Moore moves into finals in the Rip Curl Pro at Bells

Hawaii’s Carissa Moore held off Lakey Peterson of California today in the semifinals of the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia.

Surf at Bells was nearly perfect — 6 to 8 feet and glassy.

Moore held a big lead throughout much of the semifinal heat before Peterson caught two breathtaking waves to amp up the pressure. Moore, however, picked up a 9.00 score on her second-to-last wave to edge Peterson 18.67 to 18.50 and move on to the final against Australia’s Tyler Wright.

Moore has put up three of the top five combined scores of the event, nailing a 19.43 in her first-round heat and an 18.37 in the quarterfinals when she defeated Silvana Lima of Brazil.

Hawaii’s Malia Manuel and Alana Blanchard were eliminated earlier in the day, each falling in the fourth round.

Hawaii’s Coco Ho was eliminated in Round 2.

The final is likely to go on Sunday.