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Kamehameha's Kennedi Akana blocked a three-point attempt by Turner Wong in the dying seconds to preserve a 34-31 win, and propel the Warriors to their first state tournament appearance in over a decade.

The Buffanblu trailed 12-6 after the first period and 20-14 at halftime, but seemed to show some signs of life in the third, as they trimmed the lead from 6 to 4 heading into the final period of play.

Momentum seemed to shift Punahou's way in the fourth period, as the Buffs steadily chipped away at the Kamehameha margin, eventually seizing the lead at 29-28 at the 5:18 mark on a pair of Hailey Motooka free-throws.

But in the end, Kamehameha made good on all four attempts at the charity stripe to push the lead to 34-31, forcing Punahou to go for the tying basket from beyond the arc.

"Coach basically told us to watch the threes, don't let them shoot any threes...nothing goes on from the three-point line." said Akana, who used a clear height advantage to deflect Wong's shot attempt backwards, where it was rebounded by teammate Alohi Robins-Hardy.

Offensively, Kamehameha was led by Robins-Hardy, Krystal-Lei Mills and Lilia Maio, who each chipped in 8 points each.