Defending champion Kamehameha-Hawaii, propelled by Casey Poe's 28 points, rallied from behind in the second half to defeat Honokaa, 55-46, in the all-Big Island Division II final of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball Tournament at the Blaisdell Center.

It was the Warriors' fourth championship in the ten-year history of Division II. Honokaa finished second for the second time in the
tournament's 37-year history, the first time in Division II.

In the first half, Honokaa converted a 16-6 rebounding edge into fast-break baskets, consistently beating Kamehameha-Hawaii down the court to lead twice by as many as nine points. The Dragons made 10 of 21 field goals to just 7 of 22 for the Warriors and led 22-16 at the half.

Kamehameha-Hawaii employed a half-court trap, forcing ten third quarter turnovers and scored the first 14 points of the quarter whlle holding the Dragons scoreless for nearly six minutes. The Warriors took the lead for good, 23-22 with 4:53 left on Makamai Gabriel's layup off an in-bounds pass. Poe scored ten points in the third quarter, eight from the free throw line. Honokaa committed 10 fouls in that decisive quarter, after having only six in the first half.

Down 36-28 after rhree, Honokaa never got closer than six points in the fourth quarter. Poe added another 10 points in the final quarter and grabbed a key rebound with 16 seconds left when her team led 52-46 to secure the win.

Poe, a junior who scored 16 to lead her team to the title in 2012, had a team-high 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. She worked inside to draw fouls and finished with 14 of 16 free throws in a dominating performance. She was selected as the Division II tournament's outstanding player.

Said older sister Chelsea who watched from the sidelines, "She did what she had to do as a leader on the court."

Casey said, "When we were down in the first half, I thought on the positive side, that we could get it back. I believed in my teammates. It was a close game when we beat them by 1 in the BIIF championship. I knew that we had to play better defense.
(as the game wore on) We calmed down and played with more confidence."

When asked what he did at halftime to turn the game around, Warrior coach Garrett Arima said "I told them we had come so far and had to step it up on defense.  At the beginning it was the bright lights and we weren't executing as usual. We used the half-court trap, kept our composure and finished it on the free throw line.  I'm so proud of them. We had faced some adversity in the BIIF"

Four players scored all of the Warrior's points. In addition to Poe, Gabriel and Namele Naipo-Arsiga had 10 apiece and Riana Arima added 7.. Naipo-Arsiga had 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Gabriel had 3 of her team's 6 blocks.

For Honokaa, Hunter Liftee had game highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Kizzah Maitezo added 11 points, including the game's only three-pointer.

Kamehama-Hawaii shot 16 of 41 (39%) from the field, 0 of 2 from long range, 23 of 29 free thross, had 23 rebounds, 15 turnovers, 6 blocks and 9 steasl.  

Honokaa shot 20 of 47 (42.6%) from the field, 1 of 7 from long range, 5 of 6 free throws, had 35 rebounds, 23 turnovers. 1 block and 4 steals.

DIVISION II ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Riana Arima, Kamehameha-Hawai'i
Kristle Henry, Kaua'i
Hunter Liftee, Honoka'a
Sarah Liva, Hanalani
Patria Vaimaona, Kailua

Most Outstanding Player: Casey Poe