The behemoths have arrived.
Second-seeded Konawaena got 12 points from Braelyn Kauhi to rally past Kamehameha, 48-42, in semifinal action at the Heide &Cook/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships on Thursday night at McKinley Student Council Gym.
“We played well as a team. We turned it around in the second half, limiting them to one shot. They were killing us on the glass in the first half,” Konawaena co-head coach Bobbie Awa said. “We made some good adjustments and made some tough baskets in the second half. Our bigs worked harder.”
Kamehameha owned a 37-27 advantage in rebounds, but the young Wildcats, who struggled at times in preseason, were in full-confidence mode.
Back on Nov. 12, Kamehameha beat Konawaena 47-36 behind 21 points from freshman Nihoa Dunn on the same McKinley hardwood during a preseason tourney.
“We got better during the season. We have a lot of young girls. We played a lot of preseason games, so we get a lot of games under their belt for this,” Awa said.
Konawaena meets ‘Iolani for the crown tonight at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center. ‘Iolani is the three-time defending champion, while Konawaena won four consecutive titles before that.
“ ‘Iolani is ‘Iolani. They’re tough, year in, year out. We’re looking forward to playing them tomorrow,” Awa said.
The Wildcats (23-4 overall) overcame a huge first half by Dunn, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds by intermission. Dunn took only four shots in the second half and finished with 13 points and 12 boards. It was quite a late-season run by the young Warriors.
“We had some good looks to cut it, but we just couldn’t hit tonight,” Kamehameha coach Pua Straight said.
It was a gritty team effort by BIIF champion Konawaena. Haikela Hiraishi and Kaanoipua Leleiwi scored nine points each, and Angelie Molina tallied eight points. Using halfcourt man-to-man defense and some fullcourt pressure, they limited Kamehameha to 36 percent field-goal shooting (16-for-55), including 3-for-19 from 3-point range.
Kya Kanoho added 11 points and four assists for ILH runner-up Kamehameha (22-12), Mikylah Labanon added nine points. Freshman Rylee Paranada, who scored 22 points with seven 3-pointers in a quarterfinal win over Moanalua, was held scoreless by the relentless Wildcats on 0-for-7 shooting from the field.
Konawaena scored the first five points of the game on a 3-pointer and a layup by Kauhi. Kamehameha then went on a 17-4 run. Kanoho scored five points and Dunn had six in the paint as the Warriors opened a 17-9 lead in the second quarter.
After Dunn swished an 18-foot jumper and then two foul shots, Kamehameha had a 21-11 lead.
Molina splashed consecutive 3-pointers from the left corner, and Hiraishi drove for a tough basket to bring the Wildcats within 21-19 with less than three minutes left in the first half.
By halftime, Kamehameha had a 25-21 lead.
The Wildcats surged ahead with an 8-0 run to start the second half. Molina’s follow shot on the break gave the Wildcats a 26-25 lead and Kaylie Yamasaki’s corner 3 off a feed from Kaitea Galletes extended the margin to three points.
Kanoho’s straightaway 3 tied it at 29, but Kauhi answered with a corner 3 for a 32-29 Konawaena lead.
Hiraishi’s driving, lefty layup gave the Wildcats a 34-29 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Warriors got within four points, but Leleiwi scored in the post, then drove for a tough basket to open the lead to 39-31 with 4:38 to go.
Galletes scored in the post on a pass from Hiraishi, and Yamasaki stole the ball from Kanoho, delivering to Hiraishi for an easy layup to give Konawaena a 43-31 lead with less than three minutes remaining.
Kamehameha got no closer than six the rest of the way.
