Punahou relied on defensive pressure in the first half yesterday against Farrington, and carved up a cheating defense in the second.

The Buffanblu, the two-time defending state champion, forced 19 first-half turnovers in a 62-37 rout of the Governors last night in the first round of the Hawaiian Airlines/HHSAA Girls Basketball Division I State Championships at the Stan Sheriff Center.

"Our defense is our offense," Punahou coach Mike Taylor said. "We try to play good on-ball defense, move our hands, move our feet. If certain opportunities present themselves, we do what we do best — come after the ball."

Punahou, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu runner-up, will play No. 4 seed Lahainaluna in the quarterfinals today at 2:15 p.m.

To open the second half, the Governors played a 1-2-2 zone and sent the player at the point down court early in hopes of getting uncontested layups.

"We wanted to see how the game was going, and eventually we might as well try to change the tempo," Farrington coach Jenic Tumaneng said. "So we figured we'd try that and see if we can sneak some shots going down quick."

The Buffanblu made 8 of 12 shots while going "5 on 4" in the third period to take a 49-30 advantage. Farrington scrapped the strategy to open the fourth.

"They made their shots so there wasn't that quick rebound and outlet," Tumaneng said.

Punahou (10-5) got some breathing room with a 16-4 run to open the second period. Chelsea Deptula scored seven points during the surge, which put Punahou up 28-12 with 2:52 left before halftime.

Farrington, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's No. 4 team, closed to 39-28 after a field goal by C'ani Kealoha with 3:22 left in the third, but the cheating-down-court strategy then lost its effectiveness.

"That was kind of interesting," Taylor said. "The first three baskets we didn't have a safety back. They were actually wide open. They caught us a few times. We just wanted to run our sets and be aware we needed a safety back."

Tressa Torres scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting as 12 Buffanblu players scored.

Punahou finished 21 of 42 from the field and held a 35-21 rebounding advantage.

"The kids hit open shots and it makes your offense look a lot better when you hit your shots," Taylor said.

Deptula had five steals, and four teammates had two each for Punahou, which forced 25 turnovers.

"We were expecting they were going to have that kind of ball pressure," Tumaneng said. "It's totally different when you get the entire five from the opponent coming at you. It's hard for us to simulate that kind of ball pressure."

Farrington (10-7) was 14 of 43, including 0 of 9 from 3-point range.

Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com.