Durant sinks the Red Raiders, 37-36 By Duane Shimogawa Jr. – The Garden Island LIHU‘E — In the end, just one free throw was needed to secure the win for the Menehune last night against the Red Raiders. But the
Durant sinks the Red Raiders, 37-36
By Duane Shimogawa Jr. – The Garden Island
LIHU‘E — In the end, just one free throw was needed to secure the win for the Menehune last night against the Red Raiders.
But the way both teams were shooting from the charity stripe, it looked as if the contest would go into an extra session.
But Waimea’s Moani Durant made one of three free throws, which gave her squad the nail biting, 37-36 win.
“All she needed was one and she got it; all I can do right now is smile,” Waimea head coach Elton Montemayor said after the game.
With just seconds on the clock and the game tied at 36 a piece, Durant dribble up to half court and attempted a shot, which was contested by a Red Raider and then the controversial call was made, which gave Durant three opportunities to win the game.
And it wasn’t easy, in the packed house at the Raiderdome. The first shot touched every part of the rim, but the bottom of the net. Then Durant, who was all alone on the court, gathered herself for the second shot, but that attempt hit the back of the rim and bounced out.
“This is stuff you see in the movies; it’s just a great win for us,” Montemayor said.
After a couple of dribbles, Durant calmly lifted her shot up and it tickled the twine for the game-winning free-throw, which made the Menehune contingent explode from the stands.
“After she missed the first two, I kept saying to myself that she just has to make this one,” Montemayor said.
With just a 17-15 lead at the half, the Menehune, led by Durant and Mallorie Hepa, managed to keep the advantage well into the fourth period.
Kaua‘i guard Ho‘onani Dennis, who nailed three 3-pointers, kept the Red Raiders close throughout the contest.
After a Dennis trifecta, teammate Rachel Taira went coast to coast to cut the lead to one point at 33-32 with two minutes to go.
Waimea’s Hepa hit two big free throws which gave the Menehune the 35-32 lead, but Kaua‘i’s Sheri Gebauer rattled a shot in on the next possession. Taira’s big driving layin tied the score up and the game looked as if it were going into overtime, but Durant dribbled up the floor and was fouled with no time on the clock.
Her last of three free throw attempts went in for the 37-36 win.
Hepa led the Menehune in the scoring department with 15 points. Durant followed up with 13 points. Dennis had 14 for the Red Raiders and Taira added 12 in the loss.
The victory set up a huge first round showdown for all the marbles, against the Kapa‘a Warriors on Friday night at the Clem Gomes Gymnasium in Waimea.
Both the Warriors and Menehune have identical 2-1 records going into the contest. Meanwhile, the defending champion Red Raiders are 1-3 and out of round one contention.
Kaua‘i JV gets first win
After going 0-3, the Red Raiders finally broke through with a win last night against the Menehune by the score of 33-30.
But it wasn’t an easy win, as the Menehune played tough throughout the game.
Up 13-10 at the half, Waimea continued to hold the advantage going into the final quarter of play.
With five minutes to go, Kaua‘i’s Carie Inouye untied the contest with a three-pointer for the 25-22 lead.
Then Amanda Mayer’s 10-foot jumper recaptured another Kaua‘i lead (25-24) with just under four minutes to go.
As the lead shifted back to the Menehune, Kaua‘i’s Shana Tafiti layed in the go-ahead bucket and the Red Raiders held on for the 33-30 win.
Inouye led the Kaua‘i cause with 12 points. Mayer came up with seven big points in the win.
Tatum Gonsalves posted nine points to lead the Menehune and Sheana Mata contributed with seven markers.
The KIF girls’ basketball first round finale happens on Friday, as the Warriors visit the Menehune, with JV action starting things off at 5:30 p.m.
The varsity contest starts 20 minutes after the completion of the JV game.
