To overcome a mammoth performance, the Konawaena Wildcats went into clinic mode.
Konawaena, the smaller team, made use of bounce pass after bounce pass to thwart Miramonte’s swarming pressure defense for a stunning 63-62 win on Thursday night in the opening round of the ‘Iolani Classic.
Chanelle Molina, the returning All-State player of the year, had 25 points (9-for-15 from the field), six rebounds and seven assists to lead Konawaena (12-0). It was a disciplined offense by the ‘Cats as a whole that made the biggest difference against the much taller Matadors (3-1), who got a whopping 39 points and 17 rebounds from 6-foot guard Sabrina Ionescu.
The junior shot 14-for-27 from the field, slashing from the wings and sinking five treys along the way. Ionescu, who has several scholarship offers, hit three 3-pointers in a row as the visitors cut a 61-49 deficit to 61-59 with 29.8 seconds left.
Konawaena, which suited up just eight players, wobbled to the finish, but got a key layup by Celena Jane Molina on a pass from sister Cherilyn Molina to give their team a 63-59 lead with eight seconds to go.
Ionescu then banked in a 3-pointer from NBA range at the buzzer for the final margin.
"We played OK," Wildcats coach Bobbie Awa said. "We’ve worked a lot on press breakers. It’s when we dribbled too much that we got in trouble."
Celena Jane Molina finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Cherilyn Molina tallied 10 points and six assists.
Keana Delos Santos scored 15 points for coach Kelly Sopak’s Matadors, who graduated five key seniors from last season’s 30-2 squad. The Matadors, from Orinda, Calif., lost in their CIF regional final and finished ranked No. 23 nationally by MaxPreps.
The first half was fast-paced. Chanelle Molina scored 12 points in the first quarter as Konawaena took a 22-20 lead. The Wildcats opened the lead to 43-31 by halftime.
"They were going 100 mph," said Awa, who has guided her program to five state championships.
Konawaena had a 45-31 lead early in the third quarter, when the Matadors went on a 10-0 run to pare the margin to 4. That included eight points in a row by Ionescu.
The Wildcats settled down and stretched the lead to 10 with 4:08 left before Miramonte mounted its final comeback attempt.
"This is a big win for us. It’s the first time we’ve been here in two years," Awa said. "It’s totally different style of basketball here than our other games. We had to play harder and smarter."