Saydee Aganus came up huge in the biggest game of the season.

The senior guard had 18 points, 11 rebounds and four steals as second-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii upset top-seeded and previously unbeaten St. Francis 41-32 on Saturday in the Division II final of the Snapple/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships at Blaisdell Center. It was St. Francis’ first loss of the season and deprived the Saints of their first state title.

“Credit to St. Francis. Those were two solid teams on the floor, but our five seniors have worked hard for four years,” Warriors coach Weston Willard said. “Our players ran the game.”

For the fourth year in a row, the Warriors ended St. Francis’ title hopes at the state tourney. Aganus, a senior, pointed to a midseason loss at Honokaa — another BIIF team that reached the semifinals — as a turning point.

“When we lost to Honokaa, that was a wake-up call for us,” she said of the 29-28 defeat on Dec. 29.

Point guard Dominique Pacheco agreed.

“We knew we had to get better,” she said.

The burly Warriors were physically dominant for most of the night as St. Francis players went sprawling across the floor. McKenzie Kalawaia had eight points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Pacheco tallied six points, eight boards and three steals for KS-Hawaii, which finished the season 16-4 overall (including nonconference games).

Nani Santos went 8-for-10 at the foul line to finish with 16 points. Kaimi Kalei struggled, missing all five of her free throws as the Saints seemed a step slower and fatigued after three games in three days. Kalei finished with five points and eight turnovers against the Warriors’ tough man-to-man defense.

For the game, St. Francis, which completed the season 25-1 overall (including nonconference games), shot 28 percent (11-for-39) and turned the ball over 19 times. KS-Hawaii won the battle on the boards 38-30.

Three times, the Warriors stretched the lead to seven points. St. Francis rallied with eight points in a row by Santos to tie the game at 23 late in the third quarter. After Kalei drove for a layup, the ILH champions led 25-23 with 1:31 left in the third.

“All season, we’ve had a hard time in the third quarter,” Weston said. “Because we play so hard in the first half and we don’t go that deep. But everything starts on defense for this team. They played with heart.”

KS-Hawaii responded with a 9-0 run, getting a corner 3 by Jordyn Mantz, a post bucket from Taylor James Sullivan and four foul shots by Aganus for a 32-25 lead.

St. Francis pulled within 33-29 with 4:33 left, but struggled to get clean looks. Their struggles at the charity stripe (9-for-17) didn’t make things easier.

Aganus faked her defender and scored on a drive, and the Warriors got free throws from Aganus, Pacheco and Kalawaia to put the game out of reach. The free throw by Kalawaia was huge, pushing the lead to 39-32 with 47 seconds left.

“It’s usually hard for us,” Aganus said. “Yeah, we put a lot of time into it.”

“That’s four years of hard work in the gym. She’s always in the gym in the offseason for extra workouts,” Weston said of Aganus. “We have so much respect for St. Francis’ program. It’s great competition out there.”

Kamehameha-Hawaii’s previous titles came in ’05 (coached by Kimo Miller), ’07 (Kalani Silva), and ’12 and ’13 (Garrett Arima).