Photo courtesy of Coach Natalie Mata
Closing the Book: Waimea Menehunes (12-6, 10-2 KIF)
vs. Top 10: 0-4 (.000)
Top 10 wins: None
Top 10 losses: HIL, WAIK, HAN, SEAB
Non-Top 10 losses: KAUAI, KAUAI
Home: 4-2
Away: 6-1
Neutral: 2-2
HHSAA: 0-2
To this day, Natalie Mata is an optimist, even after heartbreak.
The Waimea teacher and girls basketball coach is still trying to figure out what went wrong, but with a team that has no one over 5 feet, 7 inches and averages 5-3 plus change, the slope can be slippery. Waimea went 12-5, including 10-2 in Kauai Interscholastic Federation play, capturing its second-consecutive league championship.
Kauai High pushed the Menehunes with wins in the first round and second round, but Waimea won both rounds to qualify for the state tournament again. After reaching the Division II state semifinals last year, expectations were high. Hanalani ended Waimea’s dream in the quarterfinal round, then went on to capture its first state championship.
“There were big lessons for me, making me change a lot of things I do off-season wise,” Mata said on Tuesday.
Mata, a Farrington graduate, began coaching at the JV level in 2013 after earning her degree at UH-Hilo. In the 2016-17 season, she became the varsity head coach.
The preseason slate began with a trip to the Big Island for the Waiakea tournament. Waimea defeated Honokaa, then lost to D-I powerhouses Hilo and Waiakea. It was a homecoming of sorts for Mata, a former UH-Hilo hoopster.
“My goal for preseason was the get the girls back in the groove, get the chemistry going and get us to play together. More so, my coaching strategies, which rotations will get everybody back on their toes, making sure I’m making adjustments when I need to. It definitely didn’t change my mind,” Mata said. “It made me realize that I need to incorporate new offensive tricks, not necessarily plays. I let them run free lance, but things like knowing how to read screens, little fine details.”
After Thanksgiving, the Menehunes opened league play with home games against Kapaa and Kauai. Waimea trounced Kapaa, 75-44, but lost to Kauai, 67-66.
“That game, they were just the better team. We play each other six times and it gets pretty boring. If you’re a smart coach — and the other schools have smart coaches — the game plan changes every single time. When I look back at that game, again, I had to make tweaks. This time it was on the defensive side. We were too slow, we were pressing but not pressing.”
Waimea sharpened up in the next two games on the road, beating Kapaa and then Kauai, 81-66.
“The girls’ confidence is up, but I always put it in their ear that we could’ve done better. Sometimes, I may not show enough appreciate or praise to them, but that’s just because I know they can push themselves. These girls are mind strong. That’s what special with these girls, they don’t take things personal,” Mata said.
After another road win at Kapaa, 77-53, Waimea sealed the first-round title with a 68-63 home victory over Kauai.
“At that point, I feel a little bit relieved that we got the first round out of the way,” Mata said. “At the same time, they started to pick up on what we’re doing defensive-wise. Kauai High has three really good offensive players that score whenever they want, so we had to contain them. Going into the next weeks of practice, I put in new presses and defensive plays. My playbook is not set in stone from the start, consistently adding things.”
Round two began just two days after Christmas. The Menehunes had a nine-day break, then routed Kapaa, 53-23. After a 54-46 road win at Kauai and another blowout win over Kapaa, Waimea was 3-0 in second-round play. Then came a 58-46 home court loss to Kauai.
“I was upset, but I wasn’t worried. At that point, to be honest, I remember we deserved to lose that game. The girls didn’t show up to play. It was one of those games. It was a big wake-up call,” Mata recalled. “The practices after that, even if we had a game coming up I would push the girls, they would be sprinting before the game. The girls did fall into a comfortable state of mind after the first round and a couple of games, so that loss was very, very good for us in a mental way.”
Waimea bounced back with a win over Kapaa, and then closed the second round with a 66-37 win at Kauai to clinch the second-round title and the KIF championship.
“If Kauai had beaten us, we would’ve had a second-round tiebreaker. That was our close-out game. Marissa Layosa is their main player. I’m totally against this, but I had to do a game plan to win this game. We did a box-and-one. Kapaa and Kauai basically face guarded my two best players, every single game, so we kind of gave them a taste of their own medicine,” Mata said. “I wasn’t surprised that we won. It was jeez, if we had done this from the start and played like this at the state tournament.”
The 13-day break until the opening round of the state tournament, held in Hilo this year, was typical for a KIF champion.
“The first couple of days, one of my starters, she had a sprained ankle and tried to recover from that. The first week was light, a lot of shooting. The second week, it was just brushing up on all our defensive tactics,” Mata said. “Me and (assistant coach) Kami Imai, we jump in with the girls and scrimmage.
The first-round matchup with ILH runner-up Hanalani was brutal. It was rematch of the 2019 third-place game, which Waimea won 72-60. It was a different ending this time. Hanalani’s young, balanced squad used its size and speed to open an early lead en route to a 63-60 win. Waimea’s state-title dream was crushed.
