New leadership, new attitude, new determination.

Same old adversity.

That was pretty much the story of the 2009-10 Hawaii women's basketball season. New coach Dana Takahara-Dias brought an infusion of energy and a can-do attitude to the Rainbow Wahine program, which was cast adrift during UH's acrimonious divorce from former coach Jim Bolla to end '08-'09.

The team was challenged at every turn in the transition season, which ended at 10-20 with UH's 83-55 loss to Fresno State in the Western Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals Wednesday.

Takahara-Dias acknowledged the barrage of negative factors that impacted her team from October to March, but instead chose to focus on the positives in her first year of collegiate coaching.

“;We never base the success of our season on the win-loss record,”; Takahara-Dias said. “;We really felt, the whole staff, that it was a great year for us. It was a successful year in many ventures.”;

The Wahine did succeed in making it to the WAC tourney, one of their preseason goals, as the No. 8 seed. Starting this season, the last-place team in the league was left home from the tournament.

THERE WAS no denying, however, that a difficult road awaited from the start. A recruiting season was essentially lost by the time of Takahara-Dias' hire, with former Punahou standout Shawna Kuehu (who was on her way in already) and walk-on Mai Ayabe the only additions. And UH was forced to patch together a last-minute schedule that featured a brutal nonconference slate.

Things got harder from the get-go. Senior center Sarah Ilic, a possible starter, was dismissed from the team for academic reasons by the first practice, and deep threat Megan Tinnin was forced to take a leave of absence from UH for a semester for family reasons. She would later redshirt.

Kuehu then tore an ACL five games into the season, sidelining UH's leading scorer for the rest of the year. Ayabe, the backup point guard, would later suffer a similar injury and reserve guards Jennifer Hamilton and Briauna Linton transferred off the team during the season. By the end, UH was down to nine active players and was especially hurting at guard.

Losses mounted, including defeats of 46, 44, 41, 37 and 30 points. Yet UH held together for a thrilling senior-night send-off win over Boise State for Dita Liepkalne, the lone senior, on Feb. 24. Other highlights included a 71-61 win over Kansas State and back-to-back victories over Kent State before the start of WAC play.

For all those reasons, Takahara-Dias trumpets her team for its willpower.

“;I think above all, our team strength was heart,”; she said. “;We may not have had the numbers at all times, we didn't have the most talent at all times, but no other WAC team plays harder or has more heart than the Wahines this year. And that's not a boastful saying at all. It's something we've seen all along, game in and game out.”;

GUTSY PERFORMANCES became the norm, despite the team's losing eight of its final nine games. Undermanned UH was in nearly every game until the final minute over that stretch.

Junior point guard Keisha Kanekoa was a true warrior. The co-captain from Honokaa High started all 30 games and played long minutes all season, especially as other guards fell by the wayside. By the end, she was the do-it-all scorer, play-maker and leader, along with Liepkalne, the other captain who gamely played through balky knees.

Sure, Kanekoa eclipsed Nani Cockett for the all-time Wahine turnover record (365), but it was partially a byproduct of her lack of help and the up-and-down offenses she's played in. She also moved into ninth place in career assists (276) after doling out a personal-best 105 this year.

Sophomore forward Breanna Arbuckle—the only other player to start all 30—also made strides. She led the team in rebounding (6.2 per game) and blocks (41), putting her at No. 10 in the UH career list for rejections.

“;You know, we never ask why,”; Takahara-Dias said of the troubles. “;Just on the positive side, how we can overcome it. Every step along the way where we had adversity, we were able to overcome it as a team. And I think that was one of our greatest accomplishments this year, that we never felt negative about anything that came our way. We just persevered.”;

THE HAWAII coaches are recruiting hard for the future with four scholarships available. UH returns 10 scholarship players for next year—including Ayabe, who was granted one in the spring—along with fall recruit guard Sydney Haydel.

UH has needs at all positions, Takahara-Dias said, as the team looks to add athleticism to match her preferred up-and-down game.

The approach to filling those four spots will be three-pronged before the April 14 letter-of-intent day.

“;We're looking all across,”; the coach said. “;We're not just looking at the West Coast. We have coaches out at the Midwest. We're also hoping to bring in the pipeline from Australia that's been so successful in past years. We're constantly looking at our local kids, the mainland kids, as well as international.”;

She also intends to keep playing scrimmages against “;Da Braddahs,”; a group of volunteer male UH students.

Team banquet set

The Wahine Basketball Banquet is set for Sunday, April 11 at the Ala Moana Hotel. The public is welcome. The hibiscus banquet is at 5:30 p.m. and cocktails, dinner and the program follow at 6:30.

For more information, contact Mel Nakao at 220-1585 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). RSVP by April 1.