Hilo had one of those basketball shooting nights when almost any shot fired touched nothing but net.
Behind red-hot 59 percent shooting, the No. 2 seed Vikings toppled No. 3 Honokaa 48-28 in the BIIF Division I semifinals on Friday, setting up their annual championship battle with Konawaena.
In the other semifinal, the No. 1 Wildcats defeated No. 4 Waiakea 60-19 and await Hilo in the BIIF championship for the fourth year in a row.
Hilo (10-1) earned its fourth consecutive berth to the HHSAA D-I state tournament, which will be held Feb. 9-12 on Oahu.
Konawaena (11-0) earlier secured a state spot as the BIIF regular season champion. The Wildcats have qualified for states 15 years in a row.
The season is over for Honokaa (8-3), which loses senior starters Kizzah Maltezo, Uluwehi Cordero, and Markell Marquez.
In the regular season, the Vikings hosted the Dragons and won 46-25, getting a spark from Sharlei Graham-Bernisto, who scored a game-high 16 points and forced many of Honokaa’s 24 turnovers.
Somebody was going home disappointed with a backpack carrying a bit of history.
Hilo is the three-time BIIF runner-up while Honokaa won the last two BIIF Division II titles and state championships.
The Vikings’ ball pressure forced 14 turnovers, and they outscored Honokaa off giveaways, 7-5. Hilo had just nine turnovers.
The man press defense could pretty much take the night off. That’s because the offense was cranking. Smart shot selection was the order of the day.
“Our strategy was to wear Honokaa down, put pressure, pressure on them,” Hilo coach Henry Miranda said. “Lexi is always a key person for us. She’s got a good supporting cast, and the team chemistry is excellent.
“She can work inside and out. We practice with her on taking guard shots, guard moves. But with her size, we really need her rebounding, and rebounding is the key. We want to hold the opponent to one shot. She had a bunch of tip balls that led to rebounds.”
Mandi Kawaha scored 14 points, Pana 11 and Graham-Bernisto 10 to lead the Vikings, who buried 16 of 27 field goals and outrebounded Honokaa 20-18.
Maltezo scored 12 points and Kawena Kaohimaunu added seven points for the Dragons, who converted 31 percent (10 of 32) from the floor.
When the Viks went to the free throw line, their shooting touch took a coffee break. They went just 11 of 23; the Dragons made just 2 of 8 free throws.
Hilo led 26-16 at halftime. Although it was low scoring, the first 16 minutes were highly entertaining. The first half was a 3-point shooting contest with each team nailing four treys. Both teams finished with five 3-pointers each.
Graham-Bernisto and Kawaha each had a pair; Maltezo had two treys while Kaohimaunu and Apreal Ansagay had one each.
The Vikings bolted to a 10-0 run to start the second quarter to take a 19-10 lead with 5:40 left. Graham-Bernisto nailed a 3-pointer to push Hilo’s lead to 26-16 with 1:39 remaining.
Hilo got into the double bonus early with 5:40 left until halftime and made 6 of 9 free throws. Pana swished 4 of 4 free throws. Honokaa went 0 for 1 from the line.
Pana finished 4 of 7 from the line, and she hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter, when Maltezo added her third 3-ball.
Throughout the game, the Viks had nice spacing and ball movement, the latter opened up 3-point looks. With its spread offense, Hilo cut into the post for a few post options but mostly stuck to shooting clean jump shots.
The 5-foot-10 Pana was versatile and a difference-maker on both ends of the floor. She grabbed six rebounds and dished off four assists. Often, the senior wing would rebound, run the floor and find an open teammate.
A play in the fourth quarter highlighted her two-way ability. Pana grabbed a board, Honokaa put on a full-court press, and she dribbled through traffic. She delivered a perfect pass to a streaking Sharry Pagan for a layup and a 41-21 lead with 4:43 left.
Miranda liked the fact that his Vikings are finally comfortable playing two styles of ball: fast and slow.
“I’m trying to teach the girls that you don’t have to go quick, quick, quick,” he said. “We can run a patient offense, run our set plays, trust each other, and take the best shot.”
The Vikings followed that philosophy to the tune of 59 percent shooting — one reason the first-year coach smiled briefly before thinking about the rematch against the Wildcats.
“It should be a fun game,” said Miranda, who might be smiling longer if his Viks shot 59 percent again.
Honokaa 10 6 5 7 — 28
Hilo 9 17 12 10 — 48
Konawaena 60, Waiakea 19: Ihi Victor scored 14 points while Mikayla Tablit, Cherilyn and Celena Molina had 10 each and Mahi Kaawa added six points for the Wildcats.
Madison Hwang scored eight points and Danielle Oda added eight for the Warriors (6-5).
It was the final game for Waiakea senior starter Elyse Hasegawa, who scored four points. The only other seniors are Wren Pacheco and Maria Bartolome.
Kona senior Jenny Fong, a transfer from Kohala, had the double bonus of going to states and watching her old team also qualify.
“I’m proud of them,” said Fong, who finished with four points. “We were ready and came prepared. Our defense was really good. It’s been fun here and I like it over at this side.”
Waiakea 1 7 4 7 — 19
Konawaena 16 16 18 10 — 60