Kamehameha's Lilia Maio puts up a shot over the defense of Konawaena's Mercedes Victor. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Kamehameha's Tiare Kanoa drives past Konawaena's Hokulani Liftee. Timothy Ing | SL

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Kamehameha players celebrate at midcourt after topping Konawaena in overtime to win the Division I title. Timothy Ing | SL

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Konawaena's Chanelle Molina (11) goes up for a bucket over Kamehameha's Tori-Jean Cambra (14). Sean Nakamura | SL

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Kamehameha's Taira Robins-Hardy put us a jump shot up against Konawaena. Tyler Kanoa | University High

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Kamehameha's Breann Nueku defends Konawaena's Melissa Simon. Timothy Ing | SL

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Kamehameha-Kapalama players raise the Division I trophy after defeating Konawaena in overtime, 45-39. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Fri, Feb 8, 2013 @ Blaisdell

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Kamehameha

45

Konawaena

39

F/OT	1	2	3	4	OT
Kamehameha (12-0, 18-0)	7	2	9	19	8	45
Konawaena	11	11	13	2	2	39

• Points
• Rebounds
• Assists

C. Molina 16 pts  2/2 FTs

T. Kanoa 16 pts  1 3pm  9/11 FTs

M. Victor 6 tot

L. Maio 12 tot

C. Molina 3 ast

T. Robins-Hardy 3 ast

Lilia Maio and Tiare Kanoa saved their best for last.

The duo helped fuel an incredible 25-0 run to rally Kamehameha to an epic 45-39 overtime win over Konawaena Friday in the title game of the Hawaiian Airlines/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Girls Basketball State Championships at Neal S. Blaisdell Center.

A crowd of about 2,500 fans saw the Warriors stage a miraculous comeback to claim their first state crown since 2002 and ninth overall.

Kanoa scored a team-high 16 points, including five in overtime, and Maio pumped in all of her 14 points after halftime to pace Kamehameha, which completed the season with a perfect 15-0 record.

“It feels amazing. We worked hard through a lot of adversity,” said Kanoa, a 5-foot-7, junior guard. “A lot of people kept saying we won by luck, we won by luck, we won by luck and that just fueled us more. We fueled off each other, all of our energy off each other and our coaches did a good job of keeping us in the game.”

The game was tied at 37 after regulation and the Warriors outscored the Wildcats, 8-2, in the overtime period.

Konawaena held its largest lead at 33-13 following a 3-pointer by Hokulani Liftee with one minute and 45 seconds left in the third quarter. The Wildcats held a 37-18 advantage following a Courtney Kaupu bucket with 7:25 left in regulation.

However, Alohi Robins-Hardy's basket with 6:57 to play ignited the Warriors furious rally. Maio converted a 3-point play with 2:08 remaining to cut the Wildcats' lead to 37-35. After a Konawaena missed field goal, Maio tied it at 37 with her putback of Tori-Jean Cambra's 3-point attempt from the left wing with 28.5 seconds left on the clock.

The Wildcats had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but Chanelle Molina's shot was no good to force overtime.

Kamehameha took its first lead since the 4:35 mark in the first quarter – when the score was 6-5 – with Maio's 8-foot jumper just 21 seconds into the extra period. The Warriors capped their run by extending their lead to 43-37 off four made free throws by Kanoa, who made 9 of 11 from the charity stripe for the game.

“Free throws are so important to us – we shoot 50 free throws in practice before we can get water,” said Kanoa, who was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. “In a big game like this, for me at least, I was thinking to myself that 'I'm shooting at the gym, I'm shooting at the park - tunnel vision - that was the big thing for us.”

Mercedes Victor pulled Konawaena within four at 43-39 with 9.5 seconds left, but Kamehameha sealed it at the line with two more made free throws.

“It's incredible, it's a good feeling,” Warriors' coach Darold Imanaka said. “They did a good job, they never quit and this is what this team is all about. The coaches did an excellent job.”

Maio said the Warriors did their best to keep their composure during a dire first half, in which they made just 3 of 15 field goals, and trailed 22-9 at halftime. Kamehameha did not make a single field goal and went scoreless for six minutes and 18 seconds during the second quarter. Konawaena shot 58.8 percent (10 of 17) from the field in the first half.

“We were frustrated, but after halftime we talked to each other and we said that 'This is not over yet, we can do it, we can come back. 'We've done it before, we can do it again,'” said Maio, a 5-foot-11, senior center. “It was just the adrenaline and the heart that we all had and as a senior I had to step up and take care of business for my team.”

Molina scored 16 points and Kaupu added 11 for the Wildcats, which made just 6 of 18 second-half field goals.

Imanaka said fresh legs helped his team down the stretch, while Konawaena's six-man rotation fatigued.

“We told them push up the defense, (because) I noticed that their legs were gone,” Imanaka said. “They were stumbling when they were dribbling and we got a lot of steals off of that because their legs were dead. They couldn't shoot the ball because their legs were dead and we just kept playing, playing, playing. Our shots were horrible in the first half, they were banging theirs, so I told them that 'It's going to balance out, just keep shooting the ball, it's going to balance out' and it did.”

Imanaka hinted at stepping down after his second season as head coach at Kamehameha.

“We don't know yet, we don't know yet. You know, I'm old,” Imanaka said. “We'll see what happens.”

The second-seeded Warriors beat Maui and Hilo en route to the final, while the top-seeded Wildcats topped Mililani and Iolani in earlier rounds. Both teams had a first-round bye in the 12-team tournament.

Konawaena, which won the state title in each of the past two seasons, made its fifth consecutive appearance in the championship game. The Wildcats, who finished the season with a 12-1 record, were seeking their sixth state crown since 2004.