Nothing seemed to follow the script in another epic battle between St. Francis and Hawaii Baptist.

The climax, however, was all about the Saints’ wondrous, unbeaten season and the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II championship.

Senior Kaimi Kalei’s free throws with 1:39 left gave St. Francis a two-point lead and the Saints hung on for a 47-43 win over HBA before a packed house at the Saints’ gym. Sixth-ranked St. Francis closed the regular season with a 15-0 mark (23-0 overall) and earned an automatic state tournament berth.

“We weren’t nervous. We were just excited, especially on senior night,” said Kalei, who finished with 12 points.

A win by No. 10 HBA would have created a first-place tie between the teams, forcing a tiebreaker game. HBA (22-6, 13-2 ILH) will enter the ILH playoff tournament with three state berths available. St. Francis will have a break until the state tourney.

The Saints came through despite struggles from the field (15-for-61) against HBA’s 2-3 zone. They took care of the ball, committing just three turnovers, and were more efficient from the foul line. St. Francis shot 56 percent (14-for-25), while HBA shot 49 percent (17-for-35).

Nani Santos, one of four seniors, led the Saints with 13 points. Mata Sagapolutele hustled for six points and a team-high nine rebounds. It’s the first ILH D-II title for the school since 2001.

“I feel it’s a great accomplishment for the team, all the hard work they put in, the extra shots after practice,” Saints coach Chris Hoe said.

It was a game that included an injury to HBA’s leading playmaker, Ally Wada. The 5-9 senior drew contact from Misiona Ribeiro on a drive to the bucket, fell and rolled into Skye Ah Yat, who fell on her head. Wada needed help walking off the floor five minutes later.

“A lot of them stepped up,” Hoe said. “They played well and kept their composure.”

HBA trailed at the time, 22-18, but somehow mustered one of their best games of the season as sophomore Sasha Phillip scored 10 points. Kyley Nakagawa led HBA with 16 points and Cyndi Yoshida, another sophomore, sank three treys to help the Eagles stay close.

The visitors took a 27-26 lead on a corner 3 by Yoshida early in the third quarter, but Kalei splashed a corner 3 of her own to give the home team a 31-30 lead a few minutes later.

As they did in the first half, the Eagles were in the bonus early, but didn’t take full advantage and shot just 17-for-35 at the free-throw line. Still, HBA grabbed a 41-40 lead on two foul shots by Phillip with 3:18 left.

Right away, Ah Yat answered, going to a power move in the low post to give the Saints a 42-41 lead. The game was tied at 42 when Kalei hit two clutch foul shots.

HBA’s last chance to tie or take the lead was with less than 29 seconds left when Nakagawa drove and missed a tough layup in traffic.

Trisadee Kahunahana made a free throw with 15.6 seconds left to give the Saints a 46-43 lead. HBA missed a 3 and Ah Yat made a one-handed free throw with 6.6 seconds left to put the game out of reach.

In attendance was former Saints player Kealani Neves. She, a twin brother and an older sister left the school during winter break. She was the team’s second-leading scorer at the time.

“I’m super happy for them,” the junior said. “I wish I could’ve been on the court with them, but my parents made the decision to move us.”

Neves and her family moved north. She and her siblings enrolled at Kahuku.