The Lahainaluna High School girls basketball team made history Friday night by winning the Hawaiian Airlines Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I State Championship Tournament title. The team includes (from left): front — Melissa Francis, Maika Cabrera, Ericka Erickson, Hiilei Bacalso, Paige Casil, Jade Chihara and Maiki Viela; back row — Coach Ian Aotaki, Akanesi Malamala, Lavinia Pasikala, Lahela Akima, Milika Taufa, Ana Lauese, Hayley Nakamura, Moana Hafoka and Coaches Eddie Pamat and Todd Rickard. Amanda Matsuda is also on the team. Photo by Walter Chihara.

LAHAINA — The weekend of Feb. 19-20, 2010 will stand as the most memorable two days in the long, rich history of Lahainaluna High School athletics.

The Lady Lunas basketball team tipped off the glorious run on Friday night by winning the Hawaiian Airlines Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I State Championship Tournament title with a thrilling 47-45 victory over defending champion Konawaena at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.

The win marked the first D-I state title for a Maui Interscholastic League girls or boys team in the 34-year history of the competition. The game was also the first-ever match-up of two Neighbor Island schools in the final.

Finishing the regular season and playoffs undefeated at 17-0, the team reached the championship finals by defeating Roosevelt 68-46 in the quarterfinals and Punahou 64-56 in the semis.

The Lady Lunas reached the state tournament as the number two seed after securing their unprecedented sixth straight MIL championship.

Lahainaluna High School wrestlers celebrate their Maui Interscholastic League titles on Saturday.

Back on Maui about an hour later, the Lahainaluna boys basketball team won their first MIL title since 2002 in another down-to-the-wire thriller with a 32-30 championship tournament victory over Baldwin.

The win nailed down the MIL’s top seed to the HHSAA Boys State Tournament and the coveted league title for the Lunas (12-2). They will be the fourth seed in the playoffs that take place in Honolulu March 2-5.

On Saturday, the Lunas boys and girls wrestling teams swept the competition to win their respective titles at the MIL Championships at the Jimmie H. Greig Gymnasium on the Lahainaluna campus.

The win for the boys was their fifth straight, as they easily outdistanced runner-up Molokai by a points total of 250 to 134.5.

The girls team victory, a sweet surprise, and marked their first championship in the sport. The Lady Lunas piled up 137 points to second place Molokai’s 85.

For the HHSAA State Wrestling Tournament this weekend, Feb. 26-27, the Lahainaluna boys qualified 13 wrestlers, while the girls will send seven competitors.    

The Luna boys finished third as a team last year and will be vying for another top spot this time around at the Blaisdell.