In the second game of her collegiate career, Washington State guard Cherilyn Molina stood at the free-throw line and made the first of two foul shots against Saint Mary’s (Calif.) when the buzzer sounded.
The Cougars were substituting two players off the bench. One of them was Celena Molina, who was playing her second game in a Washington State uniform as well.
Also on the court was Chanelle Molina, the oldest of the three sisters who were all on the floor in the same uniform playing in the same Division I game for the first time.
Pretty memorable, right?
“I don’t even really remember it,” Chanelle Molina said of the game last season in a recent phone interview. “We’ve played together so much throughout high school and growing up. Whenever they come (into a game) it’s all just the same.”
“Maybe after the game our parents were telling us all three went in at the same time,” Cherilyn Molina, now a sophomore, added midlaugh. “We saw stories on Snapchat and I was like, ‘Oh wow, yeah, we were all out there together.’”
The three sisters combined to win four consecutive state championships and myriad BIIF player of the year honors at Konawaena, with Chanelle winning three in a row before becoming the first to head off to Washington State.
She was joined a year later by Celena, who redshirted the 2017-18 season, and then Cherilyn, who averaged 16 minutes a game last season as a true freshman.
This season is the second and final year they will play together. Chanelle, a senior who is closing in on 100 career games, has two months left to enjoy having her family around playing the game she loves.
“I think everything about just being together, especially when we’re traveling and on the bus, those little moments we have are what stands out,” Chanelle Molina said.
When Chanelle decided to sign with Washington State, the Cougars didn’t have the same connection to the islands as they do now, especially with former Hawaii football coach Nick Rolovich leaving to take the same position at Washington State earlier this month.
Although he has only been the coach for two weeks, he has already introduced himself to the sisters.
“I thought that was really cool he took the time out of his day to talk to us and really share some small talk and show what a really good guy he is,” Chanelle Molina said. “He seems like a really good guy. (When they hired him) it was big-time over here.”
When Chanelle signed with Washington State, it wasn’t a given at the time the other two would follow.
When Celena got the opportunity, she pounced on it, but Cherilyn had thoughts of going a different route.
“I was actually thinking about going to another school so I could create my own path and not just follow my sisters,” Cherilyn Molina said. “But it was also a once in a lifetime opportunity. For me, it was our mom’s dream for all three of us playing (together) and I wanted to make that happen.”
Through 20 games entering Friday’s game against Cal, the Cougars were 9-11 but have already played four teams ranked in the top eight in the country.
Washington State traveled to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to play in a preseason tournament in November.
Chanelle Molina became the 20th player in WSU history to reach 1,000 career points in a game against Baylor, which is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation. The next night, the Cougars played current No. 1 South Carolina.
“I just remember the big bodies,” Chanelle Molina said. “We went against posts that I’ve never even really seen before. Just really strong, very fundamental, fast, athletic. It prepared us for the (Pac-12) season.”
The Pac-12 Conference isn’t any easier, with four teams ranked in the top 10. The Cougars are just 2-6 but did beat rival Washington two weeks ago, a game in which Chanelle played all 40 minutes.
“It’s like life or death (against UW),” Chanelle Molina said. “It was very rewarding just to have that win because it’s always nice to win against UW in anything, football especially.”
Also
University of Vermont freshman Mina Poppas (Waiakea) was honored as the America East swimmer of the week in mid-January for the first time in her college career.
Against Siena, Poppas won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:58.21 and won the 500 free with a time of 5:16.61.
Against Binghamton, Poppas won the 500 free (5:14.22) and the 1,000 free (10:44.99).
• Central Washington senior Alexis Pana (Hilo) is leading the Wildcats (11-8) in scoring at 13.9 points per game heading into their Division II basketball game Saturday against Montana State Billings.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald contributed to his report.