It’d been a rocky few weeks, by Punahou girls water polo standards.

The Buffanblu’s streak of 100-plus wins over the past decade was intact — but some outcomes were a little close for comfort, especially against top challenger Kamehameha. A combination of illnesses and injuries, including to their starting goalkeeper, inhibited the Buffanblu and the hungry Warriors played them within two, one and three goals going into Friday’s ILH championship game at the Kapalama campus.

Punahou shook off its relative malaise and laid claim to an 11th straight league title in dominant fashion, 9-1 over the hosts. Both teams have that to think about heading into a possible fourth straight matchup in the state title game back at Kamehameha in two weeks.

“At first we were very worried. I was kind of thinking that this might be the year that we lose it, but we’ve been coming back stronger and stronger,” said Buffanblu sophomore Christina Hicks, who scored a game-high three goals. “I’m just so proud to be a part of this legacy. It’s really an amazing opportunity to be on such a great team.”

Nai‘a Young-Kingsbury and Dillyn Lietzke added two goals apiece, and Anu Ledesma and Dani Kauahi one.

The lopsided result seemed to surprise both teams’ coaches. Kamehameha presented an increasingly strong test for Punahou recently, especially in the 2017 state championship game won 3-2 by the Buffanblu for a 10th straight overall crown.

The balanced Buffanblu made it a point to stifle the Warriors at all positions with aggressive defense, even if it meant a couple of power-play looks for Kamehameha.

“Well, we’ve been emphasizing a lot on our defense. Our team defense was really, really good,” longtime coach Ken Smith said. “We knew we had to play really good team defense because our goalie (Sarah Perez) is just coming back from her injury.”

Punahou forced turnovers on a majority of Kamehameha’s possessions. Perez was effective for her part, saving six shots. Kamehameha’s lone score was from Lori Char in the second quarter, making it 4-1. Punahou answered from Hicks inside going into halftime and the Buffanblu scored three more in the third to seal the outcome.

Kamehameha no longer has the singular offensive force of graduated Payton Bosque and desires to stay close with its defense and the goalkeeping of Mikaila Ng. But it got away early this time, with an open Young-Kingsbury scoring on Punahou’s first possession.

“I think they put a lot of pressure on themselves, being at home,” Warriors coach Randy Bart said. “They haven’t been in these big games, big moments where they know how to manage that. I think it just got overwhelming for some of them.”