Just about all Lia Galdeira could talk about after a 29-point performance was, once again, food.

“I’m hungry,” the senior guard said after sparking Konawaena to a 77-61 win over Bishop Gorman (Nev.) on Thursday in the opening round of the ‘Iolani Classic girls tournament at ‘Iolani.

Galdeira shot 9-for-14 from the field, grabbed eight rebounds and triggered several Konawaena fast breaks with five steals. As a freshman three years ago, Galdeira had a knack for consuming as many as eight bowls of cereal as a snack, burning off the carbs with superlative play on the hardwood.

This time, she was uncontrollable by Bishop Gorman’s man-to-man defense. Galdeira sat, however, for key stretches in the second and third quarters due to foul trouble. That’s when Makayla Awa and Courtney Kaupu stepped up.

Awa scored 15 points, mostly in transition. Kaupu, a 5-foot-10 post, had 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds against the taller visitors.

“Courtney pretty much got every defensive rebound for us,” coach Bobbie Awa said of the first half. “We needed someone to step up and play strong for us. That’s what Courtney did.”

That helped offset a quiet scoring afternoon for point guard Dawnyelle Awa, who had 11 points and eight assists despite battling a cold.

“We started out slow. Half the team never played a mainland team before,” Dawnyelle Awa said. “They had fun.”

Guard April Rivers led Bishop Gorman with 19 points, including three 3-pointers in the final quarter to keep the visitors in range. Ashlin Gross added 14 points and six rebounds, and Zhane Dikes hustled for 11 points and eight caroms.

Konawaena sank 20 of its 28 free-throw attempts. Bishop Gorman shot 8-for-21 from the charity stripe and was outrebounded by the smaller Wildcats 38-26.

“I’m disappointed. Some of the kids came out hard,” Bishop Gorman coach Sheryl Krmpotich said, noting point guard Tonishia Childress. “Our defense just wasn’t aware.”

Konawaena got a few layups when the Lady Gaels, in a man-to-man, lost track of who they were covering. It was a byproduct of playing their first game of the season.

“There are some things we can build on,” Krmpotich said. “(Kona) is very talented and well coached. They know each other very well, you can tell.”

Officials allowed plenty of contact on both ends.

“On-ball defense, they were pretty much holding the whole time,” Dawnyelle Awa said. “Usually, that’s a foul. You just have to play through it.”

The Wildcats (7-0) led from the start, threading through Bishop Gorman’s 2-2-1 fullcourt press for easy layups. After Kaupu hit a 3-pointer from the top and turned a steal into a layup, the defending Hawaii state champions led 17-6 late in the opening quarter.

“They were trapping the corners, so we had to figure out a way to slow down, cut through and get to open spots,” Galdeira said.

She had two steals in the second quarter and hit a trey from the corner as Konawaena opened a 27-12 lead.

Galdeira left with two personal fouls. She returned just before halftime and went fullcourt in the final seconds, shooting a runner from the ‘I’ at midcourt — 47 feet out — and hitting all net at the buzzer. Konawaena led 38-25 at intermission.

“I don’t know. It was lucky,” Galdeira said. “I make it all the time at practice.”

Since the start of last season, Konawaena has won 39 of 40 games. The only loss came to Brea Olinda in last year’s ‘Iolani Classic. Brea Olinda plays ‘Iolani at 8 tonight. Konawaena plays Oregon City at 6:30 p.m.

Brea Olinda (Calif.) 49, Tsinghua (China) 42

Keitra Wallace scored 16 points to lead the Ladycats. Jiayang Ma had 16 points for the Dragons.

Oregon City (Ore.) 63, Mid-Pacific 36

Johanna Paine poured in 28 points as the Pioneers pulled away. Jade Lowery added 14 points, including a pair of treys. Kiki Robertson led the Owls with 13 points. Megan Kinoshita added 10.

‘Iolani 67, Kaimuki 27

Alex Masaquel scored 12 points and Taimane Passi 10 as the Raiders beat the Bulldogs, outscoring them 45-15 over the second and third periods.