Sometimes Sarah Toeaina makes it look so simple.

Driving hard off the wing, the Hawaii guard jumps to a stop, her feet bouncing off the court to propel her vertically. She seemingly pauses at the apex of her ascent to flick the ball off her fingertips, sending it to a silky finish through the net.

Easy, right?

Perhaps … if 6 a.m. workouts and relentless repetition could be considered easy.

“When Sarah elevates, she’s going to elevate over everybody,” UH coach Laura Beeman said. “She’s got a gorgeous jump shot and it goes to the work that she’s done.”

Toeaina’s mid-range game has evolved into one of the Rainbow Wahine basketball team’s most reliable threats of late and she’s elevated her scoring to post three 20-point performances in UH’s first five Big West games this season.

Finding shots within the UH scheme, she hit for 23 in a win at Cal Poly a week ago and scored 22 in a loss at UC Santa Barbara last Saturday, raising her season average to a team-high 12.9 per game.

In conference play, she’s raised her pace to 17 points per game while shooting 51 percent from the field, good for third in the Big West entering this week’s homestand at the Stan Sheriff Center.

“Definitely not trying to force the issue, but in the flow of our offense still having that aggressive mentality,” Toeaina said. “I know if I’m aggressive it’ll open for other people.”

“If I play forced or frustrated I can feel it. If it’s more in flow of the offense, it’s smoother for me.”

After playing four of their first five Big West games in California, the Rainbow Wahine (6-11, 2-3 BWC) return to the Sheriff Center today to face UC Irvine (3-16, 1-4). They take on Cal Poly (7-11, 3-3) at 5 p.m. Saturday in a rematch of UH’s 87-79 win in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Toeaina was initially credited with a career-high 25 points against the Mustangs, but a review revealed she was erroneously given a basket scored by freshman forward Keleah-Aiko Koloi. The correction reset her total to 23 points and her 24 against San Jose State on Nov. 25 remains her career best.

But she still ended the night with a new high with six of UH’s 16 assists in a collective 57-percent shooting performance.

“I love seeing shots go in for my teammates,” Toeaina said. “Passing the ball and seeing the ball go through net was a confidence builder for us all. I definitely don’t hesitate passing to my team because I know they’re going to get it done.”

She continued to set career highs with 10 field goals in 19 attempts at UC Santa Barbara and became the first UH player to score at least 20 points in consecutive games since November 2013 when Kamilah Jackson scored 21 against Washington State and 30 against Ole Miss.

“She’s seeing the game so much more clearly than she has and it’s just because of the reps she’s getting on the floor,” Beeman said.

One of UH’s most experienced returnees, Toeaina — a basketball, volleyball and track standout at Kentwood (Wash.) High School — is playing 33 minutes per game and didn’t leave the floor against UC Santa Barbara last Saturday.

Toeaina, who averaged 6.7 points last year, credits the team’s offseason regimen of early-morning workouts for sustaining her energy while taking on a more prominent scoring role whether driving to the basket or pulling up in the paint.

“Her mid-range jumper is probably the most deadly part of her game and that’s the biggest part of the women’s game that’s been lost,” Beeman said. “Men’s and women’s, kids want to get to basket and lay it up or dunk it or shoot behind the arc. She has that beautiful mid-range game which is incredibly difficult to guard and she’s mastered it.”

Even if Toeaina doesn’t maintain her current scoring pace, she’s demonstrated her willingness to contribute in other facets as the team’s assist leader (33) and second-leading rebounder (5.4 per game).

“If someone does a box-and-one on her or they deny her the ball, she’s still going to be able to facilitate, she’s still going to be able to defend and rebound, set great screens,” Beeman said. “I know Sarah has bought into that.”