Taylor Wu scored 19 points and Lily Lefotu Wahinekapu added 17 as top-seeded ‘Iolani escaped with a 52-49 win over Kamehameha in the final of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships on Saturday night at Stan Sheriff Center.

The final seconds provided an epic, controversial finish. Kalina Obrey, who finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, swished a 29-foot 3-pointer as time expired, apparently tying the game for Kamehameha. It was a surreal moment, as Kamehameha’s bench emptied and players celebrated, and simultaneously, ‘Iolani’s bench also cleared as the girls began celebrating at midcourt, believing that Obrey’s shot was too late.

After further review via replay, officials ruled that Obrey’s shot came after time had expired.

“I saw the red light go on before she shot it,” said Wu, who fouled out prior to the final shot. “That’s why we ran on the court. I was the first one out there.”

The Raiders (23-6) won their first state title since 1996, when the late Bernie Ching led the program to back-to-back crowns. Kamehameha (18-7) provided all the resistance possible in a thriller of a final. The Warriors have not won the state title since ’13.

The review took several minutes, leaving fans on both sides in a state of major anxiety. According to the HHSAA, the play was reviewable by replay, contrary to what Kamehameha fans — and others — may have thought. At first, one of the officials who reviewed the play said that the basket was good, but after seeing multiple angles, including one that had a sight line of the shot and the red light, officials marched back across the court and met with Kamehameha coach Pua Straight and ‘Iolani coach Dean Young. After several seconds, Young dashed to his bench, waving his arm in victory.

“It was an emotional roller coaster. I kept telling them, ‘We’re going to overtime, be focused.’ I didn’t want them to come crashing down, thinking that we won. What a battle. My heart goes out to Kamehameha. It came down to the very, very end.”

Obrey, who had scored a state-tourney record 38 points the night before against Kalani, was in stunned disbelief with the rest of the Warriors.

“I couldn’t tell. I was just focused on the basket,” the senior said.

The game was as tight as expected between the two rivals from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. When the Raiders got two buckets in transition, including a putback by Wu on a missed layup by Kira Tanabe, they had a 23-18 lead. Kamehameha quickly called time out with 3:33 left in the first half.

Kamehameha finished the half strong, getting free throws from Malie Marfil and Haley Masaki. After Noelle Sua-Godinet hustled from the weak side to block a layup attempt by Alexis Huntimer, Obrey found Sua-Godinet open on the block for an easy layup to tie the game at 25 with 40 seconds left.

Sua-Godinet then capped the run by partially blocking a corner-3 attempt by Kawai Kahalehoe at the buzzer.

‘Iolani opened the second half with three buckets from Wahinekapu — a foul-line jumper, a layup on a steal and assist by Wu, and a fast-break drive. Kamehameha pounded the ball into the paint and took the lead on a 23-foot trey by Obrey, 34-31. After Sua-Godinet hustled for a layup, the Warriors had a five-point lead going into the fourth stanza.

The lead got up to six points on a wing 3 by Camille Feary on a fast-break feed from Obrey, but it was tough to get a point after that.

Wu splashed a 25-foot bomb to bring ‘Iolani within 40-39 with 3:10 left, and after a Kamehameha turnover on the ensuing inbounds, she banked in a 25-footer from the other side for a 42-40 lead with 2:50 left.

After Wu swished two free throws, the Raiders led 44-40 with 1:47 to go.

Obrey cut the lead to two after sinking foul shots with 1:26 left. Huntimer countered with two foul shots to extend ‘Iolani’s lead to 46-42 with 1:23 left, but ‘Iolani continued to foul. Obrey hit two more charity shots to cut ‘Iolani’s lead to 46-44 with 54.2 seconds remaining.

After Wu sank two free throws, the Raiders led 48-44 with 52.3 ticks left. Marfil answered with a pull-up wing 3, with a screen from Obrey, to cut the lead to one with 38.5 ticks remaining.

Wu was continuously clutch, drilling two more foul shots for a 50-47 Raiders lead with 37.3 seconds left. Obrey answered with a bucket in the paint, drawing a foul in the process to cut the lead to 50-49. Wu fouled out on the play, but Obrey missed the FT and Wahinekapu rebounded.

The sophomore was fouled and calmly hit both free throws for a 52-49 lead with 19.5 seconds to go.

Kamehameha called time out, and Masaki’s 3 was short from the left wing. Marfil hustled for the rebound, dribbled to the corner and fed Obrey, who was waiting deep in 3-point territory. She let go the shot quickly, but it was simply a fraction of a second too late.

‘Iolani had not reached the state final since 2012, losing to Konawaena. The Raiders had not won a state championship since ’96, when the late Bernie Ching guided them to back-to-back titles.