Gritty, physical and, yes, a bit lucky.

Top-ranked ‘Iolani got 15 points from freshman guard Justice Kekauoha, and 10 each from senior Keiki McGee and sophomore Hailey Fernandez for a 54-45 win over No. 2 Kamehameha on Friday night at Father Bray Athletic Complex.

“It feels great. Way to start it off,” Kekauoha said.

In the ILH opener for four-time defending state champion ‘Iolani (15-3 overall), the Raiders’ rugged man-to-man defense limited the visiting Warriors to 3-for-11 shooting from the field in the first quarter. That set the tone for the rest of the night.

“They were making some tough shots at the end. Both sides. This is what you can expect when we play Kamehameha four or five more times,” ‘Iolani coach Dean Young said. “It’s going to be a grind. They’re super talented, so we have to give 110% on defense.”

Nihoa Dunn had 12 points on 6-for-11 field-goal shooting plus six rebounds to lead Kamehameha (14-3, 1-1). Mikylah Labanon added eight points and three assists, and Kapomaikai Nakakura also tallied eight points.

The Raiders opened a 10-4 lead in the first quarter and never trailed. Kamehameha’s man defense was tough, and it took some clutch shooting by the home team to stay ahead. Forward-center Callie Pieper banked in two 3-pointers for ‘Iolani to beat the shot clock, and McGee sank two key treys in the final quarter. The 6-foot junior finished with six points and two rebounds and took turns with center Mele Sake defending Dunn on the block.

“After the first 3, it was working, so I aimed for the backboard. The first one, I was off balance, but it went in, luckily,” Pieper said.

The Raiders managed to shoot 50% from the field (23-for-46) despite physical, scrappy defense by Kamehameha. Even with Sake or Pieper on the floor, they often ran a five-out offense that opened the lanes for slashers like Kekauoha.

“Sometimes when the ball gets sticky and stays with one person too long, you can see the offense get stagnant. We just keep reminding them to keep the ball moving,” Young said.

Both teams collapsed on the low post, limiting touches for Kamehameha’s Dunn and ‘Iolani’s Sake.

“I would’ve liked to get our bigs involved a little bit more offensively,” Young said. “We were working so hard to contain Nihoa. She’s such a beast on the inside. So hard to stop. That was a big focus for our bigs at practice.”

‘Iolani threatened to pull away in the second quarter. A corner 3 by McGee and a tough fast-break layup by Kekauoha on a pass from Fernandez extended the lead to 19-8.

Kamehameha brought the lead down to 24-21 by halftime, but Kanoe Hanohano splashed a 3 and Pieper’s first trey off the glass kept the margin at nine points, 41-32.

Kamehameha got within 48-45 with two minutes left, but McGee’s straightaway 3 pushed the lead back to six points for ‘Iolani. She added another 3-pointer to stretch ‘Iolani’s lead to 54-45 with 38.5 seconds remaining.

In all, the Raiders shot 8-for-18 from the arc. Kamehameha shot 2-for-6 from 3 and 7-for-14 from the free-throw line. The Warriors shot the ball better from the field after the opening quarter and finished 18-for-37 (49%).

‘Iolani won the turnover battle, committing just nine while Kamehameha had 11 giveaways.

‘Iolani visits Punahou on Tuesday as the league’s three-team format in Division I continues. Kamehameha will travel to Punahou on Thursday.

Pieper and Sake aren’t shy about taking open 3-point shots.

“When we had our 3-point contest, bigs versus guards, we won. We won by a lot,” Pieper said.