McKinley heated up from behind the arc, just as Campbell started to go cold from the field.

Chelsie Sato and Kaitlyn Ikehara hit four 3-pointers each to help McKinley defeat Campbell, 63-52, yesterday at McKinley in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association White Division championship game.

Sato finished with 19 points and Ikehara had 14 as the Tigers (14-1) made four 3s in the third quarter to pull away from the Sabers (12-2).

"It (3-pointers) wasn't falling too much in the first half but coach kept telling us to shoot and it will go in," Ikehara said.

The game was tied at 16 after the first quarter and 25-25 at halftime. Oli Kila scored the first basket of the third quarter for the Sabers (9-5), who then went cold as the Tigers warmed up from long range.

Pearly Togiai's basket gave McKinley a 29-27 lead with 6:38 left, then the Tigers hit three consecutive 3s — two by Sato and one by Ikehara — to open up a 38-27 lead.

"Kaitlyn is always on it, too," Sato said. "I think when she starts making it, I start making it and if I start making it, she starts making it. It's really a nice reversal. We're always stepping into each other's places."

Vai Confer's two free throws broke a four-minute scoring drought for the Sabers with 3:36 left, but Campbell managed just one more basket the rest of the quarter.

"We didn't convert every time down, and we got to especially with a team that shoots like they do," Campbell coach Nathan Macadangdang said. "We cannot fall behind when they shoot the 3 like that."

Kylie Sato, who finished with 10 points, opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and two free throws that gave the Tigers their biggest lead of the game at 47-31.

Campbell cut the deficit to 57-49 with 53 seconds left on a basket by Jenny Sweeney, but the Tigers made 6 of 12 free throws down the stretch.

"The adjustments we made were on defense," McKinley coach Bob Morikuni said. "They were killing us on the boards (in the first half). We couldn't stop them. We had to make adjustments on our press and box out."

Said Ikehara: "Coach Bob said we had to pick up the defensive intensity. That's how we were going to win the game."

Kila led Campbell with 16 points and Sweeney added 10 as the Sabers will be making their first state tournament appearance since 1997.

"We have a young team," Kila said. "Our team deserves going to states. It was a team effort."

MCKINLEY (14-1) 16 9 17 21 — 63

CAMPBELL (12-2) 16 9 6 21 — 52

CAMPBELL — Cheyna Tagura 2, Vai Confer 8, Aloha Dias-Kekahuna 7, Amber Kaulia 9, Shawny Veracruz 0, Oli Kila 16, Ipo Kila 0, Jenny Sweeney 10. Totals 20 9-14 52.

MCKINLEY — Jackie Tihano 1, Kaitlyn Ikehara 14, Chelsie Sato 19, Jaelynn Lopez 0, Pearly Togiai 12, Maribel Hebron 0, Kylie Sato 10, Sasha Hong 0, Jorina Faletoi 5, Crystal Tafai 2, Allyson Villanueva 0. Totals 19 16-29 63. 3-point goals: Campbell 3 (Kauila 3). McKinley 9 (C. Sato 4, Ikehara 4, K. Sato).

LANA'I 33, MOLOKA'I 24

Erin Trevino scored 15 points in a Maui Interscholastic League Division II playoff game at War Memorial Gym yesterday to lead the Pine Lasses to their first-ever state tournament berth. Lana'i improves to 7-5, while Moloka'i finishes at 8-6.