BY BOB HOGUE
DIGITAL SPORTS HAWAII
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
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The Campbell Lady Sabers made history Friday night at the Stan Sheriff, edging McKinley 57-55 at the overtime buzzer to win the HHSAA Division II girls basketball state championship game.
Ariel Medlin’s frantic putback swished through the net as the buzzer sounded, giving the Sabers their first-ever state basketball title.
“I usually always bank it in; that’s the first time I ever shot it straight in,” said a beaming Medlin after the victory.
Medlin was one of three Campbell players finishing in double figures. She had 13 points, while Aloha Dias-Kekahuna poured in 15, and Kaitlynn Simmonds added 10.
In the hotly-contested game between OIA rivals, McKinley also had three players score in double figures. Tatiana Dinson had 15, Pearly Togiai 14, and Allyon Villanueva added 10. It was McKinley’s first loss since the pre-season after 17 straight conference and tournament victories, while Campbell finished at 17-2.
Ironically, it looked like Campbell might runaway with the game early in the fourth quarter. The Sabers were up by nine points at 42-33 until the Tigers started firing away from the outside. Villanueva hit back-to-back huge three pointers to make it a three-point game with about three minutes left, then Kylie Sato tied it with another three pointer at 46-all. The two teams traded buckets down the stretch and the game went into overtime tied at 48-48.
In the OT, Campbell broke out to a five point lead, but once again McKinley rallied to tie. Just when everyone thought the game was headed to a second overtime, Dias-Kekahuna drove baseline in the final seconds and missed a highly-contested shot. But on the third frenetic putback attempt, Medlin just beat the buzzer to win the game. Bedlam ensued on the Campbell sidelines after that as Saber fans went wild.
Congratulations to the Campbell Lady Sabers, the 2008 Division II girls state basketball champions!
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