For the second straight night, Kamehameha had to traverse the toughest route in its own pool.

And once again, the unseeded host did not disappoint. The Warriors fought off second-seeded Baldwin 6-3 to reach the final of the Stanford Carr Development/HHSAA Water Polo Championships for the fourth straight year. The ILH runners-up edged OIA champ Kahuku 8-6 on Thursday.

“I like what we’re doing, I like where we’re at,” Kamehameha coach Randy Bart said. “Last night’s game was the best we’ve played all season. Tonight’s game was the best we’ve played all season. We just gotta do it one more time, tomorrow night.”

Ten-time defending champion Punahou dispatched Kamehameha-Hawaii 8-2 in Friday’s second semifinal, setting up yet another matchup between Ken Smith’s Buffanblu and the Kapalama Warriors.

The ball drops in the pool — the fifth straight all-ILH title game — at 6 p.m.

Punahou dealt Kamehameha (9-4) all four of its losses this season, including 9-1 in the ILH title game. But the Warriors continue to adapt, and showed poise after trailing 2-1 after a quarter for the second straight day.

“I think the fact that it happened twice in two games in two days is total serendipity, like the way that happened,” senior La‘akea Dedrick said. “But, we are a second-half team for sure. We really mesh in the second half.”

Dedrick and Lori Char paced the Warriors with two goals apiece, while Emma Kim and Shaye Story also found the net. Char was a watery blur during a steal-score-steal-steal sequence in the second quarter.

“Just having that want, that desire, to go get the ball, shoot, and score,” Char said.

For a time, Baldwin (13-1), the unbeaten MIL champ, appeared poised to become the first neighbor island team to make it to the final in the event’s 15 years. The Bears got a Jacsen Donohue goal just before halftime to make it 3-all at intermission.

They fell behind on a Dedrick penalty shot early in the third quarter, but hung within one until the decisive sequence, two Warriors goals 24 seconds apart inside the final two minutes.

A gaffe by the Bears resulted in a Kamehameha power play, and Dedrick wasted little time in converting a shot from straight away.

Baldwin, in its first state semifinal, turned it over quickly on its ensuing possession and Kamehameha swiftly counterattacked. Story, a 5-foot-11 freshman, received the ball right in front of the Baldwin goal and put home another score.

Donohue, a sophomore, scored twice for the Bears. Top offensive player Rebecca Gallimore was held to one a day after she scored seven in a 16-7 win over Kalaheo.

Bears coach Shawn Donohue resolved his team would be back to create more history.

“Our defense was very strong, especially in the first half. We played really well, gave great effort,” he said. “And then I think their defense figured out that our center was struggling, and they were able to just shut us down in the second half. We didn’t score. We ‘Ben Simmons’-ed it up there. Not for lack of trying. I think we had 50 shots or something.”

No. 1 Punahou 8, No. 4 Kamehameha-Hawaii 2

Christina Hicks scored a hat trick, Nai‘a Young-Kingsbury added two scores and the Buffanblu (11-0) remained perfect all-time in state tournament play at 38-0.

Lahela Rosario and Kukui Haumea scored for the Big Island’s Warriors (15-1), who were closely monitoring the seismic events taking place near their home campus on Friday. At least one Warriors player had family relocated because of the lava flow threatening lower Puna near Kilauea.

“Obviously, what’s happening in East Hawaii is way, way, way more important than this game,” KSH coach Dan Lyons said after the loss. “But you gotta be able to block it out for a second, go do your thing. Tonight, they’ll be talking to their family members. We gotta come back and play (Baldwin for third) tomorrow, but for all of us there’s a little bit of wishing we could be back helping our families.”