Punahou's Jaci Young throws a pitch to the plate against Kamehameha. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Thalen Masada (5) slides in at home to score the third run in the fifth for Punahou. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Punahou's Amber Popovich extends to make a catch in the outfield against Kamehameha. Tyler Kanoa | University High

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Punahou's Heaven Wong (15) and Sarah Sumida (1) celebrate after scoring off of a Thalen Masada bunt in the fifth. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Punahou rallied to score five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to hand previously unbeaten Kamehameha-Kapalama their first loss in ILH Division I play, 5-3.

"I think for us it was really important to come off that Maryknoll loss because it shows the girls they are capable of playing with the best teams in this case because Kamehameha is number 1, even more so," said Punahou coach Bob Makahilahila. "I was thinking when we played them at their field and lost to them 1-0, we felt we should've played a better game and to come here and do what we did is awesome."

It was a pitchers' duel between Kamehameha's Kamalanai Dung and Punahou's Jaci Young in the first four innings. Dung and Young each finished the game with 8 strikeouts.

Kamehameha got on the board early in the top of the third inning after Katelyn Mahelona scored off of Christine Hipa's RBI single to center field, then went up 2-0 after Kaya Naiwi scored a run off of a Punahou fielding miscue.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Punahou rallied and blew it wide open.

Thalen Masada's bunt single allowed Heaven Wong and Sarah Sumida to score to even it up at 2 after a Kamehameha fielding error. Then, Kylie Popovich followed with a single that allowed Masada to score, giving Punahou a 3-2 lead.

Vanessa Va'a blasted an RBI single to center field that brought in Paige Kawai, who came in as a pinch runner for Popovich, and Nicole Nishizawa scored a run off of Jaci Young's sacrifice fly to cap the scoring for the Buffanblu in the inning.

"We came out with a strong momentum after that one inning and we rode with it. It was great because we had a lot of fun, we were cheering for each other and it was really positive," said Punahou pitcher Jaci Young.

"They (Punahou) really came out to play," said Kamehameha coach Aloha Yamaguchi. "That one inning, when it starts off and things don't go our way, we have to find a way to get out of it and there was a lot of pressure to move on from certain things. It was a trickle effect and they got all those runs in that one inning and we weren't making plays at the right time. Sometimes one inning that could make things happen for teams."

Kaya Naiwi hit an RBI grounder past third base, scoring Kiana Burnett to bring the Warriors within two runs in the sixth, but a strong Buffanblu defensive effort extinguished a Warriors comeback in the top of the seventh to end it.

"That was catcher Kylie (Popovich), she did an excellent job calling the game today. The defense had my back 100 percent so it was easy to fall into a groove because I had a lot of confidence in them and they were great today," said Young.

Kamehameha fell to 8-1, but still remained atop the ILH standings, while Punahou improved to 8-3.

"We have to find a way as a team to do the little things. We have to find a way to come together and pick ourselves up rather than working under pressure and not finding a way out. I believe our players still got it," said Yamaguchi.

"It's great, it's a nice momentum booster, but in the end it's just another game. We still have work to do and they are a great team," said Young.