KAILUA-KONA — For another year, the streak lives on.
Behind 14 points from Mikayla Tablit, Konawaena (12-0, 15-2) reeled off a ninth consecutive BIIF title, downing Hilo 51-23 in the BIIF title game Friday night at Kealakehe High School.
Celena Molina added 10 points and Cherilyn Molina followed with six for the Wildcats, who extended their BIIF winning streak to 104 games.
Mele-Fatal Vaka and Mandi Kawaha had seven points apiece in a losing effort for the Lady Vikings (10-2, 16-2), who fell to the Wildcats in the title game for a fifth consecutive year. Hilo’s last league title came in 1996.
“Hilo played well on both sides of the ball but we did a good job of putting pressure on the ball safely so they had getting shots off,” Konawaena head coach Bobbie Awa said. “Mikayla played with confidence and composure and had a very nice game. The ball needs to be in her hands, especially on the free throw line.”
Both team advance to the HHSAA state tournament, which begins Jan. 30 and runs through Feb. 4.
Konawaena is gunning for a third consecutive state title and seventh overall. A three-peat would be the first of the division classification era — which began in 2004 — and a first for girls basketball since Kamehameha-Kapalama reeled off four in a row from 1990-1993.
Various season polls have Maryknoll — which fell to Konawaena 44-34 in the state championship last season — as the top girls squad in the state. That being said, the Konawaena games most of the state media witnessed were two losses at the Iolani Classic in early December to top nationally ranked squad Archbishop Mitty and Salesian, both out of California.
The Spartans (13-1) recently won the ILH title, avenging their only regular-season loss with a 45-24 win against Kamehameha-Kapalama.
Many wondered heading into this season if Konawaena could still be as dominant as in years past with the loss of three-time BIIF Player of the Year, five-star recruit and current Washington State freshman Chanelle Molina.
However, the team continued to route BIIF opponents on a regular basis all the way to the title game, which included a 66-17 beatdown in the semifinals against Honokaa.
“Chanelle was a special player. She was very unselfish and confident in her game,” Awa said. “This year we have a group of girls that are very good team players. As a unit they are very unselfish and always looking for their teammates. They feel that every one of them can score.”
Against Hilo in the title game, Konawaena allowed the Vikings to take a very brief lead, but by the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats were in firm control.
Konawaena completed a 12-point run at the beginning of the second quarter and grabbed a solid 26-11 lead at the break after Cherilyn Molina knocked down 3-pointer with a minute to go.
The third quarter belonged to Tablit, who scored four straight points out of the break, nailing a quick shot beyond the arc and then going 1-for-2 from the line. Hilo’s Mandi Kawaha answered back with consecutive layups to cut the deficit to 15 once again, but Tablit hit four consecutive free throws to notch eight points in the quarter to put the game completely out of reach.
With another BIIF championship secured, now the only question remains is did Konawaena do enough to secure the No. 1 seed for the state tournament.
“There are so many people who worry about standings and maybe I should, but we don’t worry about it because they are gong to match us up with whoever they want to and we are going to play like we always play,” Awa said. “If you want to be No. 1 you have to beat them all. Wherever they put us we are going to be good with it.”