Punahou players celebrate their 52-50 double overtime victory over Konawaena in the championship of the girls Division I basketball state tournament. at the Stan Sheriff Center. It was the Buffanblu's second state title in three years. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I don't think I've been in a tougher, more exciting win in all my time playing high school basketball," said Punahou senior guard Shanna-Lei Dacanay, a four-year letter winner. "It took a lot out of us physically and emotionally, but we just kept pushing and persevering."

Sophie Merrifield sank two free throws with 1:09 remaining in the second overtime to give the Buffanblu a 47-45 lead, then sank another free throw with 40 seconds left to put Punahou up, 48-45. Sophomore post Jazzmin Awa-Williams made a short jumper to close it to 48-47 with 30 ticks remaining.

After Christine Takara's free throw gave the Buffanblu a 49-47 lead with 26 seconds left, Merrifield added a free throw with 16.7 seconds left to make it 50-47.

The Wildcats (23-2) then missed on a 3-point attempt, and Dacanay sealed it with two free throws with eight seconds left. Hina Kimitete swished a 3-pointer as time expired for the final score.

Punahou's Christine Takara drove against Konawaena's Jessica Hanato during last night's championship game state girls basketball championship at the Stan Sheriff Center. Punahou dethroned defending champion Konawaena in double overtime, 52-50. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Wildcats were one second away from repeating as state champ, but Ciana Aiwohi's driving layup with one tick remaining in regulation sent it into overtime with the score tied at 41-41.

"All we told the girls was get to the basket and create an opportunity," Buffanblu coach Mike Taylor said.

Said Dacanay: "Ciana just stepped up and took what they gave her. I can't express how huge that shot was."

It was one of many huge shots throughout the game.

Awa-Williams scored a game-high 24 points, including a short banker with 1:07 left in regulation to put Konawaena up, 40-39. Punahou turned it over on its next two possessions, and Haunani Liftee sank a free throw with eight seconds left to make it 41-39.

Freshman Shawna-Lei Kuehu put Punahou up, 45-44, with 1:03 remaining in the first overtime, but Liftee tied it on a free throw with 18.8 seconds left. The Buffanblu's attempt to get a shot off before the buzzer was snuffed, sending it into a second OT.

"My hat's off to Konawaena," Taylor said. "It's so much fun to compete against them, because they play as hard as they can, and they play clean and with a lot of class. They're so well-coached and disciplined and they leave everything on the floor. I couldn't have scripted a better ending for us."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.

DIVISION I GIRLS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

TUESDAY

First round

Roosevelt 60, Kaua'i 33

Kalaheo 41, Baldwin 29

Honoka'a 42, Kaiser 39

Iolani 66, Farrington 43

WEDNESDAY

Consolation bracket

Kaiser 55, Kaua'i 42

Farrington 60, Baldwin 59 (OT)

Quarterfinals

Honoka'a 53, Lahainaluna 43

Punahou 59, Roosevelt 41

Konawaena 46, Kalaheo 34

Kahuku 47, Iolani 32

THURSDAY

Consolation bracket

Lahainaluna 52, Roosevelt 48

Iolani 65, Kalaheo 48

Semifinals

Konawaena 52, Kahuku 20

Punahou 54, Honoka'a 38

YESTERDAY

Consolation

Kaiser 65, Farrington 61

Fifth place

Iolani 63, Lahainaluna 33

Third place

Honoka'a 59, Kahuku 48

Championship

Punahou 52, Konawaena 50 (2OT)

YESTERDAY

DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP

• Konawaena (23-2) 9 12 9 11 4 5 — 50
• Punahou (22-1) 8 10 12 11 4 7 — 52

3-point goals —Konawaena 4-14 (Kimitete 3-8, Hanato 1-2, Liftee 0-4), Punahou 1-9 (Dacanay 1-5, Aiwohi 0-2, Brossy 0-2).

Blocked shots—Konawaena 2 (Awa-Williams, Hanato), Punahou 0. Turnovers—Konawaena 17, Punahou 19.

DiVISION I THIRD-PLACE

• Kahuku (21-5) 15 11 12 10 — 48
• Honoka'a (21-6) 13 14 15 17 — 59

KAHUKU—Artevia Wily 3-8 5-6 11, Aisha Ale 4-10 2-2 10, Kamaile Hughes 3-6 2-5 8, Camilla Ah-Hoy 2-9 2-2 7, Tina Soliai 2-3 1-1 5, LeeAnn Mapu 1-1 0-0 3, Ane Vea 1-1 0-0 2, Christine Meredith 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 17-39 12-16 48.

HONOKA'A—Keisha Kanekoa 5-12 9-10 21, Kari Heers 7-11 6-6 21, Wila Lavea 4-5 5-7 13, Jerrika Lorenzo 0-4 2-2 2, Joliese DeMello 0-0 1-2 1, Jessika Lorenzo 0-0 1-2 1, Alyssa Souza 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-34 24-33 59.

3-point goals—Kahuku 2 (Mapu 1, Ah-Hoy 1). Honoka'a 3 (Kanekoa 2, Heers 1). Rebounds—Kahuku 21 (Ale 5). Honoka'a 25 (Kanekoa 9). Assists—Kahuku 6 (Wily 3). Honoka'a 7 (Kanekoa 3).

DiVISION I Fifth-place

• Iolani (21-7) 16 17 13 17 — 63
• Lahainaluna (19-4) 12 6 7 8 — 33

IOLANI—Jamie Smith 7-8 3-4 17, Chanel Hirata 2-4 2-2 8, Keilyn Fujioka 3-4 0-0 6, Alana Wall 1-4 4-5 6, Hennasea-Sue Tokumura 2-8 0-0 6, Meilin Akamu 2-3 0-0 6, Chelsea Unemori 2-3 0-0 5, Sarah Turgeon 2-2 0-0 4, Kaz Masutani 1-4 1-2 3, Alana Matayoshi 1-5 0-0 2, Marci Kang 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 23-49 10-13 63.

