The Pearl City Chargers pose for a photo after winning the OIA Division II girls basketball championship against the Castle Knights. Michael Lasquero | SL

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_23012622_GBKB-1.25.23-PCvsCAST-1841.jpg - Michael Lasquero | SL

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Champions once again.

Pearl City captured its second overall league title in school history with a 39-32 win over Castle in the OIA Division II championship game at Moanalua's gymnasium Wednesday night.

Junior forward Shilee Scanlan poured in a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds and had two made triples in the fourth quarter to help the Chargers hold off the Knights for their first crown since 2012 when they won the league's D1 title.

Freshman point guard Aiesha DeWeever was also solid with a stat-stuffing line of nine points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals.

Pearl City also benefitted from a poor shooting performance at the free throw line by Castle, as it shot 1-for-21 from the line.

It was the Chargers' fifth straight win, which came on the heels of a six-game losing streak midseason.

"It's just been unbelievable, the buy-in, the teamwork, the chemistry. These girls love each other and it's made everything so much easier," said first-year Pearl City coach Kyle Martin, who previously was an assistant on the boys team.

"We had a little scare for awhile but they stayed together the whole season and trusted the process and we made it to the end."

Pearl City led by as many as 14 points in the first half thanks to hustle and energy, using a pair of 9-0 runs in each of the first two periods to take a 24-12 lead at the break.

"We had a lot of energy to start it off," said Scanlan. "We kind of dilated it down when we got into some foul trouble, but we told each other to keep it up."

The Chargers were also solid defensively in getting their hands up defending the paint against a much taller Castle team. The Knights also garnered 21 of their 44 total rebounds on the offensive glass, but were held to under just 30 percent shooting from the field (15-for-56).

"All year long we've been smaller than our opponents so we've had a lot of practice fronting the post and having helped, almost like a double so they can't get it inside on us. Our girls made a concerted effort to find each other and back each other up," said Martin.

Freshman post Malia Kini, who had no points in the first half, sparked Castle's comeback bid with 12 points and 16 rebounds, 14 of which were offensive boards. A Madisyn Kong putback cut the deficit to single digits and a Dorian Pokipala free throw made it an 31-23 game heading into the fourth quarter.

That's when Scanlan started to heat up.

Held without a field goal after the first quarter, Scanlan started the final period of play with a triple from the right wing on a baseline-inbounds play. After the Knights got a 3-pointer from Tehani Maxwell, Scanlan responded with a corner trey to give Pearl City a 37-26 lead with 5:21 remaining.

"Shilee stepped up big when we needed those baskets," said Martin. "We were struggling with our offense trying to get it going and she got the clutch shots when we needed it."

Kini then started to do damage with a couple of putbacks that made it a 5-point game, 37-32 with 94 seconds left in the game. However, Castle was unable to make the necessary free throws when it went to the line and Pearl City was able to hold on for the win.

Both teams qualified for the Heide & Cook Girls Basketball Championships, with the D2 tournament being held at the Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium in Hilo. The Chargers will have a first-round bye while the Knights will play in the opening round, which starts on Wednesday.