Hawaii Basketball

Two teams from the Big Island swept the Division I and Division II titles at the 2007 Hawaii Girls Basketball State Tournament this weekend taking down teams from the ILH in the finals at Stan Sheriff Center.

The Konawaena Wildcats completed their three-day “run for respect” with a 59-47 victory over the Punahou Buffanblu in the Division I Championship game. Despite going 15-0 in the BIIF, Konawaena was given the #2 seed and placed into a tough bracket along with ILH Champion Iolani and OIA 3rd place team Kalani. The Wildcats defeated the Falcons 58-46 in the quarterfinals and advanced to the semfinals where they overcame a 6-point halftime defeat to beat the Raiders 50-41 behind 27 points by star forward Jazzmin Awa-Williams. In the finals, Konawaena got a huge contribution from junior forward Mana Hopkins (26 points, 9 boards) and were able to take down a fiesty Punahou team, leading 27-14 at halftime and holding on for the win.

The 2007 State Championship is the second for Konawaena in the last 4 years. Since 2004, the Wildcats have two state titles (2004 and 2007), one 2nd place finish (2005) and one 4th place finish (2006).

In Division II, the unseeded Kamehameha-Hawaii Warriors defeated the Sacred Hearts Lancers 57-30 to earn their 2nd state title in just three years. As the BIIF runner-up, the Warriors had the unenviable task of playing four tough games, including three against the state’s top teams, ILH Champion Sacred Hearts, Maui Champion Seabury Hall and OIA Champion McKinley. Using a high-pressure defense and consistent shooting, Kamehameha took down the #3, #2, and #1 seeded teams in the tournament to win the 2007 title.

In the last three seasons, the Warriors finished first in 2005, second in 2006 and first in 2007.