Lasi Tuiolemotu came a long way for this chance.

The Kapolei sophomore had 26 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks as the host Hurricanes pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 54-36 win over Kaimuki on Wednesday night.

Kapolei, the third-place team in the OIA West, advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Division I playoffs and will travel to Kahuku today.

Tuiolemotu and her teammates were simply too quick. She finished with four steals and had a couple of coast-to-coast buckets.

“I just grab and go,” said Tuiolemotu, who transferred to Kapolei from Federal Way, Wash. “I don’t know about Kahuku. I’ve heard of the school. I heard they’re a pretty tough team. Every team’s a tough team. We’ve just got to work hard.”

Kaimuki got 23 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks from senior Kaelyn Espinda. The Lady Bulldogs ended their season 12-12 overall, 6-6 in league play. Kapolei coach James Aronica used five different defenders to stay on Espinda, a deadly long-range shooter.

“Our game plan defensively was to slow down No. 20, Kaelyn. We ran our box-and-one and I think we ran it pretty well, as well as we could,” Aronica said. “We ran a lot of girls at her. Ayana (Nunuha) was our main defender on her.”

The visitors led 10-7 after one quarter as Tuiolemotu missed her first three shots. Kapolei was 3-for-13 from the field and was outrebounded by the Bulldogs 17-7 before the second quarter began.

Kapolei’s full-court pressure took a toll, forcing Kaimuki into nine second-quarter turnovers. Tuiolemotu’s steal and long pass to Julia Velasco for a 3-pointer gave the home team a 16-13 lead with 5:10 left in the first half.

Kaimuki never led again. Tuiolemotu had 10 points as the Hurricanes opened a 26-18 lead by halftime. Her putback on a missed shot opened the lead to 30-20 in the third quarter.

Kaimuki cut the lead to 36-30, getting six points from Espinda.

The ’Canes took control in the final quarter with fresh legs. Tuiolemotu hustled for a three-point play to extend Kapolei’s lead to 13 points, and after Velasco banked in a 3, the lead was 47-33 with less than 3 minutes remaining.

Velasco and Analisa Liotta finished with nine points each, triggering Kapolei’s fast break start to finish.

Samantha Ono and Ivy Ruben added five points each for Kaimuki. Ruben is one of three JV players who were brought up to the varsity for the playoffs. Nani Pfeiffer-Kekoa and Misha Remigio each hustled for seven rebounds.

“There were possessions defensively when we didn’t box out. We gave up too many second-chance opportunities,” Kaimuki coach Jordan Wong said. “We got a little tired, too.”

It was the finale for Espinda, who goes down as one of the top scorers in Kaimuki history.

“There’s so much to say about her,” Wong said. “She’s our leader. We go as she goes.”

Espinda saw her team shrink with time, suiting up the minimum of five players in one game against Kaiser.

“We definitely got better. We came a long way,” she said. “Props to Kapolei. They definitely wanted it more than we did.”