Waimea bucks odds to bounce past host Kapa’a By JASON GALLIC – TGI Sports Editor KAPA’A – An oddsmaker might have called this one differently. Waimea, fresh off a come-from-behind defeat at the hands of Kaua’i last Tuesday was asked
Waimea bucks odds to bounce past host Kapa’a
By JASON GALLIC – TGI Sports Editor
KAPA’A – An oddsmaker might have called this one differently.
Waimea, fresh off a come-from-behind defeat at the hands of Kaua’i last Tuesday was asked to travel to Kapa’a for a Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation playoff game.
The Warriors, on the other hand, were riding the crest of a confidence wave after handing the Red Raiders their only defeat of the season last Saturday.
But the Menehunes are resilient, and proved so again Saturday night with a tension-filled 52-48 victory. The win advanced Waimea to the KIF championship game Tuesday night at Kaua’i. Game time is 7 p.m.
“I’m really proud of these girls,” Waimea coach Elton Montemayer said. “They deserve everything they get because they’ve worked so hard.
“But they did make this interesting again.”
In a scenario eerily reminiscent of Tuesday’s loss to Kaua’i, the Menehunes led 40-29 early in the fourth quarter. By the five-minute mark, the Warriors had trimmed the lead to 40-35. That’s when Montemayer signaled for a timeout.
“We just reminded them that this was starting to look just like Tuesday night,” the coach said. “We asked the girls who wanted it more and broke the huddle.”
Waimea answered its coach with a 7-0 run to push the lead to 47-35, effectively drowning Kapa’a.
The Menehunes (3-2) still exhibited some difficulty at the foul line, hitting on just 6-of-16 in the final quarter, but managed to score on the Warriors’ press instead.
“We didn’t want to be passive against Kapa’a’s press,” Montemayer said. “That’s how they get you. We wanted to be the aggressors.”
With the ball in the hands of senior Robyn Manuel (14 points, 11 rebounds) and sophomore Charise Ponce (nine, five), Waimea broke through the pressure as often as not.
The Menehunes also got solid outings from Erin Castillo (12, six) and an unexpected boost from Melody Manuel (12, four).
The Warriors (1-4) stayed close behind the no-holds-barred effort of senior point guard Waiala Quisano (13, five). Her boundless energy nearly brought Kapa’a back. Ashley Farias led the Warriors with 16 points and five rebounds.
But Kapa’a failed to finish key easy buckets while Waimea continued to find holes in the Warriors’ press.
