The state's best female prep basketball players gearing up to represent the state of Hawaii as 2023's "Team Aloha".
HONOLULU (KITV4) -- Think spring. What comes to mind? Flowers? Baseball? Well here in the Aloha State, true prep-sports fans know with every spring season comes another Mufi Hannemann all-star girls basketball team.
"It started off as just an opportunity to emphasize Title 9, gender equity," Hannemann began, "then from there, midway through, I said, 'You know, it's time to take the best of the best from the islands to the mainland.'"
With notable past-year's "Team Aloha" standouts going on to compete at top universities, some even going pro, players selected each year by Hannemann are the best of the best. And 2023's elite team is no exception.
"Well it's fun seeing throughout the season, who the best girls are and knowing you'll probably be able to play with them and compete," explained ILH Division II, first team selection, Ellana Klemp.
"It's a great learning experience, looking up to all of these girls," added Waiakea High School's freshman phenom, Pua Herrington. "Since I was in the eighth grade I wanted to play like them and I heard about 'Team aloha,' so I really wanted to play well this season so I could get noticed."
Fielding players from this year's Iolani state championship squad, to first team all-stars of Kauai and the Big Island, the hope is to highlight talent from across the state and generate exposure for talent that is often overlooked by recruiters.
"Hawaii girls can ball," continued MIL player of the year Tavina Harris. "And I feel like it's our job to show that. So when we go out there we just have to show that. We just got to play our hearts out and we'll be good."
"Every island has been represented," Hannemann added. "Every league has been represented in the course of this time and that's how we come about forming the team."
But forming a team with multi-island talent doesn't come without it's challenges. With just over a month of practices, "Team Aloha" heads to California on Wednesday to compete in the "Elite is Earned Spring Invitational" going head-to-head with mainland ball clubs that have taken the court together for years.
But it's a challenge all Team Aloha participants have all fully bought into, embracing the significance of representing the state of Hawaii in the face of the country's top competition.
"We're setting the tone for Hawaii," Herrington concluded. "Like we can play. We're not just people that go to the beach."
Team Aloha travels to California Wednesday with games beginning on Friday.
Erin found her passion in journalism from a young age, watching her dad on the news. He taught her the importance of meeting, learning, and sharing people's stories.
