Hailey Maeda scored a game-high 15 points and Jennifer Ching added 10 points last night to help Punahou surge past 'Iolani, 41-35, for its fourth straight Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls basketball championship and ninth in the past 10 years.

A crowd of about 900 at watched the visiting Buffanblu finish ILH play at 10-2 and earn the league's top seed and first-round bye for the state tournament Feb. 1-4. The Raiders, who had won seven consecutive games, fell to 9-3 and will face Sacred Hearts in the ILH tournament semifinals Tuesday. The tournament winner will earn the league's second state tournament berth.

'Iolani used intense defensive pressure to deny Punahou, 51-41, on Jan. 4, but last night the Buffanblu refused to buckle.

"It feels good, we played hard together," said Maeda, who transferred from 'Iolani after her freshman year. "We just wanted to work together tonight, because last time we played mostly as individuals, we weren't trusting each other."

The Raiders took a 27-26 lead on Saphyre Rezentes' layup to open the fourth period, but Maeda answered with a free throw to start Punahou on an 8-0 run capped by Turner Wong's free throw to make it 34-27 with 3:54 remaining.

'Iolani cut the lead to 34-31 on Alyssa Li'ili'i's layup with 2:57 left, but Ching and Maeda sank four consecutive free throws to push it to 38-31 with 1:38 remaining. The Raiders closed to 39-35 after two free throws by Abrianna Johnson-Edwards with 25.5 seconds left and regained possession three seconds later after the Buffanblu mishandled the ensuing inbounds pass.

But 'Iolani missed two 3-point attempts and Maeda closed out the victory by sinking two free throws with 0.3 ticks remaining.

"I'm happy because our team motto is 'play together,' and that's what we did," Punahou coach Mike Taylor said. "There's no secret to it -- we just have to execute and trust each other."

Raiders coach Eddie Maruyama said the Raiders' nearly four-minute scoring drought was similar to one they struggled through in a 46-42 loss at Punahou on Dec. 16. Even Maeda's fourth foul with 5:18 left -- sending her briefly to the bench -- did not result in any points for 'Iolani.

"We couldn't capitalize," Maruyama said. "But give Punahou credit, they did a better job of taking care of the ball tonight and they played hard for four quarters. That's their game."

Rezentes led the Raiders with 12 points.

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