Super sub Kuehu pulls off tremendous balancing act

Big things were expected of Shawna Kuehu, a two-time high school All-State Player of the Year at Punahou School, from the time she set foot on the University of Hawaii basketball floor four years ago.

Visions of high-scoring games and stirring Rainbow Wahine victories, to be sure.

But what Kuehu has accomplished this season, without starting a single game, is even more remarkable. For sure it says a lot more about the person inside jersey No. 21, wrapped in trainers tape and secured in a knee brace, than double-double scoring and rebounding averages could.

Being named the Big West Conference’s Sixth Woman of the Year and an all-conference honorable mention pick Monday by a vote of the conference coaches was testament to Kuehu’s ability to be both a force coming off the bench and a steady, unselfish contributor to the surprising rise of the Rainbow Wahine (17-12, 13-5 Big West), who open tournament play Wednesday.

That Kuehu was able to do it in a season that started less than four months after she gave birth to a daughter, while she was balancing parental responsibilities and  the demands of an economics major and overcoming injuries, says even more.

“Shawna is an amazing player, but to watch her maturation over the course of the season and to watch her evolve as a young woman and player has been exciting to me, personally,” coach Laura Beeman said. 

Especially since, upon Beeman’s arrival last March, the coach said some people had suggested to her that Kuehu “was washed up.” Beeman said, “I’d heard everything about Shawna from ‘She’s finished’ to ‘She’s going to be a star.’ I didn’t know what Shawna was going to show up. Or what Shawna wanted to show up.”

So Beeman did the wisest thing she could: She let the junior forward define her role and rebuild confidence.

“I told myself, ‘Let’s see what she wants to do and I’m going to support her in whatever she decides because the bottom line is she has a baby and as important as basketball is, being a good mother tops everything,’ ” Beeman said.

Kuehu said she didn’t know when she would be in playing shape and wanted to come off the bench as the team needed her.

“I’m sure that could have been shocking to her, but Coach came up with just taking what she called ‘baby steps,’ ” Kuehu said. “So that’s what we did. And I loved it. It gave me a chance to see the game from another perspective and see what the team needed.”

Her 8.3-points-a-game average is third on the team, her 4.9 rebounds second and her 19 blocked shots tops, all packed into an energizing 19.7 minutes.

“The support I’ve had, from my family, the coaches and the team, has made it possible,” Kuehu said.

Still, there were moments that, with all she had packed into her days, Kuehu said her head was spinning and her resolve wavered.

“There were times when I had thought about throwing in the towel,” Kuehu said. “I could have easily used the excuse of, ‘Well, I have a daughter to raise.’ I could have been content with that, but I didn’t want to settle. And that’s exactly what it would have been — settling.

“Now, I look at it as I’m doing something for someone else. I’m playing for my team and my daughter,” Kuehu said. “On those hard days, I know I’m doing it for something bigger than me.”

Monday was proof that she’s done it well.

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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.