Kamehameha's Tiare Kanoa takes the ball down court. Evan Asato | SL

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Chailey Cabalis goes for a jump shot over Kamehameha defenders Evan Asato | SL

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Kamehameha and Hilo players fight for a rebound. Evan Asato | SL

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Thu, Feb 7, 2013 @ Blaisdell

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Hilo

50

Kamehameha

58

Final	1	2	3	4
Hilo	7	10	16	17	50
Kamehameha (12-0, 18-0)	21	13	10	14	58

T. Kanoa 15 pts  1 3pm  4/4 FTs

Ali. Pana 17 pts  1 3pm  8/10 FTs

In a tale of two halves, Kamehameha-Kapalama survived a furious second-half comeback by the Hilo Vikings to advance to the championship game of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Division I Girls Basketball Tournament.

Tiare Kanoa led the way with 15 points, and Lilia Maio added 14 points more in Kamehameha's 58-50 win, putting the Warriors into the state title game for the first time since 2002.

Kanoa said, "As a team we tried to push the ball, in the first half we came out strong, we were ready. In the second half we knew they (Hilo) were going to come out hard and I think we were a little bit timid. They came out full court pressed us. We had a hard time handling it at first, but once we figured it out we did better. Our goal was to push through those bad times and we stayed together."

Warriors' Kealani Ryder had 10 points, including four free throws at the end to put the game away.

Hilo junior Aliyah Pana had a game-high 17 points and freshman Alexis Pana added 14 points.

The Warriors jumped out quickly to a 11-0 in the first quarter, with Lilia Maio contributing 6 of the 11 points in the run.

Cold shooting from the floor put the Vikings in a hole until Hilo's Shalyn Guthier hit 2 free throws, trailing 13-2.

Kamehameha used an 8-4 run to end the quarter to go up by 14 points.

In the second quarter, Kamehameha continued to pressure Hilo and went up 28-11 after a rebound and putback by Maio.

Kamehameha led by 17 points going into halftime, 34-17.

Hilo's Alexis Pana opened the third quarter with a three pointer and Chailey Cabalis had a steal and layup to make trail, 34-22. However, the Warriors answered back and driving layup by Kanoa brought the lead up to 18 points and Hilo called timeout with 4:09 remaining.

Following the timeout, Hilo's Aliyah Pana was aggressive and made two trips to the free throw line. She sank all four free throws to pull the Vikings within 13, 40-27.

Hilo's Cierra Keli'i made a layup off a curl to make it 42-31 and Kamehameha called a timeout at 1:16. Hilo would outscore Kamehameha 16-10 in third quarter.

"Three quarters we played great, but you have to give them (Hilo) credit, they switched it up on offense and played well. We had some mental breakdowns, but they were fixable," said Kamehameha assisant coach Edgar Palafox.

In the fourth quarter, Sharlei Graham-Bernisto's put back cut the deficit to single digits, 44-35. The Vikings clawed back to bring the game within 6, 48-42 after a basket by Aliyah Pana. Kamehameha pushed the lead back to 8 after a shot by Maio. Hilo's Cabalis blew by her defender and laid it up and Kamehameha called a full timeout with 3:47 left.

"They're fighters as you can see the way they came back," said Palafox.

Hilo's Alexis Pana hit a three pointer and brought the Vikings within 3, 52-49. Kealani Ryder had a fastbreak layup to give the Warriors a 5 point lead. Hilo's Guthier made 1 out-of 2 free throws to make it 54-50. Toward the end, Kamehameha tried to play keep away and Ryder hit the last four free throws to seal the game.

Kamehameha, the number 2 seed in the tournament will take on defending state champion and number 1 seed Konawaena.

"Konawaena's been there. They've been in state championships and they're well coached and disciplined. It should be a good game and I think we matchup pretty well with them, said Palafox.

Kanoa added, "I'm excited! We had a goal in the beginning of the year and we worked really hard to get there. Every game we grew as a team and I think it prepares us for this moment tomorrow."