Injuries suffered in quick succession will leave the University of Hawaii women’s basketball team without two key members of its rotation for the remainder of the season.
Rainbow Wahine coach Laura Beeman opened her media session on Tuesday by announcing that freshman guard Jovi Lefotu and sophomore forward Jacque David will miss the rest of the season with lower-leg injuries.
Lefotu fell to the court on a drive to the basket in the final seconds of UH’s loss at UC Santa Barbara last Thursday and had to be carried off the floor. Beeman said David suffered her injury after the team’s return from the road trip.
“The last five days we’ve had two injuries that have kind of taken our breath away,” Beeman said.
“As a team, as a coach, the last thing you want is for any of your players to get hurt. Nothing to do with the wins or losses, but just their careers and their emotions. So this team is going through it a little bit right now.
“I can say my heart’s breaking and I think all of our hearts are breaking for these two kids and for the team. We will bounce back. We will show our resiliency and our grit like we always do, but right now we need to catch our breath.”
The Rainbow Wahine (8-11, 6-4 Big West) open the second half of the Big West season with this week’s homestand at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. They’ll face UC Davis (9-11, 5-5) on Thursday and Cal Poly (5-13, 2-8) on Saturday.
UH swept its road trip to UC Davis and Cal Poly to open the Big West schedule in late December, but the rotation figures to be far tighter for this week’s rematches.
Sophomore guard Olivia Davies, the longest tenured player on the roster, had season-ending surgery in mid-January. David had started 12 games in 17 appearances this season and Lefotu was averaging 16.5 minutes per game off the bench.
David was the team’s Rookie of the Year last season and averaged 5.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game as a sophomore. She posed a threat on the perimeter as well as in the post and hit 11 3-pointers.
Lefotu was named the Star-Advertiser All-State Player of the Year as a senior at ‘Iolani last year. A playmaker off the dribble, she ends her freshman season at UH averaging 4.4 points and 2.3 rebounds with 19 assists. She had seven points and five rebounds last Thursday at UCSB when she suffered the injury on a drive to the basket with 8.7 seconds left in the game.
Lefotu’s sister, guard Lily Wahinekapu, was on the court when the injury occurred and stayed by Lefotu’s side as she was attended to by trainers. Two days later, Wahinekapu led the Wahine with 14 points in their 51-47 comeback win at CSU Bakersfield on Saturday.
“She’s a warrior,” Beeman said of the sophomore, who leads UH with 10.9 points per game.
Guard Daejah Phillips, the team’s second leading scorer at 10.8 ppg, sat out UH’s games at UC Santa Barbara and CSU Bakersfield last week and Beeman said her status for Thursday’s game will be a “game time decision.”
“This is a game, and as much as this game matters to all of us the health of these kids will always be my first and foremost,” Beeman said.
Since opening the conference season at 2-0, UH has alternated wins and losses over the past eight games. The Wahine enter the week in fifth place in the standings, with UC Irvine leading the pack at 8-1.
