Punahou designed the perfect scenario, but couldn't put Lahainaluna away.

The second-seeded Lunas, vulnerable in the first half with center Milika Taufa on the bench, rallied for a 64-56 win at Blaisdell Arena to reach the Division I final of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball State Championships for the first time.

The Lady Lunas will meet Konawaena, the top seed, in the final. Tip-off at Blaisdell is set for 7 p.m.

“;We came to win the tournament. That's our mind-set,”; Lahainaluna coach Todd Rickard said. “;Konawaena and Punahou, those are two great programs.”;

Point guard Maiki Viela led Lahainaluna (25-2) with 29 points, including 13 in the first half, while Taufa spent big minutes on the bench with three fouls. Taufa, a 6-foot senior, finished with 15 points and anchored the low post in the late going.

“;It put a lot of pressure on all of us to step up,”; Viela said of Taufa's predicament. “;We knew what this game meant to us and the whole Lahaina community.”;

There were about 300 fans in attendance, most of them in red T-shirts.

“;We've never been a favorite before,”; Viela said of her team being a higher seed than Punahou. “;It's a good feeling. We're used to being the underdogs.”;

Hailey-Ann Maeda, a junior center, led third-seeded Punahou (13-6) with 15 points on a mix of jump hooks and turnaround jumpers in the low post.

Viela, though, was scintillating on both ends of the floor, finishing rugged drives to the rim and tipping away passes on the perimeter. Her three-point play with 3:09 left in the third quarter gave Lahainaluna the lead for good at 34-33. Coupled with an aggressive 2-2-1 halfcourt press, she sparked a 12-5 run that included a 3-pointer by Trina Akima.

Punahou got within 48-42 on a 14-foot jumper by Mysha Sataraka with 5:51 remaining, but Lahainaluna controlled the pace and the ball, getting key shots from Taufa, Akima and Hiilei Bacalso.

Bacalso's 3-pointer and Akima's backdoor cut for a layup gave the Lunas a 57-44 lead with 4 minutes left.

Punahou got no closer than seven the rest of the way.

The Lunas lost twice to Konawaena during the preseason—once at the Konawaena Winter Classic and again at the Lahainaluna Holiday Tournament.

“;Our defense is a lot better now,”; Viela said. “;We've been working on our halfcourt trap. When that's working, it gets easier.”;

Even with Taufa on the bench for most of the first half, the Lunas kept pace and had the game tied at 25-all going into intermission.

Lahainaluna opened with a man-to-man defense, but switched to a zone after Taufa left late in the first quarter. Punahou went to a box-and-one defense, denying Viela the ball.

Offensively, Punahou had some difficulty against the zone.

“;Once they had a few turnovers, we decided to stick with it,”; Rickard said.

Taufa returned to the game at the start of the second half.

“;I felt like I let the team down. I really wanted to make up for it,”; she said.

Punahou sent double and triple teams her way.

“;I'm not used to it coming that fast,”; Taufa said.

DIVISION II GIRLS TOURNAMENT

Molokai 79, Kahuku 69

Just getting back to the championship game is hard enough, let alone trying to repeat as champ. The top-seeded Farmers gave themselves a chance to repeat as the Division II state champions with a 10-point victory over the Red Raiders in one semifinal.

Two-sport standout Kalei Adolpho was held to six points, but did manage to grab 14 boards. Danna Lynn Hooper-Juario scored a game-high 33 points, including going 18-for-20 from the free-throw line. Teammate Jamie Duvauchelle chipped in 16 points for the Maui Interscholastic League champs, who move on to the final and will face second-seeded Kaimuki.

Joshlyn Noga scored a team-high 27 points for Kahuku, which will play Kapaa in the third-place game.

Kaimuki 51, Kapaa 40

The Bulldogs jumped out early and didn't look back as they defeated the Warriors. Dejah Fa'asoa had 15 points for Kaimuki to lead all scorers, while Vaioleti Mikaele contributed 13 points.