As returnees on a Hawaii roster thin on experience, junior Sarah Toeaina and sophomore Lahni Salanoa entered the season primed to play more prominent roles for the Rainbow Wahine basketball team.
In UH’s on-court debut, the duo took turns in the spotlight in Friday’s Green and White scrimmage at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Toeaina captained the White team and scored the first bucket of the scrimmage on a driving layup. She got into the paint with regularity thereafter and scored 12 of her game-high 22 points in the first 10-minute period to lead the White to a 39-35 win.
Salanoa, who played sparingly last season due to injuries, went 4-for-6 from 3-point range and sparked a comeback for the Green in the second period and finished with 16 points. Guard Briana Harris, the team’s lone senior, finished with 14.
Toeaina, who averaged 6.7 points and 2.9 rebounds while starting 20 games last season, attacked the basket throughout Friday’s scrimmage. She finished 9-for-15 from the field and made all four of her free throws.
As one of the most seasoned players on the team, Toeaina is looking to be more assertive this season, “but I kind of just took it as it came,” she said of Friday’s performance. “We’re still trying to build chemistry, but it was a play off of one another night.”
A hand injury in last year’s Green and White scrimmage began a series of setbacks for Salanoa that limited her to 12 appearances and an average of 1.1 points per game as a freshman. She showed off her range with a deep 3 early in the scrimmage and knocked down three more in the second period to lead the Green’s comeback from a 12-point deficit to take a 31-30 lead with 3:22 left.
“Coach always tells me if they’re a hand away or if there’s no hand up, just shoot it,” Salanoa said. “If I’ve got the shot and I’m confident enough, shoot it.”
After Leah Salanoa, Lahni’s twin sister, gave the Green the lead with a free throw, Toeaina took it right back for the White with a coast-to-coast layup. Transfer guard Rachel Odumu put the game out of reach with a corner 3-pointer with 33.9 seconds left.
“I like where we are conditioning-wise. We definitely have to have better shot selection, but the biggest thing for me is we have to play better defense and we have to get more physical on the boards,” UH coach Laura Beeman said.
The Rainbow Wahine will have the weekend off and return to practice on Monday in preparation for Wednesday’s exhibition game against UH Hilo at the Stan Sheriff Center. They open the regular season Nov. 11 at USC.
