrays hit the first shot, a 2-point jumper by Victor, but the Lunas went up 7-5 on a 3-pointer with 12:45 on the clock. For the rest of the half, when one team made a shot, the other team followed. With eight minutes to play, Lahainaluna’s Cameron Fernandez was fouled after connecting on a short jumper and she made the free throw to put her team up 16-15. On the ensuing possession, Molina did the same for the Stingrays.
A few minutes later, Konawaena’s Cherilyn Molina connected on a shot from long range for three points. Waisting little time, Lexi Hafoka hit one from behind the arch on the next play for the Lunas.
Down by two late in the half, Lahainaluna tied the game with a little under a minute to go. The Stingrays took possession with Chanelle Molina handling the ball. She ran the clock down to 10 seconds, crossed up her defender, and then put in a short jumper to give Konawaena a 35-33 advantage. Victor scored nearly half of the Stingray’s points in the first half, knocking down eight shots from the field for 14 points.
“Ihi showed up to play today and is not shying away from the ball anymore,” Hanato said. “She is looking to actively seek her shot and that helped open up the floor up for Chanelle, who is drawing two (defenders) automatic every time.”
In the second half, the endurance factor, or perhaps experience factor, kicked in for Konawaena. The Stingrays began to pull away on the back of Chanelle Molina. With 7:15 on the clock, Molina rolled in a layup and then made 3-of-4 shots from the line. She followed with a second layup for her seventh straight point to give Konawaena their biggest lead of the game at 51-44.
Lahainaluna would get no closer than five points for the rest of the game. Chanelle Molina sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 8.4 seconds on the clock. She finished the game with 16 points, most of which came from the free throw line, where she made 8-of-9 shots. She also showed off her ball handling skills in the second half, breaking several ankles, figuratively, along the way.
“She has been working on that in the offseason,” Hanato said. “It is nice to see her apply it into the game.”
Victor finished with a game high 18 points. Cherilyn Molina scored 11 points and hit three 3-pointers. Keleah Aiko Koloi led the Lunas with 15 points.
“It was a good game and a crowd pleaser,” Lunas coach Todd Rickard said. “It was definitely a summer game, with a lot of trading baskets until someone finally broke open the game with a run. There wasn’t a lot of emphasis on defense.”
The tournament title game drew a large crowd Sunday which pleased coach Bobby Awa.
“It has been a great tournament” Awa said. “This wasn’t even a season game, but the girls played like it was a championship game. The gym was packed. It is pretty awesome.”
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