The Punahou girls basketball team found its comfort zone in a rarely used half-court trap last night against Radford.

On the offensive end, Punahou relied on Shawna-Lei Kuehu inside and Janelle Nomura outside.

Punahou held Radford to 19-percent shooting from the field, and Kuehu scored 20 points and Nomura added 13 in a 58-28 victory in the semifinals of the girls basketball Division I state championships at Farrington.

Punahou, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion and No. 1 seed, will play league rival 'Iolani for the Hawaiian Airlines/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association title tonight at 8 at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Punahou (13-1) will be playing in its fourth consecutive state title game. The Buffanblu won in 2005 and 2006, and lost to Konawaena last season.

The trip back is especially rewarding to Kuehu and twin sister Shaena-Lyn Kuehu, who both missed last season with knee injuries.

"Every year, it's our goal to get to the state championship," Shawna-Lei Kuehu said. "Our team is really happy to get there. We've pushed together."

The Buffanblu dominated after switching from a man-to-man defense to a 1-3-1 half-court trap to start the second period. They stuck with it the remainder of the game.

"We do have that in our bag of defenses, but we rarely use it," said Punahou coach Mike Taylor. "We'll use it on occasions. Our kids just played really well. We talked it out and communicated."

Punahou went on a 17-4 run over the final 10:43 of the first half to take a 27-12 advantage. Nomura scored eight of Punahou's 12 points in the second period, including two 3-pointers.

Nomura sprained her left ankle in a win over Konawaena the previous night, but showed no ill effects against Radford.

"Our trainer just cleared me before the game," said Nomura, who also hit a 3-pointer in the third period. "I didn't want to take anything fast. I was really relaxed. I wasn't planning on shooting that much. The game just kind of came to me."

Radford's only points of the second period was a field goal by Marlena Malepeai with 3:33 left. The Rams missed their nine other field-goal attempts.

Meanwhile, Punahou was 5 of 8 from the field in the second and took a 27-12 halftime lead.

Shawna-Lei Kuehu scored eight of her 10 first-half points in the first period. She scored the first six points of the second half as the Buffanblu took a 33-12 lead with 5:45 left in the third.

"Shawna came out aggressive and set the tone for us on the offense end," Taylor said. "She was fearless going to the basket."

Radford, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up, finished 9 of 47 from the field and committed 15 turnovers.

"We were just hesitant to attack their zone," said Radford coach Tani Dutro. "We needed to just shoot the ball and we weren't taking the shots and attacking the zone. We spent a lot of times just passing on the outside and not moving it fast enough."

Punahou's defense was designed to take away dribble penetration and contain Radford center Ta Nitra Byrd.

"We knew Radford likes to drive and bang inside with Ta Nitra," Nomura said. "So we decided on playing a zone and play back and get ready for the drives and double up on Ta Nitra."

Punahou finished 22 of 40 from the field, including 7 of 10 in the fourth period.

"Offensively, we preached just pushing the ball up," Taylor said. "We did a good job at finishing shots. When we finish shots, it gets us revved up and playing more aggressive on defense."

Byrd led Radford (16-2) with nine points.

RADFORD (16-2) 10 2 6 10 — 28

PUNAHOU (13-1) 15 12 14 17 — 58

RADFORD — Itali Lindsey 0, Bui Baravilala 3, Marlena Malepeai 8, Brittini Fuller 6, Chelsea-Ann Villanueva 0, Marsharen Dupont 2, Ta Nitra Byrd 9. Totals 9 9-22 28.

PUNAHOU — Rebecca Lau 3, Brittnie Lau 2, Julianne Nomura 0, Dara Tompkison 5, Anna Merrifield 0, Shawna Lei Kuehu 20, Ashley Satterwhite 0, Shaena Lyn Kuehu 9, Janelle Nomura 13, Janet Li 0, Jennifer Chong 0, Julia Brand 0, Kysa Ludviksen 2, Tressa Torres 2, Tiera Jenson 2. Totals 22 10-12 58. 3-point goals: Radford 1 (Fuller). Punahou 4 (Ja. Nomura 3, Tompkison 1).