The Konawaena girls' basketball team passed its first test of the 2015 New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I State Championships Wednesday night in the form of a 51-37 win over defending titlist Punahou.

It was a bit of a rough start for the Wildcats, who have been ranked atop the ScoringLive/OC16 Girls Basketball Power Rankings all season.

They could only watch as the Buffanblu jumped out to a 13-7 first quarter lead behind Elle Uyeda's hot shooting. The sophomore guard drained three treys and scored all but two of her team's points in the first quarter.

Konawaena coach Bobbie Awa said her team gave too much cushion to Uyeda on the perimeter while trying to account for Punahou's post duo of Tyra Moe and Vae Malufau.

Eventually, however, the Wildcats adjusted. They got a big morale boost at the end of the first half, when Chanelle Molina converted a three-point play to send it into the intermission tied at 20.

"That gave us a lot of energy and hope," Molina said, who finished with a game-high 16 points. "As soon as we heard the crowd cheering it just pumped us up."

The Wildcats came out guns blazing in the second half, while the Buffanblu sputtered.

"We came out and looked a little bit flat in the second half, but we fought as hard as we could," Punahou coach Kevin Velasco said. "Kona is tough. They have great ball-handling skills. I give them credit."

The Buffanblu went scoreless for more six minutes during the third quarter, during which the Wildcats went on a 12-0 run.

"I thought we ran the floor more and did a better job of looking for our shots in the second half," Awa said. "We wanted to double down in the posts, but still find their shooters, so it was just a different way of defending down there in the post, but the girls did a good job. It was just a little bit of adjustments and a little more listening."

By the time the fourth quarter came around Konawaena held a 34-25 lead, which forced Punahou to start trapping defensively. Eventually it wore down the Buffanblu, who gave up numerous layups by the Wildcats.

"Chanelle Molina did a heck of a job from the high post," Velasco said. "We tried to put different people on her, but she's a tough player."

Molina said they wanted to utilize their speed advantage against the taller Buffanblu.

"We just had look for the mismatches," Molina said. "There were a lot of plays actually where the big girl was me, so I just took her off the dribble and as soon as they double-teamed me, I would just kick it out to the corner for that jump shot."

Awa offered a more simple explanation.

"They just listening, that's all," Awa said of her team. "I think they were really pumped up and excited to play, so as soon as they calmed down they did a lot better."

Konawaena's next test comes in the form of an undefeated Roosevelt team in Thursday's semifinal round. That game is expected to tip off at 7 p.m. and will follow the 5 p.m. semifinal between Lahainaluna and Maryknoll at 5 p.m. Both games will be played at McKinley's Student Council Gymnasium.