HILO — Kohala girls basketball ended its Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) season on a high note.
The first-seeded Cowgirls won their fourth straight game on Wednesday at Hilo Civic, beating No. 4 Pahoa in the KTA/BIIF Division II Girls Basketball Championship. They routed the Lady Daggers 47-25 to punch their ticket to the state tournament. The winners ended up getting their revenge on Pahoa, who beat them 46-37 on Dec. 17, 2024.
It was the first BIIF title the black and gold have won since 1991.
Kohala (17-3 overall, 12-2 BIIF) hung its hat on defense in this game, swiping for 14 steals. Kalia Marquez and Mahea Pang led this charge with four steals apiece. In the scoring department, Adriana Jayne Soriano led the team with 18 points to go along with eight rebounds. Marquez added 12 points. The pair have been the top-two scorers for the DII champions all season long.
In the conference this season, the Cowgirls scored an average of 55.2 points per game while allowing under 26. Kohala allowed 30-or-less points 11 times, heading to the state tournament with one of the top defenses across the islands. As of late Thursday afternoon, the Cowgirls’ seeding and first-round opponent have yet to be decided.
Pahoa finished the island season at 11-3 — averaging 48 points per game while allowing under 32. The Lady Daggers are also expected to make the state tournament. Pahoa’s best stretch of the BIIF season came in December and January, when the Lady Daggers won six straight. They are led by Sophia Moniz, who averages 16.6 points per game.
See the paper in the coming days for state tournament updates.
Kona 102, Waiakea 11
Konawaena girls basketball saved one of its best BIIF performances for last on Wednesday night at the Civic.
The Lady Wildcats blasted Waiakea 102-11 to clinch another BIIF DI title, officially clinching the second seed in the HHSAA Division I Tournament. They are slated to play the winner of Kamehameha Schools-Maui vs. Mililani at 7 p.m. Thursday at Damien High School on O‘ahu. It was also Kona’s seventh straight win.
The paper was unable to locate the top scorers from this game by deadline.
Dominance would be an understatement to describe Kona’s 2024-25 BIIF season. The Lady Wildcats have scored nearly 77 points per game while allowing 13.1 — averaging out to an incredible +63.8 point differential. They have scored 80-or-more points on six separate occasions across the season. Kona will be one of the top favorites to win the state title, last appearing in the 2023 HHSAA DI Championship.
Despite the loss, the Lady Warriors will play in the DI state tournament, too. They’ll host Campbell in the opening round on Monday at Waiakea High School. Tip off is slated for 3:30 p.m.
The Lady Warriors have also had an impressive season. They finished 8-8 overall while averaging nearly 39 points per game. Waiakea’s strongest stretch of the year came earlier this month, where it won three in a row against Hilo, HPA and Parker.
See the paper next week for updates on the state tournament.
KSH 47, Ka‘u 34
KSH girls basketball secured the last BIIF spot in the HHSAA DII state tournament, beating Ka‘u 47-34 in the BIIF DII third-place game.
The Lady Trojans got off to a strong start, out-scoring the Lady Warriors 18-12. However, KSH’s defense hit another gear for the remainder of the game — allowing less than 10 points in each of the second, third and fourth quarters. This was enough to seal victory.
Shailan Benevides, who averages nearly 11 points per game for the Lady Warriors, scored a game-high 19 points with four 3-pointers made.
Teammate Kacie Febo-Santiago added 14 points, while Maci Lonokapu had seven.
Jazmyn Navarro, Ka‘u’s top scorer this season, scored a team-high 15 points. Shaylie Martinez added nine.
KSH moved to 14-6 overall, finishing the BIIF season at an impressive 10-2. The Lady Warriors average 42.4 points per game while allowing 32.6 overall. As of late Thursday afternoon, their seeding and first state opponent is yet to be decided.
The Lady Trojans’ season ended at 8-4 in the BIIF and 11-7 overall — averaging 42 points per game while allowing just over 37.
