Kuehu will redshirt after injuring her knee
by Stanley Lee
Advertiser Staff Writer
There's still 11 left.
But freshman Shawna Kuehu will be missed the remainder of the Rainbow Wahine basketball season after tearing her ACL.
Kuehu, the team's top recruit, tore the ACL in her right knee in Sunday's overtime loss to East Tennessee State. The former two-time state Player of the Year at Punahou will redshirt this season.
"You never want to see a team, a player go down with a season-ending injury, but that's part of the game, part of something we accept on a bittersweet note," Hawai'i coach Dana Takahara-Dias said.
Kuehu was injured while driving the baseline on the first play of overtime. She was averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this season.
She tore the ACL in her left knee while she was a junior at Punahou.
"There's 11 other people out here who will pick up the slack and fill her void," Takahara said.
Joining the new-look Rainbow Wahine (1-4) is junior transfer Julita Bungaite, a 6-foot-2 forward from Lithuania. She is eligible for this week's games after missing the first five because of an NCAA violation. She played five games in a professional league while she was in high school. Bungaite arrived at UH last December after transferring from Weatherford College (Texas).
"I want to help my team win, I want to do the best that I could," Bungaite said. "I really want to play and I really want to help my team win."
Hawai'i will play three straight games, starting tomorrow at home against San Francisco (3-4) at 7 p.m. The Rainbow Wahine then head up to the North Shore for the two-day Hukilau Invitational hosted by Division II Brigham Young-Hawai'i. Also in the tournament are San Francisco and Brigham Young.
Hawai'i plays BYU-Hawai'i (1-1) on Friday at 4 p.m. and BYU (3-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
BYU-Hawai'i's Richelle Fenenbock scored 30 points in Saturday's loss to Hawai'i Pacific. The Seasiders are coached by former Kahuku coach Wendy Anae, who has played and coached against Takahara.
Anae was a member of the Kahuku team that beat Takahara's University High team in the 1983 state championship game. Then they played against each other in college with Takahara at Hawai'i and Anae at Cal State Fullerton. They later coached against each other with Takahara at Moanalua.