Konawaena holds off Miramonte, 63-62

Konawaena's Chanelle Molina knifes between two Miramonte defenders on her way to the basket. Jim Lebeau | Special to SL

The Molina sisters combined for 52 points, including a crucial insurance basket with six seconds left, and Konawaena held off Miramonte (Orinda, Calif.), 63-62, Thursday night in the opening round of the Iolani Classic girls' tournament at Iolani.

Freshman Cherilyn Molina found her sophomore sister Celena wide open under the basket for an easy layup six seconds to extend the Wildcats' lead to 63-59. It was critical because the Matadors' Sabrina Inoescu drained her sixth 3-pointer of the night at the buzzer to cap a 39-point performance, but a point short for her team.

Each Molina finished in double-digit scoring, led by the eldest, Chanelle, who had 23 points. Celena had 17 and Cherilyn added 12.

The Wildcats, who improved to 11-0, will play Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, MD), 17th nationally by MaxPreps, in a semifinal 6:30 p.m. Friday. The Matadors (3-1) will play China's Shenzhen at 3:30 p.m.

Konawaena took a 43-31 at the half on the strength of the Molinas' double-digit scoring, led by Chanelle's 16, Celena's 12 and Cherilyn's 10. But the Matadors slowly chipped away, cutting their deficit to 51-43 entering the fourth quarter. Foul trouble forced the Wildcats into a zone defense and the Matadors - especially Inoescu - responded, using a 10-0 run in about a one minute span to pull to within 61-59 with 29 seconds left on Inoescu's second 3-pointer of the fourth quarter.

On the Wildcats' last possession, they were trying to lure out the Matadors' defense to set up a layup.

"We wanted to bring them out and all we wanted were layups," Konawaena coach Bobbie Awa said. "The play before that, when the girl took that jump shot, it was like 'What the heck?' Because we're only looking for layups. Once (Celena) was open, Cherilyn made a great pass, she found her. That's what we look for. It's better than drawing fouls, stopping the clock, trying to get to the free throw line to make free throws."

The Matadors quickly got the ball down court to Inoescu, who drained her 3-pointer at the buzzer. It was her 15th point of the Matadors' 19-point fourth quarter. She had 25 of her 39 points in the second half.

The Wildcats used their quickness and athleticism against the taller Matadors. Yet, Konawaena managed 42 points in the paint by breaking Miramonte's press and scoring in transition, Awa said.

"If we had to play half-court offense and try and score in the paint, we'd be in trouble," Awa said.

Miramonte coach Kelly Sopak was impressed with what he saw in Konawaena.

"It's a great team," Sopak said of the Wildcats. "That's exactly what we need. We're so used to being able to run teams downs. They gave us everything we could have and force us to make a game-plan adjustments. They're a great team."

As for Inoescu's performance, Sopak said it was "her normal game." In addition to her 39 points, she had 14 rebounds, six steals, two blocked shots and two assists.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].