Kamehameha-Hawaii guard Saydee Aganus brings the ball up the floor against Mid-Pacific in last season's Division II state title game. Brien Ing | SL

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When the Kamehameha-Hawaii and Mid-Pacific girls basketball teams meet Thursday in the Cougar Showdown, it won't quite have the same luster as the last time the squads met.

That last meeting came on Feb. 4 of this year, when the Owls crushed the Warriors by a score of 63-38 in the Division II state final — their first in school history.

This time, however, the teams are crossing paths in the preseason. Furthermore, Mid-Pacific is making the jump to Division I this year.

Still, with both squads returning a bevy of starters, memories of the championship game are sure to linger.

"We feel that we didn't put our best game forward the last time we played them," Kamehameha-Hawaii coach Weston Willard said. "No disrespect to them, but for a number of reasons it just didn't come together for us that night and I'd like to think that this next one is going to be a little more competitive."

Willard did not mince words when asked of his team's expectations for the season.

"We essentially have our core intact and our same starting five, so we're hoping to compete against the best teams again this year," Willard said.

The Warriors (3-0) have won four D2 state crowns, the last two coming in back-to-back years in 2012 and 2013. They have reached the final in three of the last four seasons, but lost each time, including the past two years.

"Our goal every year is to play in the last game of the season and we've been there the last couple of years, but we haven't been able to play it out," Willard said. "We don't really talk about championships as a team, but playing to our potential; that's our goal."

Leading the way for Willard's squad is senior guard Saydee Aganus, a First Team All-Hawaii selection last year. Five others — Makenzie Kalawaia, Jordyn Mantz, Dominique Pacheco, Camille Poe and Taylor-James Sullivan — also earned Honorable Mention distinction. All of them return.

"We'd like to think that our experience will make us more competitive, so I'm hoping the girls will realize that this is their time," Willard said. "We have three who have been starting since their freshman year, so we're thankful that Kaiser let us into their tournament and we're excited to play Mid-Pac."

The Owls (4-3) certainly aren't lacking on experience either. They return their top two scorers from last year, including All-Hawaii D2 Player of the Year, Brilie Kovaloff.

Also returning for her senior season is senior guard Ciera Kameehonua, a Second Team All-Hawaii pick last year.

However, in addition to the loss of Second Team selection Harley Simon (graduated), Mid-Pacific also saw returnee Emma Porter opt for soccer this season instead of basketball.

"As much as we have our eight returnees, we're still a relatively young team and we're still trying to find our identity," Owls coach Sherice Ajifu said. "We're ten deep, but we haven't gone into any game with all ten suited up."

Last week's trip to the Big Island yielded a 2-2 record, including wins over Waiakea and Kahuku and losses to Konawaena and Hilo.

"It was an opportunity for us to travel as a team," Ajifu said. "The BIIF has good competition, so it was a good chance for us to see where we stand as a team and what we need to work on. Maybe we didn't come out with the record we want, but it was good for us to see where we stand."

Ajifu added that Madisyn Sagawa and Samantha Makiya are also expected to make contributions as freshmen this year.

"It's a bit of a jump to go from intermediate to varsity 1, so with the close games that we've had, they haven't had a chance to play a ton of minutes and are still learning the system and learning what the expectations are, but I expect some minutes out of them this season," Ajifu said.

It's a jump that the Owls will make together.

"Coming off that championship run it's easy to be happy with where we stand, but going up to D1 is a whole new set of challenges," Ajifu said. "We're still tiny, we're basically the same team now with more youth, so I just want to see our kids compete and the preseason is a good chance to get in some close games and test our basketball IQ a little bit."

Tip off between the Warriors and Owls is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Other teams in the Cougar Showdown field include Castle, Saint Francis, Nanakuli, Punahou, Kapolei and host Kaiser.