'Iolani overcame a 10-point deficit late in the third period last night to force overtime and then held off Mid-Pacific, 68-64, to earn the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's second and final berth in next week's state tournament.
An energized crowd of about 700 at 'Iolani watched the Raiders finish the ILH season at 11-3. They will begin state tournament play in Tuesday's first round.
MPI, which fell just short of a state berth for the second straight year, ends its season at 7-7.
The Owls lost to 'Iolani three times in the regular season but came inches away from winning last night's tournament final when Ashley Yamachika's wide-open 3-point attempt glanced off the rim as time expired in regulation.
"My heart dropped," said Raiders senior guard Lahela Usui, who finished with a team-high 17 points. "But when it missed, that was our second chance."
Usui capitalized by hitting a short baseline jumper with 1:57 remaining in overtime to give 'Iolani the lead for good at 62-61, then hit a bank shot 45 seconds later to make it 64-61. She then sank one of two free throws to push the lead to 65-61 with 22.7 ticks left.
Kylie Maeda's two foul shots made it 67-61 nine seconds later, but Mid-Pacific cut it to 67-64 with 0:08 on the clock when Kiki Robertson hit a 3-pointer, the Owls' ninth of the night.
Maeda then sealed the victory with a pair of free throws two seconds later.
"I think for us to win, we had to keep them under 60 (points)," MPI coach Wes Masuda said.
The Owls were on pace to do that until 15 seconds remained in regulation, when Maeda found an opening and scored a layup to tie it at 60-60.
The Raiders led, 12-11, after one period but Mid-Pacific ended the half with a 9-2 run to go up, 29-20, at the break. The Owls then took a 39-29 lead after Megan Kinoshita's 3-pointer with 3:17 left in the third quarter.
'Iolani then began chipping away, but often saw its comeback attempt thwarted by more clutch shots from MPI.
After Saphyre Rezentes' 3-pointer cut it to 48-46 with 4:56 remaining, Kinoshita answered from beyond the arc and Taylor Babbitt added a bank shot to stretch the lead back to seven at 53-46 just 50 seconds later.
"I kept waiting for them to cool off or get bothered by our pressure (defense), but they never did," Raiders coach Eddie Maruyama said. "We needed to create some momentum and pick up the pace, so we went with four guards."
Usui sank two free throws to close it to 53-52 with 3:09 left, then scored on a backdoor layup a minute later to tie it at 54-54. Kinoshita answered with yet another 3-pointer with 1:50 remaining, but Rezentes put 'Iolani ahead, 58-57, on a point-blank jumper with 45 seconds remaining.
Yamachika then drained a 3-pointer 20 seconds later to snatch the lead back at 60-58, before Maeda tied it up on her layup with 15 seconds left.
"We're proud of how the girls responded to those 3's, because a lot of times 3's can suck the air out of your comeback," Maruyama said.
Yamachika finished with a game-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers, Kinoshita added 16 points and Babbitt contributed 14 points. Rezentes, Maeda and Alex Masaquel each scored 13 points for 'Iolani.