Konawaena’s Celena Molina took advantage of the early signing period on Wednesday to put ink to paper for a full ride basketball scholarship to Washington State University. ADVERTISING Konawaena’s Celena Molina took advantage of the early signing period on Wednesday
Konawaena’s Celena Molina took advantage of the early signing period on Wednesday to put ink to paper for a full ride basketball scholarship to Washington State University.
Molina follows in the footsteps of her sister, Chanelle Molina, who is currently a freshman guard for the Cougars.
“It feels good to join Chanelle at Washington State,” Celena Molina said. “She makes me a better player, and motivates me to work hard and do my best.”
The Molina sisters, including current Konawaena junior Cherilyn, have a history of working well together on the court. As a trio they led the Wildcats to two state championships.
Now two of the sisters will have a chance to reunite at the college level.
“These are two girls who knew exactly where the other would be on the court,” said Konawaena head coach Bobbie Awa. “Chanelle can do whatever she wants on the court, but if she did get stuck, she always knew she had Celena because she was always moving.”
Awa added that she sees Chanelle being a “mother-type figure” to Celena when she arrives at Washington State, which will give her an advantage.
“Chanelle is the older sister and will be on Celena to do everything right,” Awa said. “She will also make her feel at home and feel safe.”
Though she will have help from her sister, the transition won’t be an easy one. For the Wildcats, Celena Molina has played out of position for most of her career. She has been a top rebounder and scorer under the basketball. However, she is undersized for the same position at the college level.
“She was our finisher here, but at Washington State she will not be playing post,” Awa said. “She will be running the floor, getting to the corners and hitting 3s. She will be a shooter with confidence.”
Molina also received an offer from University of Hawaii-Manoa, but the pull to join her sister at Washington State was just too strong.
A three sport star at Konawaena, Molina has excelled on the basketball court, on the volleyball and on the track. Though she signed a basketball scholarship, Celena Molina hopes to still tryout for the volleyball team.
“I like to multitask and it is good practice for college,” Celena Molina said. “I just have to make sure I stay focused and keep up with my school work.”
Molina, a three time All-BIIF selection and two-time All-State Fab 15 member, joins Taryn Shelley (Shorewood High School, Washington) as early signees for the 2017 Cougars class.
“It is a proud day to have these two outstanding student athletes joining our Cougar basketball family on the National signing day,” Washington State head coach June Daugherty said in a press release Wednesday. “Both young women are very talented players who compete at the highest level on the court and are proven winners. Tayrn and Celena are strong valuable additions into the WSU frontline and backcourt positions of our team.”
With her future set, Molina is now preparing for her senior season on the hardcourt. However, she is still recovering from a severe ankle sprain from volleyball, and has tweaked the ankle twice in practice.
Awa hopes to have Molina at 100 percent near the end of the season. As for now, she is fighting through the injury and working on becoming a leader on the team.
“My sister and I followed Chanelle, but now it is our turn to step up and be leaders just like she was,” Celena Molina said. “We still need more practice, but we will push the team to work hard.”
