LAHAINA — In a game that may catch the attention of the state seeding committee in February, the Konawaena High School girls basketball team outlasted, outrebounded and — barely — outscored Lahainaluna at the Lunas' gym last night.

The Wildcats beat the Lunas 46-42 in the Lahainaluna Winter Tournament's penultimate game.

Konawaena, with its enthusiastic boys team watching in the stands, improved to 5-2. Lahainaluna, backed by the remainder of the gym, which was trying to outshout the Wildcats boys, lost for the first time in nine games this season.

''I think so,'' Lahainaluna coach Todd Rickard said to The Maui News when asked if the state committee would be checking out the result. ''I mean, Kona is a tough team. They have been to the states, they have won two state titles in the last four years. They are not going to get flustered coming over here. They play anybody, anyplace, anytime.''

The Wildcats lost a state consolation game to the Lunas last season, but on Saturday the smaller team from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation controlled the boards against the Lunas' front line of Maui Interscholastic League All-Stars Milika Taufa and Ofa Namoa.

These Wildcats are young — just three seniors on the roster, two of whom played — and they were led by freshman forward Lia Galdeira's 17 points. Sophomore Anuhea Wall added 12 and freshman Dawnyelle Awa, the daughter of coach Bobbie Awa, added seven points and got to several key loose balls, whether off of the glass or among the Lunas' 22 turnovers.

''Our youngsters did very good tonight,'' Bobbie Awa said. ''Lia is just a freshman, so that was good. Anu has been struggling, to be honest with you. We have been working hard to get her involved. She actually had a very good tournament here, not this game.''

Taufa finished with 14 points and Namoa 10.

The Wildcats may have a pair of losses, but they were to nationally ranked Oregon City (Ore.) and Punahou in the Iolani Classic last week. In Lahaina, they handled Baldwin and Marist (Ga.) before the tough contest against the Lunas.

Awa doesn't think Saturday should carry much weight when the state tournament rolls around.

''It could, but it shouldn't because it is only preseason,'' she said. ''You never know what is going to happen over there (on Oahu). We never know what is going to happen back home, but that was definitely a good team that we played (in Lahainaluna).''

The game was a back-and-forth affair in the first half before settling into a 22-22 tie at the halftime break.

Galdeira scored 10 points in the third quarter as the Wildcats took a 36-31 lead into the final period.

Namoa, an MIL All-Star twice before spending her junior year in Kentucky, made a layup eight seconds into the final period and then scored again on a nifty pass from Taufa, last season's MIL Division I Player of the Year, with 5:40 to bring Lahainaluna within three points.

Konawaena went on a 6-2 run to make the score 44-37 with 2:41 left and then held the ball for nearly two minutes after a quick Lunas miss at the other end.

With 49 seconds left, Galdeira missed the front end of a 1-and-1 situation and 23 seconds later, another missed front end by Tara Hanato-Smith gave the Lunas one last chance.

Rachael Rickard, the coach's daughter, banked home a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to make the score 44-40. One more missed free throw by Hanato-Smith gave the Lunas the ball with 10 seconds to play.

Maiki Viela was fouled on a 3-point try with 3 seconds to go. She made the first free throw, prompting a timeout from Konawaena. When she made the second, the Lunas called timeout. She deliberately missed the final try, but the ball bounced past Taufa, who then committed her fifth foul with a second to go.

Wall made both free throws at the other end to account for the final score.

Konawaena shot 16-for-55 from the field, while the Lunas shot better at 14-for-29.

''I think their guards played well and their low-post players did what they had to do, while our guards got a little bit flustered,'' Todd Rickard said. ''I think basically they kind of laid back and didn't attack the basket. They weren't creating shots for our big men. They just passed the ball around the perimeter, but we cannot do that.''

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