Honokaa won its second state title in as many years with its 33-31 win over Hawaii Baptist in the championship game of the New City Nissan/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Girls Basketball Championships at the Stan Sheriff Center Friday evening.

The Dragons, the Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II champion, rallied from an early eight-point deficit to outscore Hawaii Baptist 22-14 in the second half.

"Winning the state championship is huge," said Honokaa coach Daphne Honma. "I'm happy for my kids. I'm proud of how they played tonight, how they held it together. It's just amazing that these kids came back from being behind with not having a lot of returnees returning form last year. For them to come out here and pull it all off is a great feeling."

Senior guard Shayla Ignacio led Honokaa's comeback effort, scoring 11 of her game-high 13 points in the fourth quarter. She was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

"Shayla has grown so much over the two years," Honma said on Ignacio. She's huge for us. She's our floor leader and she has confidence. I don't know if it was just nerves in the beginning. She was a little shaky, but she held it together. She held her composure and she did a great job."

Another key contributor for the Dragons was junior guard Kizzah Maltezo with nine points and three assists. Reserve Kawena Kaohimaunu added eight points on 3-for-4 shooting and post Eliyah Fernandez had a game-high seven rebounds.

Ignacio started her fourth quarter scoring streak with a corner triple to tie things up at 24-all. After Hawaii Baptist's Rylie Wada knocked down a 3-pointer, Ignacio came right back with another triple to knot things up at 27 apiece.

The score would remain tied until the 3:08 mark of the fourth quarter when Ignacio was fouled on after securing an offensive rebound. The 5-foot-4 senior calmly knocked down both of her free throws to give Honokaa the lead for good, 29-27.

"I was really down on myself early so I felt that I had to do something to help the team," said Ignacio. "I just had to stay in control, go hard on defense, be patient on offense and just look for easy shots."

From there the Dragons were able to lock down on defense and milk the clock down with patient offense. Hawaii Baptist didn't do itself any favors either, giving up two offensive rebounds with under two minutes to play. A handful of free throws by the Dragons pushed the lead to 33-28 with 28.7 remaining.

A 3-pointer from Hawaii Baptist's Stephanie Dang made things interesting with 13.3 left on the clock. The Eagles' defense on the ensuing inbounds pass was near perfect, forcing two timeouts and a held-ball possession in Honokaa's first three attempts. 

The Dragons' fourth attempt to inbound the ball made the final 8.4 seconds of the game a wild scramble for Hawaii Baptist. Honokaa's inbounds pass went into the front court and the Eagles were able to corral it with time winding down. The Eagles were unsuccessful in getting a buzzer-beating shot off and Honokaa was able to hold on for the win.

"Just one of those things where maybe we're playing not to lose rather than trying to win," Hawaii Baptist Keith Sugiura said on the fourth quarter difference. "Give Honokaa credit, they kept their poise and composure. They're the champions for a reason. I give coach Daphne and the rest of the girls all the credit."

Dang scored 12 points with two treys to lead the Eagles.

NEW CITY NISSAN/HHSAA DIVISION II GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Division II All-Tournament Team
Stephanie Dang, Hawaii Baptist
Riana Arima, Kamehameha-Hawaii
Kizzah Maltezo, Honokaa
Rylie Wada, Hawaii Baptist
Jenee Brown, Hawaii Baptist
Most Outstanding Player: Shayla Ignacio, Honokaa