Lily Wahinekapu takes a lot of pride in winning.
Coming home after spending her freshman season at Cal State Fullerton, Wahinekapu led the Rainbow Wahine to a second straight Big West championship.
She led the team in scoring, assists, steals, 3-point shooting percentage, free throws made and attempted, and minutes played.
She made the All-Big West first team.
She did it while playing with her sister, Jovi Lefotu. She finished the season playing the eventual national champion LSU Tigers in their building. It was one of the craziest atmospheres she’s ever experienced, Wahinekapu said.
It doesn’t get much better than that, and yet, once practice began for this season, all of it, as great as it was, is now a thing of the past.
“It’s a new season. New team,” Wahinekapu said. “We don’t really carry that stuff on from last year. We do realize we have a target on our back, but we continue to be hungry and that’s what really matters because we haven’t accomplished anything this year.”
One answer to a question and complacency doesn’t sound like it should be a problem for this squad.
Now entering her junior season, Wahinekapu will once again be at the forefront of this next edition of the Hawaii women’s basketball team.
Paired with Daejah Phillips, the UH backcourt is experienced, talented and highly motivated, and it begins with Wahinekapu, who spent the summer in a pool to help take her game to the next level.
“For me, individually, it was mainly my stamina,” Wahinekapu said about what she worked on in the offseason. “Swimming kind of lightened the load on my legs and saved me for the season. Just working on conditioning for me.”
Wahinekapu worked as a lifeguard at Kaneohe District Swimming Pool. During her breaks, she would swim laps and focus on her breathing.
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It made a difference once she got back out on a basketball court.
“I felt like the stuff that I did during the summer kind of paid of,” Wahinekapu said. “I was much more aware of my breathing, especially my breathing techniques that I tried focusing on. Making sure I’m not hyperventilating when I breathe.”
UH has the depth to allow her to avoid heavy minutes, especially early on. But injuries have plagued the Rainbow Wahine the past couple of seasons.
Wahinekapu got to play 18 games with her sister before an injury in late January ended Lefotu’s season. She isn’t expected back to start this season, but the two know eventually they will be back on the court together.
For now, Wahinekapu can turn to Phillips to help lead UH through the early part of a very tough schedule. They both were named to the preseason All-Big West team.
“I think both of them know they can carry the team many times in many instances,” Hawaii coach Laura Beeman said. “They both have very different leadership styles. Lily is very quiet and doesn’t say much on the court, but when she does, everybody listens.”
When asked what stands out about the group after the first couple of weeks of practice, Wahinekapu pointed to that leadership.
There are a lot of players on the team who have played meaningful minutes in meaningful games.
“We’ve all grown in our games individually and it’s helping our team get even better,” Wahinekapu said. “We’ve got a lot of talent on the team and people are willing to work and push each harder because we have that experience.”
Wahinekapu said she has her own individual goals for herself, but her real goals are team-oriented.
“We hope to start off with a better record in the preseason and then going into the season overall, just everything better,” she said. “Main thing is our team goal, which is to win another Big West championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.”
