Feeling pull of Hawaii

The family legacy that connects Sarah Toeaina to the University of Hawaii ultimately played a secondary role in her decision to sign with the Rainbow Wahine basketball program.

Sure, as the daughter of two former UH athletes — linebacker Andrew Toeaina and volleyball standout Maile (Golden) Toeaina — Sarah grew up in Washington with UH memorabilia around the house and watched game tapes of mom and dad.

But when it came time to pick a college, she felt a pull to Hawaii rather than a push from her parents.

"They told me to look at the bigger picture and see what was best for me," Toeaina said. "I love the coaching staff, I love the team."

That said, following her parents in wearing green and white as a freshman with the Rainbow Wahine remains "a big honor, such a blessing."

"Both my parents came here and it’s just keeping the legacy of the Toeaina family and I have a lot of family out here," she said.

A good-sized contingent figures to be at the Stan Sheriff Center on Sunday when the Wahine make their public debut with their Green vs. White scrimmage following the UH volleyball match against UC Santa Barbara.

Toeaina will be among eight newcomers introduced to the home crowd and could soon become a familiar name in her own right. UH coach Laura Beeman pointed to the 5-foot-11 Toeaina among the first-year players who have broken from the pack in the early stages of practice.

"Sarah works really hard on the floor every day, she has a very high basketball IQ so she’s able to pick things up quickly," Beeman said. "She’ll be a young lady who gets playing time."

Beeman said Toeaina, a three-sport athlete at Kentwood High School, could contribute anywhere from point guard to small forward.

"Sarah’s going to have the ability to rebound and push the ball, get on the block once in a while and bring a lot of different offensive threats to us as well as be able to defend different people on the floor," Beeman said.

Toeaina’s versatility factored into the Seattle Times naming her its Female High School Athlete of the Year in June. She was the first athlete to earn 12 varsity letters at the school, dividing her time among basketball, volleyball and track and field.

"Basketball was my first love. My mom got me into volleyball so that helped me with my jumping and my bounce and my dad said to try track with my sister (Alyx) so that helped with my speed," said Toeaina, who regularly competed in two hurdles events, three jumps and two relays in high school meets. "So putting it all together helped me in basketball in the long run."

In the present term, Toeaina continues to immerse herself in a new system as the Wahine work to mesh the abilities of the newcomers and returnees. Through the inherent growing pains, Toeaina can lean on the experiences of her sister, now a thrower on the Washington track team, and a set of parents who preceded her in Manoa.

"They not only put the ball in my hands, but told me to take it day by day and always look for improvements," Toeaina said.

Wahine picked second in Big West

The Rainbow Wahine placed second in the Big West preseason media poll released Wednesday, trailing only defending conference champion Cal State Northridge, with senior Shawna-Lei Kuehu named to the preseason all-conference team

UH was also picked second last year and ended the season third in the conference at 10-6 while finishing 17-14 overall. Kuehu averaged 10.1 points last season and was a second-team All-Big West pick.

“It makes me want to work harder, absolutely,” Beeman said. “But it’s nice to know we are finally reaching our potential and reaching the goals we set when I walked in the door, which is we want to be the team that everyone wants to beat.”