After a long trip to town, the Waianae Seariders were pleasantly surprised at the hospitable offerings of their host, Moanalua.

But even after Moanalua missed 16 free throws, the Seariders saw a seven-point second-half lead disappear, and Na Menehune rallied for a 39-31 win last night in the opening round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference girls playoffs to end Waianae's season.

Moanalua (11-8, 8-5 OIA), the third-place team from the East, will travel to Mililani today as the double-elimination format of the playoffs kicks in.

Jaidon Rego led Moanalua with 12 points and four steals, scoring 10 points in the second half to spark her team.

Waianae, which got five 3-pointers, stayed close thanks to the long-range shooting of Beverly Madrid and Maili Enos-Branigan. Madrid led all scorers with 16 points, and she made three treys.

“;Holy smokes, they hit five 3s,”; Moanalua coach Kristie Morikawa said. “;Part of it was because of our zone, but we just wanted to survive tonight.”;

Moanalua shot 11-for-27 from the line, including just 3-for-14 in the first three quarters. Waianae had a 27-23 edge in rebounding, but committed 25 turnovers.

“;We just don't have the athleticism to go against teams that play a tight man-to-man,”; Waianae coach Kevin Nakamoto said.

Despite 10 first-half turnovers, Waianae led at the half and opened the lead to 26-19 after Madrid scored on a reverse layup and Tiara Tagaloa hit a layup.

With just eight players in uniform, Waianae began to run out of gas. Moanalua's fullcourt pressure wore down the visitors. Rego had six points during a go-ahead surge, including a drive through the middle that gave Moanalua a 31-29 lead with 4:21 remaining.

Waianae slumped in the fourth quarter (1-for-10) and went 5 minutes without scoring. Free throws by Meleane Smith brought the Seariders within 33-31 with 1:44 left, but a follow shot by Rego off a missed free throw drew the ire of Nakamoto.

The whistle blew immediately after Rego and Waianae center Shaina Pogia pulled down the miss simultaneously, but Rego got an NBA-continuation style basket.

“;I was OK with the over-the-back, even if it was questionable,”; Nakamoto said. “;But the basket was pretty long after the over-the-back.”;

That gave Moanalua a 35-31 lead, and after Pogia missed a point-blank layup with 1:10 left, Moanalua scored the final four points, all from the line.

Two of those free throws came from Jasmine Funtanilla, who had 12 points. She missed her first nine tries from the charity stripe and finished 2-for-12.

Point guard Joanna Nicolas added seven points, seven assists and two steals for Moanalua.

“;Our first half wasn't as good as it could've been,”; she said. “;We really fought through in the second half instead of giving up. We didn't want our season to end just yet.”;

WAIANAE — Alesa Ramaila 0, Emma Atiga 0, Maili Enos-Branigan 8, Lacy Manuel 0, Beverly Madrid 16, Brittany Perry 3, Shaina Pogia 2, Tiara Tagaloa 2
MOANALUA — Britney Calucag 0, Joanna Nicolas 7, Jasmine Funtanilla 12, Meleane Smith 0, Jaidon Rego 12, A.J. Verdida 4, Shantaeus Ramos-Dias 2, Jasmine Young-Gusman 2.
3-point goals — Waianae 5 (Madrid 3, Enos-Branigan 2), Moanalua none.

Kapolei 40, Kalani 29

Leilani Tauani-Fifita scored six of her 13 points in the first quarter to lead the Hurricanes over the Falcons.

Jo-Ann Payongayong hit back-to-back 3-pointers shortly before halftime for Kapolei, which travels to No. 7 Roosevelt tonight.

Kalani is done for the season.

KALANI — Marissa Sumida 0, Kelsie Maslanka 0, Erika Jang 2, Corie Kuia 8, Kiera Iinuma 8, Kristi Belshe 0, Christine Sasano 4, Kiah Fujita 5, Hikaru Kumagai 0, Alyssa Obata 0, Lauren Masaniai 0, Alexandra Rogers 2 , Joyce Lam 0.
KAPOLEI — Krystal Jacobs 2, Danniel Tapat 1, Kaity Wills 2, Rhilee Soriano 0, Tamar Rodrigues 0, Diamond Carter 8, Kawehi Hagi 8, Jo-Ann Payongayong 6, Vanessa Banogan 0, Leilani Tauani-Fifita 13, Noelle Garland 0.
3-point goals — Kalani 1 (Fujita). Kapolei 2 (Payongayong 2).

Castle 57, Aiea 37

Kailee Awa scored five of her game-high 17 points in the third quarter as the Knights blitzed Na Alii after halftime to break open a tight game.

Sierra Iona added nine points, including two of the Castle's six 3-pointers, as the Knights eliminated Na Alii and advanced to tonight's matchup with No. 9 Pearl City.

AIEA — Ashlei Liilii 1, Celeste Fong 5, Maccyn Samisoni 0, Kaala Leopoldo 9, Savannah Albinio-Cudal 3, Amithysse Moore 0, Mele Samisoni 7, Temukisa Lautalo 2, Kaui Kuehu 4, Tiara Fetui 6.
CASTLE — Brandee Sasaki 8, Kailee Awa 17, Brittany Hawn 3, Sierra Iona 9, Amber Umeda 2, Leisha Liilii 6, Maile Barros 2, Kaisha Dacosin 0, Joshell Lilio 4, Brittney Lane 4, Brooke-Lee Kaluaau 2.
3-point goals — Aiea 2 (Leopoldo, Albiniio-Cudal). Castle 6 (Sasaki 2, Iona 2, Iona 2).

McKinley 65, Campbell 45

The Tigers eliminated the Sabers and will visit Farrington tonight.

ILH GIRLS

No. 6 'Iolani 55, No. 8 Mid-Pacific 52

Lori Yamashita scored a game-high 18 points, dropping four 3-pointers from beyond the arc as the Raiders edged the Owls.

Kelli Shibata led Mid-Pacific with 13 points.