Hailey Fernandez knows the blueprint of ‘Iolani basketball history well.

The senior guard delivered a perfect backdoor bounce pass to Justice Kekauoha for a game-tying layup with 1:06 left, then drove from the right wing untouched for the winning layup with one second left as ILH runner-up ‘Iolani edged OIA champion Kahuku 56-54 Thursday night at Damien’s gym.

‘Iolani (24-10 overall) will meet BIIF champion Konawaena at 7 p.m. today at Kekuhaupio Gymnasium in the Division I semifinal round of the Pacific Century Fund Team Aloha/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships. The five-time defending state champion Raiders did it, as usual, as “One Team.” Kekauoha finished with 23 points, including seven in the final quarter, and freshman Rayah Soriano tallied 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the arc as ‘Iolani rallied from an eight-point deficit.

A frantic final three minutes featured clutch offense from both teams. Soriano’s corner 3 gave ‘Iolani a 50-49 lead with 2:41 left. Tailele Wily-Ava clutched up with a tough runner in the lane, hitting the and-1 foul shot for a 52-50 Kahuku lead.

Fernandez tied it at 52 on two foul shots with 2:22 left. Kahuku had a chance to regain the lead, but another turnover was costly. Tailele Wily-Ava sent a perfect bounce pass to Tuisila Wily-Ava on a pick-and-roll, but the latter traveled in the paint with 1:19 remaining.

‘Iolani called time out and drew up an ‘Iolani classic called “Push,” which former boys coach Doc Mugiishi ran for his state-title teams in the 2000s.

“We renamed it ‘Doc,’” Raiders girls coach Dean Young said. “He liked to run it a bunch, and we have different variations of it.”

Doc, the play, is an overload on the left side of the court, followed by a pass to Fernandez on the elbow, and a bounce pass to Kekauoha for a quick layup. The Raiders executed to perfection, giving ‘Iolani a 54-52 lead with 1:06 to go.

‘Iolani had a chance to put the game out of reach, but Kahuku’s Zaylyn Falevai stole a pass by Fernandez and was fouled by Haley Mafua. Falevai went to the foul line with 24.7 seconds remaining and sank both free throws to tie it at 54.

That set up the winning play for ‘Iolani, essentially the same ‘Doc’ play, but Kahuku was ready on the back side. That left Fernandez with the ball on the right wing against solo coverage. With four seconds on the game clock, she attacked the baseline side and scored relatively easily as the help-side defense arrived too late. Her shot kissed the glass and fell through the net, and Kahuku didn’t have enough time to call time out as time expired.

“We ran it a couple of times during the season. It was meant for Justice at first, the way we ran that play previously. They expected that play to come. They were face guarding Justice,” said Fernandez, who finished with seven points and five assists. “I looked at the time. It was about 10 seconds. When I looked again it was four seconds so I knew we had to go. I’m glad we’re moving on because we were down most of the game. This team is so gritty. We’ve experienced so much adversity, but we know how to bounce back from it.”

Young’s team struggled to score in the paint, but kept attacking the bigger Lady Raiders.

“You know how it is in the last seconds. Everybody just locked into their man. Once Hailey beat her man off the dribble, I knew she’d get a shot,” Young said.

Kekauoha, a 5-foot-7 sophomore, was relentless, attacking the rim and hitting the floor regularly on a night when officials generally allowed more contact on 50/50 plays. She shot 8-for-18 from the field, adding five rebounds and two assists.

“I feel so good. I’m so proud of Hailey Fernandez. We just worked together as a team,” Kekauoha said. “Everybody thought we were going to lose, but at the end we all came together. We’ve been in so many situations like this. We’ve matured and we know what to do. In the beginning we were kind of forcing shots, and we learned that we need to play together as a team, and that’s what we did.”

Posia Wily led Kahuku (15-5 overall) with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Tailele Wily-Ava added 12 points and six boards, while Falevai tallied nine points, seven rebounds and three steals, and Makana Kamakeeaina and Tuisila Wily-Ava each added eight points and seven boards.

For nearly four quarters, the game was basically Kahuku’s to win or lose after controlling the boards and running the floor against the fleet-footed Raiders.

It was heartbreak city for Kahuku, which featured seniors Posia Wily and Tuisila Wily-Ava, along with Tailele Wily-Ava and Kamakeeaina. However, the 6-foot Kamakeeaina had limited touches and just four shot attempts in the entire game despite a significant size advantage. Tailele Wily-Ava shot 1-for-6 from the arc, all on 24- to 30-foot attempts before the Lady Raiders could position for offensive rebounds.

