After trying to decide which senior post was more dominant this past Interscholastic League of Honolulu girls basketball season — Punahou's Shawna-Lei Kuehu or 'Iolani's Jamie Smith — the ILH's coaches ended up choosing both.

Kuehu, a 5-foot-10 forward, and Smith, a 6-foot center, shared the league's Player of the Year honors after a recent vote.

Kuehu was The Advertiser's State Player of the Year in 2006, but sat out the entire 2007 season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. She came back this year in a big way, helping the Buffanblu recapture the league championship that slipped away with her absence last season.

In one of Kuehu's most impressive performances, she scored 21 of her team's 35 points against 'Iolani. She again showed her versatility by scoring, shooting, rebounding, blocking shots, passing and leading fast breaks.

Smith averaged 20.2 points per game in the regular and postseason, including totals of 17 vs. Sacred Hearts and 22 against Kamehameha (with nine rebounds) while playing with a broken nose. She expanded her game to include perimeter shooting, including from 3-point range, an ability to bring the ball up the floor against pressure and was a force on the boards and blocking shots.

Kuehu and Smith are joined on the ILH all-star first team by 'Iolani senior Chanel Hirata, Punahou senior Dara Tompkison, Kamehameha junior Pua Furtado, Mid-Pacific junior Johnelle Kapua and Punahou senior Shaena-Lyn Kuehu, Shawna-Lei's twin.

Hirata and Furtado were two of the league's top outside shooters, while Tompkison and Shaena-Lyn Kuehu were key defenders. Shaena-Lyn Kuehu, like her twin, also missed all of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.

Kapua, like Smith a repeat first-team selection, led a young MPI team that had no seniors.

Punahou's Mike Taylor and 'Iolani's Glenn Takara shared Coach of the Year honors.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.