Here comes Hawaii Prep again, making a postseason charge and playing with its own unique style of ball.
The extremely patient Ka Makani eliminated Honokaa 35-32 in the BIIF Division II girls basketball semifinals Tuesday at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium.
In the other semifinal, Kamehameha ousted Kohala 50-20.
Honokaa was trying to return to states for the first time since 2018. Back then, Kaena Tagabi was a freshman when the Dragons finished fourth. She’ll have one last shot next year as a senior.
Kamehameha (7-4) and HPA (5-6), the defending champion, will play for the BIIF title at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Hilo Civic and a seeded berth at the state championships, which will be held Feb. 5-8 at the Civic.
The season is over for the Cowgirls (3-8) and Dragons (4-7).
Maja Burdova sank a pair of free throws to push HPA ahead 35-32 with 8.9 seconds left. She made 3 of 4 free throws.
Tagabi drove toward the rim but her layup missed. A putback attempt also missed and time ran out.
The Dragons apparently didn’t take a good look at the scoreboard. They needed a 3-pointer but went for a layup. During the regular season, Ka Makani beat the Dragons 38-30.
The Dragons had their chances in the semifinal but failed to pressure the ball for much of the game. That allowed Ka Makani to patiently run their offense, working the ball inside to Burdova, who finished with 13 points on 5 of 15 shooting.
One difference-maker was HPA’s Hijiri Kanasugi, who added eight points, including 6 of 8 free throws. The Dragons were often late on their rotations and fouled her.
Mariah Borce scored 14 points on 5 of 8 shooting, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, to lead HPA with 14 points. Ka Makani shot 34 percent from the field but made 10 of 15 free throws.
Tagabi scored 14 points on 7 of 18 shooting and had nine rebounds while freshman Kristen Ragasa added 12 points for Honokaa, which shot 27 percent from the floor and hit 3 of 8 free throws.
“It was a team effort,” Borce said. “When one person was off, another player picked her up. I thought our defense was OK. We could have done better.”
In the fourth quarter, HPA made 8 of 13 free throws and outscored Honokaa 18-16 in the final eight minutes.
Ragasa drilled a clutch 3-pointer to cut HPA’s lead to 33-32 with 12.9 seconds left.
Then Ka Makani started to drain the clock before Burdova was fouled with 8.9 second remaining.
“We’re not a high scoring team,” HPA coach Lacey Hester said. “Defense is our strength. If we’re going to work that hard on defense, we’ll take a break on offense and make sure to take a good shot.”
In the first half, the game moved at a turtle’s pace as both teams struggled with their shooting and ball-handling. HPA and Honokaa each finished with 16 turnovers.
Borce, a senior point guard, shook free and drilled three 3-pointers, the last for an 11-6 lead.
Tagabi carried the Dragons as much as she could, rebounding, running the floor and dropping in layups. She had six points in the first half and Ragasa added three points, on a layup and free throw to give Honokaa an 11-9 halftime lead.
Kamehameha 50, Kohala 20: The Warriors jumped out to a 12-0 lead, scoring three baskets off turnovers, a theme for the game. The Cowgirls finished with 33 turnovers, unable to contend with Kamehameha’s athleticism.
“We came out and put pressure on them, and that helped,” Kamehameha coach Dominic Pacheco said.
The Cowgirls stuck with a 2-3 zone. But that didn’t matter much. The Warriors were able to get enough entry passes inside to Sarah Schubert, who scored 19 points, including 15 in the first half, going up strong when she got the ball in the post.
“In Kohala, we faced a 1-2-2 zone,” Pacheco said. “The 2-3 kind of slowed us down, when we weren’t able to push the ball. I expect more teams to use a 2-3 against us.”
Schubert is just a freshman but had a dominant game. She hit 9 of 11 from the field and finished with a double-double with 10 rebounds.
“She’s one of the girls who has been on our travel team for three years,” Pacheco said. “She worked hard all summer, and we placed her with the older kids. The nice thing is I got her for three more years.”
The Warriors grabbed a comfortable 36-12 cushion at halftime.
Nique Pacheco added 12 points for the Warriors, who shot 48 percent from the field. The senior point guard struggled with her shot. She made just 5 of 16 but compensated in other areas with her athleticism and court savvy. She finished with 11 steals and had six assists and one turnover.
Kohala finally got on the scoreboard when Tiani Perez scored with 5:45 left in the first quarter.
Danyka Cazimero-Roxburgh and Perez had six points each to lead the Cowgirls, who shot just 23 percent from the floor.