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There will be a new look at point guard to go with the Hawaii women’s basketball team’s new coach.
Laura Beeman confirmed on Monday that Alissa Campanero would not return for her sophomore season at UH. The 5-foot-3 freshman essentially was the Rainbow Wahine’s only option at the point last season under former coach Dana Takahara-Dias.
Campanero will not return due to a “violation of team rules and it’s in the best interest for her future. No further comment will be made,” Beeman said in a statement.
The diminutive California native was thrust into a leading role for the Wahine straight out of The Bishop’s School in San Diego, starting all 30 contests for the 11-19 Wahine in 2011-12.
Campanero averaged 7.6 points and 2.9 assists per game while shooting only 28.8 percent from the field — though she did connect on a team-high 48 3-pointers and made 80 percent of her free throws. She became known for hoisting shots from several feet beyond the 3-point arc.
Campanero became the team’s only point guard early in the season when junior college transfer Jasmine Ray left the team, resulting in her team-high 36 minutes-per-game average.
Perhaps in part because of her surprisingly large imprint on the team’s season, she became the fourth Wahine player to earn Western Athletic Conference All-Freshman Team honors. Campanero was part of a delegation of returning players to greet Beeman at her introductory press conference March 23.
The Wahine will have at least a couple of options at the point next season under Beeman.
The coach recently announced the signing of Loyola Marymount senior transfer Monica DeAngelis, a veteran point guard with more than 70 career games under her belt in the West Coast Conference.
The only other point on the roster at present is Punahou product Janelle Nomura, who transferred from Cal State Northridge last season and rehabbed a shoulder injury. Nomura forfeited a year of eligibility because of the timing of UH’s move to the Big West Conference — there is a penalty for moving within the same league — and will also be a senior for the upcoming season.