The Kamehameha girls water polo team retained the state title Saturday in a game against Punahou that had constant shifts in the ebb and flow of momentum, went down to the final seconds and came down to an inch.

Tea Brandon scored the go-ahead goal in the second overtime and No. 1 seed Punahou had a shot go off the post in the final seconds as host Kamehameha prevailed 9-8 in the final of the Kyo-ya Hotels/HHSAA Girls Water Polo Championships.

Brandon’s goal came with 1:56 remaining in the second three-minute overtime.

“I honestly wasn’t expecting it,” said Brandon, who scored three goals. “It came out of nowhere. I’m really grateful (to) my teammate Leinaala Wong for being so aware and finding me.”

The Warriors (13-3) then got a stop on defense late and ran the clock to five seconds. The Buffanblu called a timeout, then had a shot go off the crossbar with one second remaining.

“I was really hoping we’d get the two-peat this year and we did, and now we can go home saying that we may be the new queens of water polo in town,” said Kamehameha’s Laikukamahina Wong, who also scored three goals.

It was the fourth overtime game — and third in a row — between Kamehameha and Punahou this season.

“It was a really tough one,” Punahou coach Ken Smith said. “I’m just really proud of this group. It’s a young team and they really came together during the season. That’s what makes it tough when you’re so supportive of one another and it doesn’t work out at the very end.”

Laikukamahina Wong scored with 50 seconds remaining in the first three-minute overtime to put the Warriors ahead 8-7.

In the second overtime, Punahou’s Synnove Robinson scored on a penalty shot with 2:42 remaining to tie it.

The Warriors and Buffanblu were in the state title game for the eighth consecutive time.

Kamehameha claimed last year’s state championship, ending Punahou’s run of 13 consecutive titles. There were no state tournaments held in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was Kamehameha’s third overall state title.

“This is awesome. Only one other team has (repeated) in the history of girls water polo in the state of Hawaii and we look up to that program,” Kamehameha coach Anthony Cabrera said. “To repeat is just such an awesome feeling, and the credit really goes to the girls. They’ve been awesome.”

Kamehameha’s Ava Gurney missed a penalty shot at 5:45 of the first quarter, but Laikukamahina Wong scored on the Warriors’ next possession 13 seconds later.

Kamehameha went up 2-0 on Gurney’s power-play goal off an assist from Laikukamahina Wong at 0:26.

Gurney made a penalty shot at 6:14 to put Kamehameha up three. Kaileilani Harvey was fouled on a breakaway to set up the shot

Punahou tied it at 3-3 on Robinson’s goal at 5:50, Ava Aguilera’s penalty shot at 4:32 and Kailoa Kerber’s power-play goal at 3:22.

Warriors goalie Makana Fake and Buffanblu counterpart Reia Kimi each made one save in the first half.

Hope McCarren’s goal at 4:23 of the third gave Punahou its first lead at 4-3.

Laikukamahina Wong tied it at 4-4 on a goal at 1:25, which ended an 11 minute, 49 second scoreless drought for Kamehameha.

Kerber’s lob-shot goal put Punahou ahead 5-4 with three seconds left in the third.

The Warriors’ Brandon tied it with a power-play goal at 2:40.

Punahou’s Robinson scored the go-ahead goal at 2:29, then added another at 1:37 off an assist from McCarren.

Kamehameha tied it at 7-7 on Brandon’s goal at 1:23 and Isabella Wailele Kapali’s power-play goal at 0:37.

“What we keep preaching all year is we don’t want to be too high, too low. Nothing is a surprise. We just do what we do,” Cabrera said.

Kamehameha’s Fake saved a shot with 14 seconds remaining, and Punahou’s Kimi made a save as time expired.

Fake finished with eight saves and Kimi made six.

Robinson scored four goals for the Buffanblu (12-3).

The Warriors and Buffanblu split six games this season, with each game being decided by three goals or fewer.

“We expected it to be a back and forth fight,” Cabrera said. “We had three overtime times games before the final tonight, so it’s not a surprise we went to overtime tonight.”