“I remember everything about that game. They didn’t surprise me. They remind me of us. Not tall, but fast and scrappy. They’re small too. They pulled out the game plan that I was expecting. Quick going up and down, not really stalling,” Mata said. “The first half, they were beating us by 10-plus points. It was just that they got the momentum early and our girls could never snap out of it in the first half. It was one of those games, like our Kauai games that we lost. It wasn’t about x’s and o’s. It was about the heart and drive in the first half.”
Waimea didn’t play badly. One play here, one play there, and it could’ve gone their way. They had the ball with the game tied and 7 seconds left.
“Going into halftime, my girls got an earful from me. Coming out second half, they woke up. That’s when we closed the gap. At the end, we got it tied, 60-60, and from there it was just IQ,” Mata said.
Waimea took a shot with 7 seconds left, missed, and Hanalani gained possession on the sideline with 4 seconds remaining.
“I said, ‘Watch all the drives. Once they pass the half court line, pick it up. No. 30 (Faith Mersburg), a freshman, she was the hot shooter in that game. I said, ‘Don’t let this girl get the ball. Try to stop her from driving. We’ll settle on them shooting a 3.’ They get the ball to her, she goes to the basket and scores on an and-1,” Mata said.
“It was a big disappointment. When I look back at that, I kind of take the blame for that game. Here, I thought our IQ was up there with 7 seconds left,” Mata said.
Waimea could have waited before shooting, just to eliminate any chance of Hanalani getting the ball back.
“We should’ve held on to the ball. Scenarios like that we practice all the time. I take the blame for that. I should’ve called a time out. Heat of the moment, their adrenaline must’ve been going,” she said.
The next day, the juice just wasn’t there, and Mata played her reserves liberally. Eight Menehune played at least 14 minutes in a 62-42 consolation loss to Seabury Hall.
“I played everyone. At that point, we were all disappointed, and knowing we have a young team just two seniors, it was about experience. We still went out to try and win the game, but that day after, everyone was out of it, still. I didn’t want to add more pressure,” Mata said. “The loss to Hanalani really got to us, but we just tried to play everyone and give them experience.”
Height alone doesn’t win or lose games, but without a consistent finisher at the rim, Waimea would have to shoot exceptionally well and create turnovers to consistently beat the state’s best D-I and D-II teams. With Hanalani returning most of its roster next season, the Menehunes have a higher level of basketball to reach. They were just one possession short this season.
Coach Mata shared her thoughts about the season and her players.
This season was ________.
Mata: “A big learning lesson for me. This was probably the most important season. We’ll see how I and the girls react. How we prove that we learned from this season.”
This season was the movie ________.
Mata: “
Review: Starters and key rotation/role players
Kiestin Gummerus, 19 ppg, 5-5, Jr.
Mata: “She’s my shooter, one of my most consistent shooters, but she can also drive. Defensively, she’s a key for me and to our team. She’s quick on defense and that girl has heart. She’s small, gets knocked down with bruises and lumps, but she gets up and keeps going. One thing she improved on is shooting with her left hand. Everything is with her right and the KIF teams started catching on to that. I drilled her on working her left and her teammates got on. To get to the next level, her work ethic needs to change. She’s naturally talented. She listens well, but she’s got to put in the extra work. When nobody’s watching, put in the extra work. I’ve got colleges contacting me about her. I was a college athlete, and you’ve got to train, train, train. Train your mind. Train your body. Go to the park. Work on your shooting. She’s, ‘Yes, coach.’ If she can learn how to do the work on her own and really train for a purpose, she can go someplace big, D-II at least. She’s a 3.5 (grade-point average) or higher.”
Kaye Serapio, 17 ppg, 5-5, Jr.
Mata: “Kaye is an all-around player. She’s good on offense, especially driving. She’s a really talented driver. She’s got the tools and on the defensive end, she’s solid, as well. One of her weaknesses, though, is pull-up jump shots. That’s definitely something we worked on. Another one is, because she’s such a good driver, other teams knew that and would defend her at the rim. We worked on finishing in different ways. Maneuver your body. Nowadays, there’s a lot of ways to finish. Jump shots and different ways to finish is what we’ve been working on. During the season, she got a little bit more comfortable with jump shots. She and Kierstin played with Coach Daphne (Honma)’s team in the summer, and that’s what Daph told her. She’s a one-speed player. She’s got to be more stop and go. She definitely she could play at the next level. She’s got the grades, and Kaye definitely has the work ethic. She’s training on her own all the time. She’s one of the players, I have to tell her to rest. She’s like a machine, this girl.”
Hazel Serapio, 10 ppg, 5-4, So.
