Kanisha Bello scored 24 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished five assists as Kamehameha-Hawai'i made short work of McKinley, 73-53, last night at Farrington to advance to the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Division II state championship game.

The BIIF runner-up Warriors (14-3) will play ILH champion and top-seeded Sacred Hearts (15-0) tonight at 6 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"I told my girls that we have to peak and peak at the right time," said Warriors head coach Kalani Silva. "I think we're doing that. This was the first time that our offense and defense were on at the same time."

Sierra Gacayan shot a perfect 5 for 5 from the field and 2 for 2 from the line for 12 points as the Warriors' shot a collective 63 percent from the field, including 57 percent from 3-point range, for the game. Tabitha Eseroma, doubled teamed for most of the game, finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

McKinley was led by Chelsie Sato's 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Worn but not willing to let up after their third consecutive night of play, Kamehameha rotated 15 players in and out of the game hoping to disrupt a talented McKinley squad with different looks on both ends of the floor.

Kamehameha came out on fire in the first half, shooting 71 percent from the field.

Bello led the charge with 16 first-half points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field (4 for 5 from the line).

The sophomore swing hit a soft floater in the lane and a pull-up jumper from 12-feet to extend a 13-4 run between the first and second quarters.

"We talked about her getting into the game early and she really got us going tonight," Silva said. "A lot of people forget she's only a sophomore."

The Warriors also got a big first-half contribution from point guard Ashlee Kalauli, who zipped a pass to Bello for an easy score in the paint and hit back-to-back 3-pointers from the top of the key to help give Kamehameha a 42-27 advantage at halftime.

Kamehameha turned up the pressure in the third quarter with a man-to-man defense that seemed to fluster the Lady Tigers, who responded with a flurry of rushed and off-balance perimeter shots.

"I like to push the issue at the beginning," Silva said. "We get lazy when we sit in a zone. Our man defense is our hallmark."

The Warriors held the Lady Tigers to 35 percent shooting from the field and was effective in containing McKinley's explosive guard Kaitlyn Ikehara, who finished the night with 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting from the field (4 for 12 from 3-point range).

Carissima's driving layup with four seconds left in the quarter gave the Warriors a 58-40 lead heading into the final period.

"They're just a great team," said McKinley head coach Bob Morikuni. "They outplayed and outcoached us tonight. They broke through everything we threw at them."

Silva pulled Bello and Eseroma with two minutes to play to a loud ovation. He said his team is heading into tomorrow's championship game on nothing but "fumes and adrenaline."

Still, Bello said she and her teammates will be ready.

"The only way we're going to win is if we play as a team," Bello said. "Our defense is our offense and right now our team defense is really solid.

"I'm so stoked to play tomorrow."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.