Kahuku went 13-0 in the OIA, but on Thursday, the team with consistent ball movement and slightly better shot selection prevailed. In the final quarter, Kahuku shot 3-for-8 from the field and 1-for-5 from the free-throw line. Two of those missed shots in the paint came on Tuisila Wily-Ava’s drives against Mafua, whose physicality was a key factor for the Raiders’ interior defense.

Konawaena 49, Mililani 29

Haikela Hiraishi had 10 points and four steals to lead a balanced Wildcats attack. Kaanoipua Leleiwi and Caysea Kaupu added eight points each as BIIF champion and tournament second seed Konawaena (22-3 overall) advanced to the semifinals.

It was a business-like in nature, the fourth trip to Oahu by the Wildcats this season. The other three tournaments were in preseason.

“We don’t have one key player on the team. We have a bunch of players who contribute and we don’t lose a lot when we sub,” Konawaena coach Bobbie Awa said.

Awa’s storied coaching career includes nine state championships. The Wildcats face ‘Iolani in today’s semifinals.

“ ‘Iolani’s a great team. They’ve been there many, many times. It’s not going to be an easy one. It’s going to be a battle and we’re looking forward to it,” she said. “We match up really well. Height-wise we’re the same. We both have speed. I think it’ll be a good matchup.”

In a battle between tough-nosed defensive-oriented squads, Konawaena’s persistent on-ball pressure set the tone against Mililani. Aaedyn Kauhi had key back-to-back plays near the end of the first quarter, scoring on an inbounds layup, then again on a Konawaena steal. The Wildcats led 21-15 at the half.

Konawaena’s fullcourt man-to-man pressure took a toll on the Lady Trojans. A steal by Kayzia James led to a putback by Hiraishi sparked a 12-1 run. After Briley Hao drove the baseline for an and-1 play and Aubrey Pak went coast to coast for a bucket, Konawaena had a 33-16 lead.

Zennalenn Nelson led Mililani (19-8 overall) with 11 points. The Wildcats kept a lid on Mililani’s top scoring threat, Brooke Kurasaki. The senior floor leader finished with six points and had just one open look from 3-point range, which she made in the fourth quarter.

Campbell 36, Maui 33

Cayden Perado broke a tie with a 3-pointer with three minutes left and Campbell shut out Maui the rest of the way to reach the state semifinals.

Jaynalyn Sato led Campbell with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Naiara Bal led Maui with 15 points but missed a tying 3-pointer with two seconds left.

Kamehameha 70, Moanalua 25

Nihoaokealii Dunn scored 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds in 18 minutes and the Warriors blew out Na Menehune.

Kamehameha outscored Moanalua 19-4 in the first period and 20-2 in the second and never looked back.

Makenzie Alapai added 12 points and all 11 players scored for the Warriors, who shot 54% from the field and nailed seven 3-pointers. Moanalua shot 23% and was led by Serenity Tacgere’s 10 points.

DIVISION II

Hawaii Baptist 49, Kapolei 44

Sienna Lamblack poured in 20 points and Hallie Chock added 11 with eight steals as the Eagles ousted the OIA champion Hurricanes.

Hawaii Baptist came up with 18 steals and forced 29 turnovers and won despite being outrebounded 49-27.

Liliyanah Tiare-Tavale led Kapolei with 20 points and Leila Paraoan contributed 13 points and 18 rebounds while Makaela contributed 14 boards.

Kohala 53, Lanai 34

Kalia Marquez put up 15 points in 18 minutes and Chawai Dunhour had 13 off the bench as the Cowgirls eliminated the Pine Lasses.

Kohala trailed by two points after one period, but the Cowgirls outscored Lanai 23-10 in the second.

Destinee Dupree led Lanai with 17 points, but the other starters only scored nine.

Waimea 52, Damien 42

Cyani Bagaoisan-Rita scored 16 points and La’akea Kauwe add 12 as the Menehunes dropped the Monarchs.

Bagaoisan-Rita and Lauwe came off the bench to help a starting five that went 5-for-22 from the field.

Cristazia Joy Cristobal led Damien with 20 points and Filinga Tuifua added 12 rebounds to go with her eight points.

Hanalani 63, Kamehameha-Hawaii 19

Ellana Klemp scored 26 points and pulled down six rebounds in 20 minutes as the top-seeded Royals blew out the Warriors.

Jayda Okuhara contributed 11 points for Hanalani.

Kacie Febo-Santiago led Kamehameha-Hawaii with nine points.