Mata: “She plays well together with the other two. Hazel’s our second-best shooter. She can shoot from long range. She can hit the pull-up, but she doesn’t drive when she can. She’s our backup point guard, and when the pressure’s on, she doesn’t want to handle the ball. I asked her straight up, can I depend on you to be my backup point guard, and she said, she can only be the point guard when they don’t pressure that much. I said, that’s unacceptable. I give them credit for being honest with me. Defensively, she plays forward. She’s stronger and she can be rough when she needs to be. She accepted her role and got better at it. I want to see her get more comfortable with dribbling the ball and driving more. She has the skills. It was a rough year mentally for her and we had one-on-one talks. She tries to compare herself to her sister, and I told her, be your own player. You are teammates. Her self-confidence is something we had to keep working on it. After the talks, she would do better. The last Kauai, she played really well for us. I think her peak will be her senior year. She’ll know, this is your team now.”
Braeanna Moises, 5-7, So.
Mata: “This was B’s first year with us. She’s a true post. She had to adjust to everything. She is a really good volleyball player. She finally came out to play basketball. That girl’s super strong. She has really quick hands and really quick feet, and she can jump. By next year, I’m hoping she’ll be in her prime and we’ll have a true post player.”
Cory Burton, 5-5, Sr.
Mata: “She’s more of a role player. She was forced to play the post position with Hazel. Defending down low, she was smart. She’s not the quickest one on the team, but she’s smooth and she embraced her role and played her own style.”
Braelyn Cayaban, 5-0, Jr.
Mata: “She was the glue to my defense. We mixed it up, mostly zone. She’s the first line of defense in our press. When we did the box-and-one, it was her and Malia. They were those irritating defense. I want to see her improve on her offensive side. I want her to be more comfortable. She shoots and drives, but I want her to be consistent. If we can get four out of five starters to score, then it’s hard (for other teams) to pick on two players.”
Malia Constantino, 5-1, Jr.
Mata: “She’s Brae’s relief. Same with her. I want to see her improve on the offensive side. They understand. There’s no yellow or red light for our players. They all have the green light to shoot. I won’t be upset if they take a shot and miss it. I want them to be consistent.”
Layla Tapucol, 5-4, So.
Mata: “Layla could be my next forward, but we’ve got to toughen her up a little bit. She has the skills and the work ethic. She’s always coming to workouts. It’s just a mental game with her. She’s a very good team player. She embraces her role, even if she’s cheering from the bench, but I think she’s getting too comfortable with that role. I want her to know that I want to put her in the game.”
Tiana Ramos, 5-3, Sr.
Mata: “She was my outside shooter. Not as consistent, but she would take the shots. She would be relief to give the girls rest.”
Did the rotation change?
Mata: “Almost every game, my rotation changes. It depends on who’s on, who’s off. Honestly, it came down to confidence sometimes. Maybe attitude at times. That’s just part of the learning lessons. I don’t care how good you are, if you aren’t playing hard or have a good attitude, you’ll be on the bench.”
What or who surprised you most?
Mata: “Malia is the one who surprised me most. Kierstyn, Kaye, Hazel, I know they’re good players. I knew what to expect, but Malia really stepped up to the plate this year in her first year. I knew she wasn’t always the best offensive player, but defensively, she really stepped up. She just came up from the JV level. In the beginning of the year, I thought I wouldn’t be playing Malia that much. By the end of the season, she was Brae’s substitute.”
What were the most adverse challenges?
Mata: “Not really. Just the rut the girls fall into sometimes mentally, which is normal. This season, I did a lot more talking about mental toughness, mentality and confidence than in previous years. They would dig a hole sometimes.”
What was the peak? What was the low?
Mata: “Our peak was our second round, especially how we ended in that last Kauai game. That was definitely the best basketball our team played, from the beginning of January to the end of January. The low was the state tournament. I don’t know if it’s because we had such a long break before the tournament. Their momentum went out the door? Maybe I started their training too early in the offseason. That’s my job to fix those things.”
What will you miss about this group?
Mata: “I’m only losing two girls (to graduation). The girls are tight and they have togetherness, so I’ll miss them. This season didn’t turn out the way that was our goal. I honestly thought this season was our season to take the whole thing, and it totally was a heartbreaker. This season is out the door already. It’s about getting better. What am I going to do to get better and what will our girls do to get better. If we don’t do the work, we’re going to have the same feeling or even worse next season.”
What are you anticipating for offseason and next season?
Mata: “There’s no outside league for us, the high schoolers. The only thing we had to look forward to is the Merv Lopes tournament and that’s cancelled. So, my girls are usually not playing five on five until preseason. Less than half play fall sports, volleyball and cross country. Kiersten and Braeanna play volleyball. Kaye used to play (volleyball) until last year. Braelynn and Malia run cross country.
“I hope our incoming players from the JV prove me wrong. I’ve got 15 jerseys to fill, but I keep people who can contribute in the game. We’ll probably carry 12. My mind isn’t set about keeping 15, 12 or 10. We’ll see. I haven’t decided exactly what we’ll do yet. They know what to expect.”
Comments