Sometimes, a little pain goes a long way.

If you're Lahainaluna, the yearning for a state championship in girls basketball had gone on for years on end. That thirst was quenched on Friday night with a remarkable come-from-behind 47-45 win over top-seeded Konawaena in the final of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball Division I State Championships.

That hunger was clear to see in the Lady Lunas, who trailed by 11 in the third quarter. Senior center Milika Taufa, with just five points in the first half, erupted for 21 in the second to power Lahainaluna to its first state crown. Playing hungry made the difference in Taufa, who sprinted end to end like never before for the entire second half. She also had nine rebounds and five blocks in the biggest game of her career.

“;Milika knew it was her last high school game. We wanted to win it for her,”; point guard Maiki Viela said.

Taufa's performance was vital, but so was Viela's triumphant effort in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Viela, a junior, has always been uber-quick and a solid playmaker going right and left. This year, though, her game is more tempered, more cerebral, more effective—without losing the explosive first step. Her 29-point game in the win over Punahou was nothing short of sensational. Without her, Lahainaluna doesn't reach the final.

Without her, the Lady Lunas don't break through Konawaena's normally devastating high-pressure defense. Viela and her backcourt mates—including seniors Hi'ilei Bacalso and Trina Akima—were so proficient that the Wildcats backed off instead of trapping, not by design, but by choice. Konawaena coach Bobbie Awa gives her players the freedom to trap in any area of the court, and all season long, they did it with huge results.

Not so on Friday night. With Viela slicing through often enough, the 'Cats lost their defensive mojo, and entry passes to Taufa were a piece of cake, at least until the ulcer-inducing final minute. Twice, Konawaena had the ball and a chance to take the lead or tie. Both times, the Lunas came up with stops on Wildcat turnovers.

It was heart-breaking for the defending champion 'Cats, who saw the possibility of a repeat title with sophomores Lia Galdeira and Dawnyelle Awa leading the way snuffed out like another Taufa block.

It was heart-warming for a Lahainaluna program that had inched more closely to a state title with each passing year.

“;I told Coach Bobbie, 'So this is what it feels like,' “; Lunas coach Todd Rickard said. “;I'm happy for Milika and all our seniors. What more can you ask for than to go out as a state champion as a senior.”;

So how did Lahainaluna turn the corner against a team it had lost to twice in nonconference play?

“;The first time, I stepped up, but nobody else did. The second time, Maiki stepped and nobody else did,”; Taufa said. “;We had doubt in ourselves. Tonight, no doubt. We made history this whole year. This topped it all off.”;

If hunger meant something, so did friendship. Rickard patterned his program, as well as the age-group Menehune basketball club, after Konawaena and Awa's Stingrays club.

“;They are our guide. We always ask for (Awa's) advice,”; Rickard said.

In fact, when last summer arrived, the Stingrays asked Lahainaluna's two studs, Taufa and Viela, to join them for their annual trek to Oregon to play in tournaments.

From there, the Lunas and Wildcats bonded as teammates while playing 3,000 miles away. If there's a reason why Viela seemed far more comfortable challenging the swarm of Konawaena's defense than any other point guard this year, the point of origin goes back to that Oregon trip.

For the first time since the tourney's inception in 1977, the Division I champion hails from Maui.