LAHAINALUNA—Kelci Fushikoshi 4-10 4-7 12, Alise Hatch 2-10 0-0 6, Tasha Pagdilao 2-8 0-2 5, Mapu Pali 1-3 3-4 5, Monique Blando 1-3 0-0 2, Jessica Maielua 1-4 0-0 2, Casey Bartolome 0-1 0-0 0, Tekira Rickard 0-1 0-0 0, Yasnaya Perez 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 11-40 8-15 33.

3-point goals—Iolani 7 (Akamu 2, Tokumura 2, Hirata 2, Unemori 1). Lahainaluna 3 (Hatch 2, Pagdilao 1). Rebounds—Iolani 34 (Smith 10). Lahainaluna 24 (Hatch 6). Assists—Iolani 13 (Kang 4). Lahainaluna 3 (Domingo 1, Pagdilao 1, Fushikoshi 1).

DIVISION I CONSOLATION

• Farrington (8-11) 14 15 16 16 — 61
• Kaiser (19-9) 14 17 16 18 — 65

FARRINGTON—Tanya Sale 6-7 4-6 16, Kapio Alatasi 4-9 2-2 10, Taulagi Alatasi 3-9 2-2 8, Elane Leaupepe 4-12 0-0 8, Joanna Montero 1-4 3-5 5, C'ani Kealoha 2-9 0-0 4, Dejanira Bryce 2-3 0-2 4, Shirlynn Tambua 2-2 0-1 4, Kirstyn Va'a 1-1 0-0 2, Janiene Sablan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 11-18 61.

KAISER—Nicole Lehner 7-17 10-10 24, Sharde Pratt 9-11 3-5 21, Kilioe Ali'ifua 4-8 1-2 9, Kehau Bangay 3-8 0-0 6, Jaime Nerona 1-2 2-6 5, Jolie Yoshino 0-4 0-4 0, Kelsey Beck 0-1 0-0 0, Renee Shitanishi 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 24-53 16-28 65.

3-point goals—Farrington none. Kaiser 1 (Nerona). Rebounds—Farrington 34 (Sale 12). Kaiser 30 (Pratt 9). Assists—Farrington 9 (Sale 3). Kaiser 13 (Nerona 6).

THURSDAY

DIVISION I SEMIFINAL

• Honoka'a (13-3) 5 8 8 17 — 38
• Punahou (12-0) 5 15 12 22 — 54

HONOKA'A—Keisha Kanekoa 5-12 3-4 14, Kari Heers 3-7 4-7 10, Wila Lavea 3-8 1-3 7, Alyssa Souza 0-1 0-0 0, Jerrika Lorenzo 1-5 1-2 4, Jessika Lorenzo 0-0 0-0 0, Joliese DeMello 1-2 0-0 3, Chelsey Souza 0-0 0-0 0, Tehani AhLoy 0-0 0-0 0, Whitney Acdal 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-35 9-16 38.

PUNAHOU—Shawna-Lei Kuehu 4-7 7-12 15, Shaena-Lyn Kuehu 4-8 7-10 15, Sophie Merrifield 1-5 3-3 5, Christine Takara 0-3 0-2 0, Ciana Aiwohi 1-3 1-2 4, Lauren Tompkison 0-0 0-0 0, Dara Tompkison 0-0 0-0 0, Shanna-Lei Dacanay 5-11 4-10 15, Stacy Brossy 0-1 0-0 0, Melanie Feldman 0-0 0-0 0, Tessa Sonobe 0-2 0-0 0, Elizabeth Abe 0-0 0-0 0, Devon Yamauchi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-40 22-39 54.

3-point goals—Honoka'a 3 (DeMello, Jerrika Lorenzo, Kanekoa). Punahou 2 (Aiwohi, Dacanay). Rebounds—Honoka'a 29 (Kanekoa 7). Punahou 27 (Shawna-Lei Kuehu 12). Assists—Honoka'a 6 (Kanekoa 4), Pun. 9 (Dacanay 3).

STATE TITLES

Division I

Year—School (coach)

2005—Punahou (Mike Taylor)

2004—Konawaena (Bobbie Awa)

2003—Punahou (Mike Taylor)

2002—Kamehameha (Clay Cockett)

2001—'Aiea (Fran Villarmia-Kahawai)

2000—Kamehameha (Clay Cockett)

1999—Kamehameha (Clay Cockett)

1998—Punahou (Shelley Kahuanui Fey)

1997—Punahou (Shelley Kahuanui Fey)

1996—Iolani (Bernie Ching)

1995—Iolani (Bernie Ching)

1994—Punahou (Shelley Kahuanui Fey)

1993—Kamehameha (Al Apo)

1992—Kamehameha (Al Apo)

1991—Kamehameha (Al Apo)

1990—Kamehameha (Al Apo)

1989—Iolani (Bernie Ching)

1988—Kamehameha (Al Apo)

1987—Iolani (Calvin Hashimoto)

1986—Waiakea (Gilbert Tomas)

1985—Waiakea (Gilbert Tomas)

1984—University (Nelson Yoshioka)

1983—Kahuku (Harry Kahuanui)

1982—University (Larry Kanda)

1981—Punahou (Robin Durand)

1980—Punahou (Robin Durand)

1979—Punahou (Robin Durand)

1978—Maryknoll (Russell Dung)