HONOLULU — Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) powerhouses Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i and Konawaena girls basketball wrapped on their seasons Friday on Oahu, both competing for third place in their respective brackets.
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KS-HAWAI‘I 55 – KAPAA 25
The Warriors wrapped up another impressive season with a 30-point victory over Kapaa at Blaisdell Arena — officially finishing the year at 18-5 overall and earning third-place honors in Division II.
After originally clinching the semifinals, KS-Hawai‘i fell in heartbreaking fashion to Maryknoll on Thursday night by a score of 48-34, placing it in the third-place game.
Although KSH fell short of state title aspirations, the Warriors have much to be proud of. The blue and white finshed unbeaten in the BIIF at 14-0 en route to their island title — the only school on the Big Isle to do so. The team averaged 64 points per game in BIIF play, beating two top-10 state-ranked teams in Konawaena and Waiakea in the process.
KSH will lose some key players in the offseason, including University of Hawai‘i-Hilo commit Keanu Huihui and Western Oregon volleyball commit Maela Honma. Huihui and Honma served as the two-headed dragon in the scoring department for the Warriors this season, averaging 25.6 and 18.9 points per game, respectively.
Kapaa finished the year 14-5 overall.
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KONA 47 – LAHAINALUNA 35
Earlier in the afternoon, Konawaena claimed its third-place title in Division I with a 47-35 win over the Lunas at Blaisdell Arena — officially ending the year at an impressive 21-4 overall.
Originally, Kona punched its ticket to the third-place matchup after falling 52-35 to KS-Kapalama in the semifinal round on Thursday night at McCinley High School.
Haikela Hiraishi led the Wildcats with 13 points, follwed by teammate Tavina Harris with nine. Harris also hauled in a game-high 15 rebounds.
On Lahainaluna’s side, Lola Donez notched a game-high 19 points and four steals. Donez’s teammate, Juseana Rae Delatori, added 10 points.
Kona finished the year as one of the top teams in the state and the highest-scoring squad on the Big Island, averaging nearly 75 points per game in the BIIF. The Wildcats will lose some size in the offseason, as top scorer Tavina Harris is set to graduate. However, Kona should retain a majority of its core — including Hiraishi, Ki‘ilei Leleiwi, Mikela Salazar-Harrell and Kaitea Galletes.
The Lunas ended 2023-24 at 14-7 overall.