Peru's Sofia Mulanovich is proof that the size of the waves — or the size of the surfer — does not matter.

The diminutive Mulanovich conquered big waves and the rest of the field to win the Roxy Pro women's contest yesterday.

The final day of the two-day contest was run at Sunset Beach in wave-face heights that ranged from 10 to 20 feet — some of the biggest ever for a women's event.

"I'm super-stoked," said Mulanovich, 24. "It's such an honor to win here in Hawai'i. Hawai'i is so amazing, so beautiful and the waves are great ... and big, for sure."

Mulanovich, who is barely 5 feet tall, described the conditions as: "It was like four (times) over my head."

But she came up big as well, and was the only surfer to consistently receive high scores throughout the day.

"It was a big challenge," she said. "You had to know which waves to get, and paddle fast when there was a set coming."

In the four-woman final, Mulanovich jumped to an early lead with a score of 6.83 for carving across a 15-foot wave-face.

Australia's Amee Donohoe took the lead for a few minutes midway through, but Mulanovich clinched the victory with a 6.9 score with around eight minutes remaining.

Mulanovich's two-wave score of 13.73 was enough to earn the $12,000 first-place check.

Donohoe placed second with a two-wave score of 10.83, followed by fellow Australians Samantha Cornish (7.64) and Jessi Miley-Dyer (6.4).

"Everyone wants to see the girls in bigger conditions," Donohoe said. "It generates exposure for the sport and it shows that we can tackle stuff like this."

Practically every surfer in the contest got punished by the powerful waves at some point.

Donohoe said: "I caught a couple of huge sets on the head and got held down a few times. After a while you just go 'huh, that's all it can do to me.' So ... I actually had fun out there."

Others were not so fortunate.

Waialua's Megan Abubo had to be assisted to shore by the ocean safety patrol after a wipeout in the semifinals. She was taken to a hospital, and was treated and released for injured ribs.

Australia's Stephanie Gilmore, who is currently ranked No. 1 on the World Championship Tour for women, also had a harrowing experience while being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

"At one point I paddled pretty deep and then a big set came and I just looked at (Miley-Dyer) thinking I was going to die," Gilmore said. "It just broke on my head; I tried to duck under but it just smoked me. Then I got about six more on the head and by that time I only had half a board. It was pretty strenuous."

The eliminations of Gilmore and Abubo allowed Mulanovich to move into contention for both the women's world championship and Vans Triple Crown of Surfing championship.

The Roxy Pro was the second of three events in the Triple Crown, as well as the second-to-last event on the 2007 world tour.

Mulanovich won the world title in 2004, and is the defending women's Triple Crown champ.

The final event for the Triple Crown and the world tour is the Billabong Pro Maui, which is scheduled for Dec. 8 to 20 at Honolua Bay, Maui.

In short, the world title race has turned into a showdown between Gilmore and Mulanovich, although Brazil's Silvana Lima still has an outside chance.

Mulanovich and Abubo are tied atop the Triple Crown standings, although Abubo's status for Maui is now in question.

Wai'anae's Melanie Bartels tied for fifth place yesterday and was the top Hawai'i finisher. She won the Roxy Pro last year.

Gilmore won $3,000 for the Schick Quattro For Women Style Award. Also, 16-year-old Coco Ho of Sunset Beach won the Nose Guard Triple Crown Rookie of the Year award.

FINAL RESULTS

1, Sofia Mulanovich (Peru), $12,000. 2, Amee Donohoe (Australia), $7,000. 3, Samantha Cornish (Australia), $5,100. 4, Jessi Miley-Dyer (Australia), $4,900. 5 (tie), Melanie Bartels (Hawai'i) and Claire Bevilacqua (Australia), $4,600. 7 (tie), Rebecca Woods (Australia) and Megan Abubo (Hawai'i), $4,400.

MEN STILL IN THIRD ROUND

The men's O'Neill World Cup of Surfing also ran yesterday at Sunset Beach, and the second round was completed.

Australia's Daniel Ross had the best heat of the day for the second consecutive day. He had a two-wave score of 18.53 to win his heat yesterday.

Marcus Hickman of Sunset Beach was the top surfer from Hawai'i with a two-wave score of 18.17. Other surfers from Hawai'i advancing to the third round were Dustin Barca, Sean Moody and Sunny Garcia.

Two-time defending Triple Crown champ Andy Irons of Kaua'i drew a bye.

The men's contest still needs two more days of competition to determine a champion.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.