Denying Lahainaluna its place in history, Punahou advanced to its fifth straight Hawaiian Airlines/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Girls Basketball Division I Championship final last night with a 42-37 victory at Blaisdell Arena.

The defending champ Buffanblu, 13-1 in the regular and postseason, will face Konawaena (14-0) in tonight's 7 o'clock title game at Blaisdell.

The game will be televised live statewide on OC16.

"It feels really good ... we go day-by-day, and yesterday was Step 1, today was Step 2," said Buffanblu senior guard Janelle Nomura, who had a game-high 18 points and five steals. "We're really proud and we want to prove ourselves to the state."

Lahainaluna, making its semifinal debut last night, was trying to become the first team from Maui to advance to the championship in the tournament's 33-year history. But the Lunas (15-1) were plagued by foul trouble from the opening minutes and could not complete a fourth-period comeback that drew them within one point (36-35) with 2:57 remaining.

Nomura made a steal and layup with 49 seconds left to put Punahou up 38-35, and Mysha Sataraka converted another turnover into a fast-break layup 23 seconds later to make it 40-35.

Maiki Viela cut it to 40-37 on a short jumper in the lane with 11 seconds left, but Nomura was fouled after the ensuing inbounds pass and sank two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining to seal the victory.

"We gave it our all, our girls played hard, but Punahou is a great team and we just came up short," Lahainaluna coach Todd Rickard said. "Punahou's been in that situation before, but for us it's a learning curve; something we gotta take with us."

The Lunas' plans were disrupted early, when starting center and leading scorer/rebounder/shot blocker Milika Taufa picked up two fouls barely two minutes into the game. Lahainaluna's other strong post player, Ofa Namoa, was whistled for her third foul with 4:23 remaining in the half and the Lunas up, 22-21.

That would be their last lead, as Sataraka's layup put the Buffanblu ahead 23-22 with 1:32 left and a layup by Nomura 24 seconds later gave Punahou a 25-22 lead at the break.

Namoa cut it to 25-24 on a layup five seconds into the second half, but the Buffanblu outscored Lahainaluna 9-2 the rest of the quarter, capped by Nomura's 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining.

Nomura's twin sister, Julianne, then opened the fourth period with a steal and layup to stretch the lead to 36-26.

Things looked worse for the Lunas when starting wing Rachael Rickard — a four-year veteran — fouled out with 6:54 left.

But Namoa and Taufa sparked a 9-0 run to cut it to 36-35 after Taufa's short bank shot with 2:57 remaining.

"They're very athletic, and they keep coming at you," Punahou coach Mike Taylor said of the Lunas. "They're a great team, and they kept fighting."

Rickard said Lahainaluna's foul trouble — four players finished with at least four fouls — "altered our plans."

"But we put ourselves in foul trouble," Rickard said. "We told our girls to stay away from fouls, but ... (Nomura) is a great player, she penetrates well."

Taufa led the Lunas with 11 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks, and Namoa added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

LAHAINALUNA (15-1) 19 3 4 11 — 37

PUNAHOU (13-1) 15 10 9 8 — 42

LAHAINALUNA — Maiki Viela 8, Trina Akima 3, Rachael Rickard 5, Mele Filikitonga 0, Milika Taufa 11, Kelsea Cabrera 0, Hiilei Bacalso 0, Ana-Marie Lauese 0, Matenoa Taufa 0, Ofa Namoa 10. Totals 14 8-13 37.

PUNAHOU — Rebecca Lau 6, Julianne Nomura 2, Janet Li 6, Anna Merrifield 0, Mysha Sataraka 6, Janelle Nomura 18, Jennifer Ching 0, Julia Brand 0, Kysa Ludviksen 1, Tressa Torres 3. Totals 13 13-21 42.

3-point goals: Lahainaluna 1 (Akima). Punahou 3 (Lau 2, Ja. Nomura).

Read his blog on high school sports at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com.