Konawaena guard Cherilyn Molina dribbles the ball up the court against Kamehameha in a Division I semifinal. John Lujan | SL

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Fri, Feb 3, 2017 @ Blaisdell

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Kamehameha

31

Konawaena

51

Final	1	2	3	4
Kamehameha (9-5, 21-6)	5	4	10	12	31
Konawaena (12-0, 18-2)	11	17	10	13	51

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

C. Molina 16 pts  2 3pm  2/4 FTs

M. Maio 13 pts  1/1 FTs

C. Molina 7 tot  5 off  2 def

M. Maio 6 tot  2 off  4 def

M. Kaawa 3 ast

K. Obrey 3 ast

KAKAAKO — For the second night in a row, top-seeded Konawaena took a commanding first half lead to dismantle Kamehameha, 51-31, in the semifinals of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Division I Basketball State Championships at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center on Friday night.

"I think we surprised a lot of people being back here in the championship game, especially the people who saw us in the Iolani Classic. We got worked at Iolani and people had doubts we will be here. We as coaches and the players, this is our goal to get here," said co-head coach Bobbie Awa.

The Big Island Interscholastic Federation champions (17-2 overall) make their third-straight championship game appearance—11th overall and will face Maryknoll (28-2 overall) in a rematch of last year's title game at 7 p.m. Kamehameha plays Lahainaluna for third-place at 1 p.m.

Three Wildcats scored in double figures: Cherilyn Molina led the team with 16 points, seven rebounds; Mikayla Tablit and Celena Molina added 14 each.

Konawaena raced out to a 7-0 lead after layups by Cherilyn Molina and Mikayla Tablit's 3-pointer to force Kamehameha to call a full timeout at 4:44. Mikiala Maio and Kalina Obrey combined for five points in the first quarter.

"It's very important for us because we have a terrible third quarter. For some reason we have a hard time in the third. We run so we need it fast. To get off and play hard and fast to get the adrenaline going is very good," said Awa, on getting off to good starts.

"Our defense was switching on screens and communicating and hoping there aren't open looks," said Cherilyn Molina.

The Wildcats started the second quarter on a 11-1 run to go up, 22-6. Obrey made 1-of-2 free throws at the 5:07 mark and the Warriors did not make a basket until Maio's 3-point play at 1:02. Tablit and Cherilyn Molina each scored 10 first half points. Tayvia Cabatbat hit a long 2-point jumper before the buzzer as Konawaena took a commanding 28-9 halftime lead.

The Wildcats as a team had 11 assists—Cherilyn and Mahie Kaawa added three each.

"This team is unselfish and they can execute their plays very well. They talk a lot on the court," commented Awa.

"We are family even outside of sports," added Cherilyn Molina, on how the team has so much chemistry on the court.

Kamehameha started rallying late in the third quarter, but Konawaena answered to pushed the lead back up by 20 points.

The Warriors had looks, but could not get it to fall and finished 11-for-34 shooting from the field. Maio, who scored 30 points against Farrington the night before, led Kamehameha with 13 points on 6-of-16 shooting. Obrey finished with 11 points, three rebounds and one block.

"If she's open, she can score. I thought we did a good job on keeping her contained. She got some big baskets in the second half. Kalina is solid inside, she doesn't just get the rebound—she's powerful and she's doesn't just grab the rebound and throw it up, she shoots it. She gets it in the post and she'll make a move," said Awa, on Maio and Obrey.