WAIMEA — Ding, ding! The first round of KIF girls’ basketball is in the books and the Menehune (3-1) girls brought out the boxing gloves and knocked out Kapa‘a (2-2), 46-36 and snatched the first round title last night at
WAIMEA — Ding, ding! The first round of KIF girls’ basketball is in the books and the Menehune (3-1) girls brought out the boxing gloves and knocked out Kapa‘a (2-2), 46-36 and snatched the first round title last night at the Clem Gomes Gymnasium.
After jabbing Kaua‘i and Waimea in their first two games, the Warriors fell apart in their remaining two contests and gave the Menehune the first round crown.
“Waimea was just better prepared tonight and they came out with more intensity then us,” Kapa‘a head coach Gary Kodani said.
For the Menehune, the momentum of Tuesday’s thrilling win over Kaua‘i may have given them the edge against the Warriors.
“We’re right where we want to be and that’s winning the first round title, so now we’ve got one foot in the door,” Waimea head coach Elton Montemayor said.
And the door was wide open for Waimea throughout the game, except for the first quarter. Kapa‘a ran out to a 7-0 advantage, thanks to Kennilyn Nakamura’s trifecta and Brittney Carvalho’s four free-throws.
But in the second quarter, the Menehune stormed back for the 18-17 lead with two minutes to go in the first half.
Freshman point guard Josey Jacinto sparked the Menehune charge with a nice, eight foot baseline jumper.
Junior guard Lexine Valenciano followed Jacinto’s hot hand with two straight three-point bombs, which gave the Menehune the 24-17 lead at the half.
Waimea continued to control the game in the third period, as sophomore guard Moani Durant nailed a long three-pointer, along with a lay-in for the 31-25 lead.
The Warriors fought back towards the end of the third, as Michelle Toy and Poe Gantt closed the gap to one point (31-30) with just under two minutes to go in the third frame.
Durant and freshman Cheri Kua, who was instrumental all night on the boards for Waimea, controlled the rest of the fourth period. Senior Mallorie Hepa also played big inside, keeping the Warriors off the boards as well.
Durant led the Menehune in the scoring department with 19 points. Joanna Jacinto and Hepa notched seven points each for Waimea.
Carvalho’s 13 points led the Kapa‘a attack. Toy and Gantt combined for 13 markers in the loss.
In the JV contest, Waimea ran away in the end for the 31-24 win. The Menehune, who avenged an earlier season defeat to the Warriors, were on top at the halfway point, 15-14.
Sasha Kaohi had the hot hand for Waimea with 10 points. Tatum Gonsalves put up eight, Sheana Mata and Resha Banasihan chipped in with six points each.
Rachel Ganir led the Warriors with eight points. Leilani Laranio and Danielle Jure had six a piece for the Kapa‘a attack. Kapa‘a hosts the Red Raiders on Tuesday in second round action. The JV game starts it off at 5:30 p.m. The varsity contest begins 20 minutes after the completion of the JV competition.
