Hawaii women’s basketball: New locker room in progress

The Hawaii men’s and women’s basketball programs undertook significant upgrades of their respective Stan Sheriff Center locker rooms in the 2019 offseason.

While the Rainbow Warriors’ new digs are said to be done (and could be showcased in the coming days), those of the Rainbow Wahine still require some work for completion before next season.

Both hoops programs have fundraised independently for the locker upgrades; no money was directed to the projects from UH’s haul from the state legislature. Athletic director David Matlin estimated the two projects’ cost at a combined $350,000 to $400,000.

A recent look at the renovation in progress on the women’s side revealed a pretty drastic overhaul. Coach Laura Beeman had new flooring, lockers, showers and more installed, and even put in a new wall to help partition what will be the re-envisioned meeting/lounge area from the new hallway of player lockers.

The plan is to eventually install swinging double doors separating the lounge from the new locker area and the showers and bathrooms beyond that.

“(We want to) make it feel like their home away from home, if you will,” Beeman said recently. “A place where they can lounge a little bit, study, and do some team building. That’s why I’m so excited about that lounge space. It gives the girls an opportunity to just talk story, be in an area where they want to be around each other comfortably. So, we still have a long ways to go, but it is much, much improved. I’m really excited about what the final project is going to look like.”

Previously, the player lockers were spread out in the main entrance chamber of the area. Now that space will include things like a couch, fridge, table, cabinets, bluetooth speakers, etc.

“You’re going to walk in and feel like home, and that’s what we were really trying to get at with this design,” Beeman said. “The locker area for us, part of it is we were forced, based on the way the Stan Sheriff is configured, into what we could and couldn’t do. The locker area, my girls weren’t as big on, ‘hey, we want this locker area to be big.’ It’s a place where they’re going to get their uniforms on, do a little focusing, maybe their game-day ritual, but for the girls they wanted an areas where they could separate if they needed to from each other. Keep some areas just more private … and not have to worry about people walking into an area where they’re changing. Now, if someone walks in, there’s not going to be anybody changing in that lounge. It’s going to be a feeling of ohana, that’s really the best way I can say it.”

The lockers are similar in style to the ones installed in the UH baseball team’s new clubhouse.

For a little comparison, you can see what the central area looked like in this video the team did with its Australian players prior to last summer’s foreign tour:

Sure, we're just a week and a half away from our international tour to Australia and New Zealand. But our fellow Aussies have been a little anxious for a while now…. ✈️🇦🇺🇳🇿🌈🏀 #GoTheDistance pic.twitter.com/sz8wLOrT0S

— Hawai‘i Women's Basketball (@HawaiiWBB) July 26, 2018

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Beeman said the project was kick-started when a donor who wished to remain anonymous “came in and put a large sum of money down” so that the women could “have that feeling of ohana … a nicer environment to perform as young women and student-athletes.”

The team is trying to sell naming rights on some of the lockers to help with the fundraising. The name would be etched in perpetuity on a locker (besides the placard of the current player occupier) at a cost of between $5,000 to $5,500, Beeman said. For those who wish to supply a smaller amount, their name would be included on a wall of donors in the locker room.

“We’re going to continue that charge of raising funds. If I could raise another $50,000 to put toward this locker room, I think it’ll be one of the best locker rooms, definitely in the Big West, I don’t know about the West Coast, but definitely in the Big West, which helps with our recruiting.”

Beeman said she’d take people interested in donating to help finish the project on a tour of the locker room in progress. Those people can reach out to director of operations Teneshia Ruff at truff@hawaii.edu or 808-956-5032.

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Meanwhile, former players Sarah Toeaina and Lahni and Leah Salanoa have made some significant contributions for the American Samoa team competing in women’s basketball in the Pacific Games in Samoa.

American Samoa is 3-0 after a 59-point win over Papua New Guinea on Saturday and got a bye into the semifinals Tuesday (Monday in Hawaii).

Toeaina has two 20-point games and has scored no fewer than 17 so far.

Former #HawaiiWBB players Sarah Toeaina and Leah Salanoa scored a combined 27 points to help American Samoa beat Papua New Guinea 100-41 and improve to 3-0 in the Pacific Games pool play.

— Hawaii Warrior World (@hawaiiwworld) July 13, 2019

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You can see some FIBA photos of the players in recent action here.