One night after shooting lights out, Kamehameha grinded one out.
The youthful Warriors went only seven deep, but perhaps their should be no surprise that the HHSAA Division II girls basketball tournament’s most successful program is holding serve on its home island.
“We know we belong,” Warriors coach Weston Willard said.
Kamehameha proved it again Friday night, holding off Mid-Pacific 43-35 in the semifinals at Keaau High. The second-seeded Warriors will return to the Cougars gym at 6 p.m. Saturday when they take on top-seeded Hawaii Baptist in search of their fifth Division II state title and first since 2013.
The Eagles denied an all-BIIF final by ousting Kohala 52-42 in the earlier semifinal at Keaau.
“Each game the girls get better with experience,” said Willard, who singled out sophomore point guard Saydee Aganus for her performance.
“St. Francis played great man-to-man defense, and Saydee pushed us through,” Willard said.
Aganus led a balanced effort with nine points, Jordyn Mantz and Caitlin Poe each added eight and Makenzie Kalawaia had seven points and 12 rebounds.
Willard called the win gritty, pointing to two key charges taken by Kalawaia.
“They were game-changers,” Willard said. “The game was tight the whole way.
“We won by being scrappy.”
Kamehameha won the rebounding battle 40-26 and held Mid-Pac to 25 percent shooting.
Ciera Kameehonua led the Owls (13-4), the ILH runner-up, with 13 points.
Next up Kamehameha is the ILH champion Eagles (15-0), who kept the Warriors from reaching their fifth consecutive state final last season with a victory in the semifinals.
“They are very disciplined on both ends,” Willard said. “We just need to play our game.”
Hawaii Baptist 52
Kohala 42
The Eagles started red-hot from beyond the arc, making four 3-pointers in the first three minutes, then regained the lead for good late in the third quarter to deny the Cowgirls.
“I told the girls to be proud with how far they went, and it’s not over yet,” Kohala coach Adam Harrison said.
BIIF runner-up Kohala (9-5) will play Mid-Pac for third place at 4 p.m. at Keaau.
Naai Solomon Lewis collected 16 points and 14 rebounds for the second day in a row for Kohala, and Tezrah Antonio added 14 points.
Ally Wada scored 18 points for Hawaii Baptist, which was 8 of 17 from 3-point range.
