Teams from the Big Island, Maui and Oahu made the trip to Kailua-Kona for the opening day the 7th annual Stingrays Wahine Basketball Tournament at Kekuaokalani Gym.
Teams from the Big Island, Maui and Oahu made the trip to Kailua-Kona for the opening day the 7th annual Stingrays Wahine Basketball Tournament at Kekuaokalani Gym.
The tournament consists of three youth divisions — 12-under, 14-under and high school.
The tourney was filled will talent on Day 1, with teams in the high school division that comprised of members of the reigning HHSAA Division I championship team Konawaena, Division I runner-up Lahainaluna, and the Division II champion Honokaa.
The Stingrays, which opened the tourney with a big win, are loaded with Wildcat members from that championship squad, including all three Molina sisters, Chanelle, Cherilyn and Celena. Mikayla Tablit and Mercedes “Ihi” Victor are also on the team. The Wildcats defeated the Lunas in the championship game last year, and a rematch could happen Sunday after pool play.
Honokaa might have hoped they could avoid playing the team from Maui after getting beaten handily on Friday by Lahainaluna. The D-II champion was no match for the Lunas, falling behind 22-0 before the scoring drought finally ended with 4:56 to go in the first half with a free throw by Taylor Sullivan. The game was 28-4 at the half and Lahainaluna went on to win, 49-17.
“I was a little disappointed with how we played, especially from the returnees,” Honokaa coach Cheyenne Meyers said. “We were really casual, laid back, scared, but they are big. You have to give them credit. They are bigger than a lot of high school boys teams.”
Lahainaluna looked strong in its first game of the summer tournament. The Lunas coach has been coming to the Big Island for several years and the trip itself is something that the girls enjoy.
“We don’t have too many tournaments on Maui so this gives them something positive to look forward to instead of doing drills all the time,” Lunas coach Todd Rickard said. “A lot of teams get involved with this tournament and it is a good place to come and play basketball.”
Rickard has high praise for the Stingray’s program and the tournament they hold every year. He believes that the Big Island tournament is key to having a successful season during the high school year.
“A lot of the teams you see coming to this tournament are the ones you see during the regular season that come in with that competitive edge,” Rickard said.
The Stingrays can contest to that, having won last year’s title. The team got off to a strong start in the tourney this year with a dominating 72-31 victory over the Sparks basketball team from Maui.
“We just came out of Stingrays camp and the girls were working on a lot of things and it was good to see them apply those things in the game,” coach Jessica Hanato said. “The normal players stood out — like the Molina’s — but Mikayla actually shot the ball [Friday] which was really nice to see. She has been shying away from it for so long and that is something that has been a point of emphasis for her. Ihi was stepping up and hitting jump shots as well.”
The Stingrays tournament will continue with pool play on Saturday and will wrap up on Sunday.