KEALAKEKUA — After a tough Iolani Classic that saw Konawaena drop two of four games, including a 40 point loss to the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, Archbishop Mitty (Calif.), the Wildcats rebounded on Tuesday, opening the BIIF regular season with a dominating 54-31 victory over visiting Kamehameha-Hawaii at Ellison Onizuka gym.
“The loss (to Archbishop Mitty) was a humbling experience,” said Konawaena head coach Bobbie Awa. “We got our butts whipped but it was a learning lesson. We have to learn to not played scared. You cannot walk on the court and think that an opponent is better than you just because they are taller than you. You have to go out there with confidence all the time. It’s just growing pains.”
The Wildcats (11-2 overall, 1-0 BIIF) jumped out to an 18-10 lead after the first quarter despite struggling from long range, a staple of the Konawaena attack.
Both teams struggled in the opening minutes of the game. Kamehameha (5-4 overall, 0-1 BIIF) had plenty of chances to put points on the board early but missed its first four free throws. However, the Warriors did eventually go up 2-0 off a layup by Saydee Aganus.
Konawaena’s Cherilyn Molina, playing on a sore ankle after injuring it during a game in the Iolani Classic, answered back with a three-point play, after getting fouled on a layup. She followed with a pair of free throws to give the Wildcats a 5-3 advantage.
Caiyle Kaupu added another three-point play late in the opening frame and added with a layup in the finals seconds to push the Konawaena lead to eight.
Tayvia Cabatbat rolled in a layup to begin the second quarter, giving the Wildcats their first double-digit lead of the game. Celena Molina started to find her range midway through the frame, picking up six points in the period. Kaupu scored on back-to-back plays in the final minute of the half, and Celena Molina hit two late free throws up put Konawaena up 33-14 at the break.
As the third quarter began, the Wildcats still had not hit a 3-pointer in the game. Cabatbat put an end to that streak with Konawaena’s first shot of the second half to put her team up by 22.
With 3:17 to play in the third quarter, and the Wildcats leading 42-18, Cherilyn Molina tweaked her ankle during a play near the Kamehameha basket and hobbled off the court and to the trainer’s room. This left the Konawaena roster, which started the game with only six varsity players, with no subs for the rest of the contest.
With a comfortable lead, Molina did not reenter, emerging just before the quarter ended with her ankle on ice.
“She just tweaked it again, but she will rest it a few days and be alright,” Awa said. “She came back down and was walking on it. It is just one of those things where once it sprains, it is just easy to tweak.”
With one of their top offensive threats out of the game, the Wildcat defense clamped down for the rest of the third quarter, , not allowing a single Kamehameha point for just over three minutes. The offensive picked up five points, a layup by Cabatbat and a 3-pointer by Mikayla Tablit for a 47-18 lead.
The Warriors managed back-to-back baskets to open the final frame, but Tablit put an end to the run with her second 3-pointer. Kamehameha’s McKenzie Kalawaia followed with a three-point play, scoring on a layup and picking up the foul.
While the fourth quarter was the Warriors’ best offensive output of the game — they went on to outscore the Wildcats 13-7 — it was not enough to overcome their deficit.
Kamehameha also played the game shorthanded, starting seven varsity players because of school finals the next day.
“That was two full sets of teams we had here tonight with one sub on our team and two on theirs,” Awa joked after the game. “Both coaches were hoping no one would get into foul trouble and luckily we didn’t.”
Kaupa led the Wildcat offense with 15 points. Cabatbat followed will 12 and Tablit finished with 10. Cherilyn Molina scored nine points despite missing nearly a quarter and a half. Celena Molina netted eight.
“We started off a little slow, that seems to be happening, but we finally got it going,” Awa said. “You get that one bucket or one steal and then momentum takes over.”
For Kamehameha, Kalawaia led the team with 11 points and she was followed closely by Aganus with 10.
“Konawaena is always tough,“ said Kamehameha coach Weston Willard. “We actually started strong but we missed those first four free throws and that kind of changed the tenor of the game. Their pressure got to use in the second quarter and they were able to play away.”
Kona 18 15 14 7 —54
Kam 10 4 4 13 —31