Kamehameha presented adversity.

‘Iolani accepted the gift, turning an eight-point third-quarter deficit into a decisive 45-34 win over the Warriors to capture the ILH girls basketball championship on Monday night.

The win sealed the round-two title for regular-season winner ‘Iolani. If Kamehameha had won, the teams would have met one more time for the league championship.

Freshman Justice Kekauoha scored six of her 11 points in the fourth quarter for ‘Iolani (23-3 overall). Mia Frye hustled for eight points and Hailey Fernandez had seven in the Raiders’ balanced attack. Kamehameha had a 29-21 lead in the third quarter, but for a second consecutive visit to Father Bray Athletic Complex, the Warriors didn’t sustain their momentum and lost by a double-digit margin.

“Iolani went on a 24-5 run to close the game.

“Coach said it’s up to us,” Frye said. “If we want it, we’re going to have to work for it, and that’s what we did. Kanoe (Hanohano) hit some clutch 3s and Justice had some clutch layups. We wanted it, so we got it.”

Four-time defending state champion ‘Iolani will have an opening-round bye in the Heide &Cook/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships, which begin next Monday. The Raiders’ first game will be in the quarterfinal round two days later. Kamehameha (17-8 overall) will begin play on Monday in the opening round. The bracket will be released by the HHSAA later this week.

“I’m proud of the way we came out in the third quarter, knowing how strong ‘Iolani is in the third,” Warriors coach Pua Straight said. “I’m always proud of the way we work for each other. We never lack effort. We’re improving on the little things.”

It was a rugged, physical battle with mostly Raiders hitting the hardwood upon contact with their visitors. Yet, it was the Raiders who got into foul trouble. Centers Mele Sake and Callie Pieper each picked up two fouls in the opening quarter and finished the game with a combined five points and three rebounds.

“We tell them to expect a physical game, but with our bigs in foul trouble, now Kamehameha has an advantage. Some of the fouls were touch fouls that I didn’t like, but some were stupid fouls that could be avoided,” Raiders coach Dean Young said. “It’s 17-17 at halftime, let’s go out there and win the second half.”

Aside from a 37-34 nonconference win over Konawaena on Nov. 25, no other Hawaii team has pushed ‘Iolani as much as Kamehameha. The Warriors had everything going their way but lost for a fifth time this season to the Raiders.

“It’s really hard without Callie and Mele out there. (Kamehameha) was doing the double bigs, the two bigs (Nihoa Dunn and Kamaka Fonoti). They had a size advantage on us, so I found that pretty difficult,” Kekauoha said. “We had to pick it up because we didn’t want to lose.”

At one point in the second quarter, ‘Iolani had five guards on the floor, all 5-foot-7 and smaller.

‘Iolani’s team defense stepped up, limiting Kamehameha center Dunn to zero points on just one field-goal attempt in the final quarter. Dunn, a 6-1 sophomore, finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds, doing nearly all her damage in the first three quarters.

In the final eight minutes, the Warriors were 1-for-9 from the field and 0-for-2 from the foul line with three turnovers.

‘Iolani was ahead 19-17 early in the second half when Kamehameha went on a 12-2 run. The Warriors got an and-1 play in the paint from Dunn, who added a 3-pointer from the top as the Warriors surged to a 29-21 lead.

Kamehameha went over the team foul limit early and ‘Iolani proceeded to attack the paint on every possession. The Raiders shot 5-for-8 from the charity stripe to narrow Kamehameha’s lead.

Hanohano came though with a 3-pointer to give ‘Iolani a 33-31 lead.

The Warriors answered with a corner 3 by Rylee Cabuyadao-Caswell to regain the lead, but Hanohano splashed her second trey in a row to give the Raiders a 36-34 lead with five minutes left.

Kamehameha never led again. Hanohano did not hesitate to launch her perfect 3-pointers.

“In a game like this, you just have to focus on your role. It’s not too much about trying to do extra or more. It’s just focus on what the coach asks you to do,” the senior said. “Just shoot with my rhythm, take my own time. I don’t rush my own shot.”

Frye has endured several minor injuries throughout the season, but keeps getting back up and blazing up and down the court.

“We had a couple of our other teammates come in for our bigs. I think they handled it pretty well and held it down for us while Callie and Mele were out,” Frye said. “We emphasized the backside help and just get it done.”