The pain increases with each game for Dawnyelle Awa, but the Konawaena Wildcats are in the final of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships.

That’s why she could smile after a 60-42 win over upset-minded Kahuku as a trainer tended to a baseball-sized lump on her left ankle. Awa, who had 16 points, five rebounds and eight assists, aggravated the injury in the final minute of play. She expects to play tonight in the final against ‘Iolani, wearing a brace and heavily taping the ankle.

"It doesn’t really affect me. It’s getting better," said Awa, who hurt the ankle nine days ago at practice. "I’ll keep running."

Lia Galdeira played on the high post and had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Wildcats, who are now 25-3 overall this season and 109-8 since Galdeira and Awa began their varsity careers at Konawaena. A vocal group of about 100 Wildcats fans cheered their team on.

"We knew all of them would support us, especially this being senior year," Galdeira said.

The Red Raiders were unranked and unseeded coming into the tourney.

"I wanted us to stay under 10 points," coach Scott DeSilva said of the first half. "That 3-pointer at the end of the half killed us. Our girls battled to get it down to eight or 10. I’m proud of them."

Junior Courtney Kaupu added 13 points and five boards for the Wildcats, who outrebounded a taller Kahuku squad 31-21. Konawaena, the defending state champion and the top seed, shot 44 percent from the field (21-for-48) and committed just 11 turnovers against Kahuku’s man and zone defenses.

The Red Raiders, playing their third game in three nights, had just 13 turnovers against Konawaena’s airtight man defense. Senior post Leighlani Paselio was a force inside, powering her way to 17 points and forcing Konawaena to switch from a man defense to zone — a very rare adjustment by coach Bobbie Awa.

Kahuku was within 30-25 late in the first half, but Galdeira hit two foul shots and Melissa Simon drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to give the ‘Cats a 10-point lead at the break.

Using that zone, Konawaena then stretched the lead to 13 by the end of the third quarter before breaking the game open with an 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter.

Awa hit a trey and turned a steal into a layup for a 57-33 lead midway through the final quarter.

"Kahuku was strong on the post, but not that strong outside," Galdeira said.

Coach Awa was thankful to get past the giant killers.

"Kahuku had a lot of finishers inside, so we wanted to go to the zone," she said. "They had a lot of tight games and haven’t had a chance to rest their starters. I hoped that they’d get fatigued."

The veteran coach is hoping her team can stay in a man defense against ‘Iolani.

We don’t play good zone defense," Awa said. "We tend to get lazy. We work a lot harder out of the man."

The Wildcats are, as always, composed and prepared for another final.

"Whatever happens happens. We’ll come out strong and play hard," Galdeira said.