Kamehameha-Hawaii's Makamae Gabriel drives to the basket against Hawaii Baptist. Brien Ing | SL

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Hawaii Baptist's Rylie Wada puts up a shot attempt against Kamehameha-Hawaii. Brien Ing | SL

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Kamehameha-Hawaii's Caitlyn Poe drives to the basket against Hawaii Baptist. Brien Ing | SL

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Kamehameha-Hawaii's Casey Poe put up a shot attempt in the paint against Hawaii Baptist. Brien Ing | SL

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Fri, Feb 7, 2014 @ Kaimuki

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KS-Hawaii

55

Hawaii Baptist

44

Final	1	2	3	4
KS-Hawaii (9-4, 14-9)	9	9	18	19	55
Hawaii Baptist (9-0, 14-4)	6	13	8	17	44

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

R. Wada 21 pts  2 3pm  3/4 FTs

C. Poe 20 pts  6/9 FTs

D. Hart 11 tot  6 off  5 def

R. Arima 11 tot  3 off  8 def

J. Brown 2 ast

C. Poe 2 ast

Kapahulu – Two-time defending Division II state champion Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii Warriors were not to be denied, as they mounted a huge come back in the second half to knock off second-seeded Hawaii Baptist in the semifinals of the Hawaiian Airlines Hawaii High Schools Athletic Association Girls Basketball Tournament, 55-44.

The Warriors advanced to the championship game for the fourth consecutive time, and will be going for their third straight title in a repeat match up of last year's championship game.

"You got give HBA credit they played tough. Our girls put in and played 32 minutes of hard basketball. The intensity and attitude they came in with tonight it was priceless," commented KS-Hawaii head coach Garret Arima after the game.

In a matchup of size (KS-Hawaii) versus speed (Hawaii Baptist), the Eagles were able to play their game and enjoyed 19-18 advantage at the half.

A reccurring theme of the second quarter was Hawaii Baptist's junior guard/forward Rylie Wada weaving through the lane and finishing amongst the taller Kamehameha players. The 5-foot-4 Wada scored 8 of her game high 22 points in the second quarter.

The lead for Eagles did not last long, as KS-Hawaii came right out of the locker room and put up the first points with a post move from Casey Poe with three HBA defenders in front of her.

The Warriors proceeded to double their first half production in the third quarter alone, outscoring the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Eagles, 18-8.

"We were down by one at half time it was time to take over the game, it was time to buckle down, play with heart and see which team wanted it more," remarked Poe about their half time adjustments. The 5-foot-10 Poe finished as the Warriors' leading scorer with 20 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.

Kamehameha ended the third quarter on a 6-2 run capped off by a Makamae Gabriel running jumper in the lane to give the Warriors the 36-27 lead heading to the final quarter.

Gabriel posted 13 points and five rebounds in the contest.

Hawaii Baptist's Stephanie Dang knocked down her first triple of the night and got a steal on the next possession that led to sophomore guard Ashley Benn cutting the Warrior advantage to four points on the offensive put back.

Down the stretch, the game came down to the Warriors making free throws and junior guard/forward Riana Arima was clutch, hitting 5-of-6 in the final frame.

Riana who is the daughter of head coach Garret Arima commented about what it is like playing for her Dad. "Sometimes he's hard on me but I understand I have to separate coach from daughter."

"I put a lot of pressure on her. Obviously when it's your own child you expect more from them than the other kids, but she's stepped it up this year, she's come a long way, she's a huge part of why we're here and I'm so proud of her," said coach Arima of his daughter who finished a double-double and as the second leading scorer for the team with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

In the loss, HBA shot just 33 percent from the field.

"Everything was challenged and they did a good job of identifying what we wanted to do. When you live and die with perimeter shots the results are what we have here," remarked HBA head coach Keith Sugiura.

Standing in their way of the Warriors' third straight D2 title and fifth overall is an all too familiar foe in Big Island Interscholastic Federation champion Honoka'a.

The teams will face off for the fourth time this season Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Neil Blaisdell Center.