KEAAU, Hawaii >> Hawaii Baptist took advantage of the chance at a new beginning.

The Eagles raced out to a large lead and never looked back in a 44-31 win over Kamehameha-Hawaii in the championship of the HHSAA Division II girls basketball championship on Saturday night.

“We just came out with a lot of energy,” senior Stephanie Dang said. “Most games we lack energy in the beginning, so we tried to focus on that today.”

HBA players sat through Kamehameha-Hawaii’s entire win over Mid-Pacific in the semifinals the night before, and they say it gave them an advantage over the team they beat in last year’s semifinals. The Warriors struggled shooting against HBA’s feisty defense, just as they had against Mid-Pacific in the semis.

“We just had a hard time getting the ball into the basket,” Kamehameha-Hawaii coach Weston Willard said. “We had some nerves and HBA played really good help/man defense and we got off to a start that made it a little bit difficult to recover. It’s a good experience for us, we lost to a great opponent.”

“The girls could kind of see the speed of their game and their strengths and I think it really helped them,” HBA coach Keith Sugiura said. “We had a pretty detailed pregame, but all of this is on the girls. They are the ones who stepped up.”

Kamehameha-Hawaii didn’t score until 1:20 remained in the first quarter and HBA led 6-2.

The Warriors fought back, but the Eagles were too much, running the margin up to 14 after three quarters.

Ally Wada led Hawaii Baptist with 13 points and Dang chipped in 12. Caitlin Poe led Kamehameha-Hawaii with 12 points, but nobody else scored more than six. The Warriors shot just 19 percent from the field in the game to make HBA’s 30 percent look accurate.

It is the first state title for Hawaii Baptist, which lost to Honokaa in last year’s final after finishing third the year before.

“We made history for HBA,” Dang said. “The seniors left this for us and we as seniors want to leave something for the younger ones. Some people thought this would be a rebuilding season, but we never thought that.”

HAWAII BAPTIST 44, KAMEHAMEHA-HAWAII 31

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; r: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played.

Halftime — Hawaii Baptist 19, Kamehameha-Hawaii 11

3-point goals — KSH 2-9 (Poe 1-3, Mantz 1-4, Sullivan 0-1, Victor 0-1). HBA 2-7 (Dang 1-3. Ka. Nakagawa 1-3, Chun 0-1). Steals — KSH 4 (Aganus 2, Cai. Poe, Cam. Poe). HBA 2 (Dang, Ka. Nakagawa). Blocked shots — KSH 3 (Aganus, Sullivan, Ca. Poe). HBA, none. Turnovers — KSH 10 (Aganus 3, Mantz 2, Aguiar 2, Kalawaia, Sullican, Ca. Poe). HBA 11(Dang 3, A. Wada 3, Ka. Nakagawa 2, Lorenzo 2, Benn). Technical fouls — none. Officials — Robert Trujillo, Paul Daugherty, Bryan Cannon

Third place

Mid-Pacific 55, Kohala 44

MID-PACIFIC—Margaret Leung 0, Harley Simon 10, Kayla Muraoka 0, Tylee-Kanani Wong 8, Kerry Ellen Chun 3, Emma Porter 0, Payton Antonio 0, Ciera Kameehona 15, Marjorie Cheng-Leever 2, Judy Phan 7, Brilie Kovaloff 10, Brenda Huynh 0, Samantha Uyehara 0.

KOHALA—Briana Harrison 2, Brittany Shimono 0, Naai Solomon-Lewis 15, Camylle Jayde Agbayani 9, Mikayla Kekoa 2, Tezrah Antonio 16, Jessica Tenorio 3, Estefie Viernes 0, Kyrah Sol 0.

3-point goals—Mid-Pacific 7 (Kameehouna 3, Wong 2, Simon, Kovaloff). Kohala 3 (Antonio 2, Agbayani).

Fifth place

Kaimuki 46, Damien 45

KAIMUKI—Sirena Titer 4, Jamie Lakmis 2, Liza Anien 0, Sonia Palik 5, Kayla Borja 0, Keihara Henry 0, Kaelyn Espinda 16, Brandi Pfeiffer-Kekoa 4, Kuuipo Sefo 0, Alissa Chon 0, Anastasia Vea 3, Kato Leha 10, Dacyleen Amond 0, Cleopatra Lauvao 0, Mele Loo-Godinet 2.

DAMIEN— Ghenniel Vegas 0, Kelsey Perreira 0, Taylor Labanon 2, Jonnalee Galdones 0, Karly Navas 12, Melina Souza 19, Karissa Racoma 0, Ilana Sagapolutele 2, Catherine Votovich 10, Chantelle Agag 0, Montana Carter 0.

3-point goals—Kaimuki 5 (Espinda 4, Vea). Damien 3 (Navas 2, Souza).