The BYU-Hawaii women's basketball team finished their inaugural season at second place in the Pacific West Conference with a winning record, and the team's standout power forward, six-foot LaToya "Toya" Wily, ended up with a national number-one NCAA II record for rebounding.
Head coach Wendy Anae ('97) explained the Lady Seasiders finished Pacific West Conference play on March 2 in the Cannon Activities Center at second place with 11 wins and 4 losses, and posted a 13-12 overall record in their first season. In addition, Wily led the nation in NCAA II rebounding with a 14.2 per game average. She also ranked 14th nationally in scoring with a 20.5 points per game average, and 28th nationally with a field goal percentage of 53.6 percent.
For her outstanding performance, Wily was recently named to the Daktronics West Region Second Team.
"She made a huge impact on our squad this year," Anae said. "Stat-wise, she's our number-one player. She gets a double-double [points-rebounds] every night. She's consistent on the inside with points, and with rebounds. It's easy for the guards to pass to LaToya because they know she'll finish. They have confidence in her. She's also consistent as a leader."
"I love scoring and rebounds," confirmed Wily, who transferred to BYU-Hawaii after playing two seasons on a full-ride scholarship at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Mississippi (about 200 miles north of New Orleans). "The reason I love basketball is because it's a physical sport. It gets my adrenaline rushing, and I like to make it a challenge for myself."
The fact that Wily grew up in Laie and prepped under Anae as a star player for the Kahuku High teams that took consecutive second-places in the state — plus that her family, including teammate and little sister Artevia Wily, also live in Laie — made the move from NCAA Division IA play at Alcorn an easy decision.
"I had a feeling I needed to come home," Wily said. "My younger sister, Artevia, decided to come here; and I wanted to come home and play in front of my family and friends, and share the court with my sister."
Despite her success this past season, Wily said she "can't ever really be satisfied. I just really want to keep progressing and do better than the game before." If some form of professional basketball does not arise after next season, Wily indicated she will pursue a master's in mass communications, her major at Alcorn.
She added her interest in basketball started with her father, Aisa Wily, and mother, Karen Ta'ilele Wily, who are both from Laie and Kahuku High graduates. "My dad is a very good athlete. He was our coach from the very beginning. He coached me in PAL [Police Athletic League] up into high school, and even now we do stuff on the side, like we'll go to the park and he'll run me and my sister through drills and show us stuff. He's a really good inspiration for us; and my mom's like our biggest cheerleader."
Wily said she also enjoys the spiritual atmosphere at BYU-Hawaii. "At Alcorn, I think I was the only member of the Church, and it was hard to go to meetings because we only had two branches in our whole area, and they were like an hour-and-a-half away and I didn't have a ride. I would just read my scriptures on Sunday. It was kind of hard, but being away from the Church and our community, where the Church is so strong, strengthened my testimony."
She added she was the only Samoan at Alcorn, which is "predominantly an African-American school, about 98%. I had to ask them, do you know who ‘the Rock' is? When they would say ‘yeah,' I would say, he's Samoan. I told them we're part of the Polynesian culture."
Coach Anae said she's "extremely satisfied" with the Lady Seasiders' initial record. "This was a successful season by my standards, because we played hard. We were one game over .500, and for a brand new program, that's good, considering the obstacles we had to overcome."
"For example, we started with a squad of nine. Then we added players and built a squad of 13, and then we lost five. We also struggled with injuries. However, the girls that were here to the end played really hard. They played with their hearts, and they were unified as a team. I couldn't ask for a better coaching situation than this team because they work so well together."
Indeed, when Anae — who also grew up in Laie, graduated from Kahuku High and went on to play basketball for one year at BYU and three at Cal State Fullerton — heard in 2005 that BYU-Hawaii was starting a women's basketball team she applied immediately for the head coach position. She had spent the previous eight years coaching the Kahuku High girls team, four as head coach there with consecutive Oahu Interscholastic League championships.
"I love being back at BYUH. Growing up in Hawaii, and Laie in particular, I just love it. It's a special place and has a special place in my heart. No matter where I go or where I've been, it doesn't take a lot to convince me to come home. So, starting the basketball program here, it was kind of an automatic thing for me to apply," Anae said. When she's not coaching, she also runs the BYUH intramurals program and teaches part-time special education for sixth graders at Kahuku Elementary School.
Her selection as head coach also gave some of her former Kahuku players the confidence to try out for the new BYUH team: LaToya and Artevia Wily, Lesina Funaki, Annie Soliai and Ane Vea. "They recruited themselves," said Anae. "The only one I recruited was Artevia, and LaToya was the only one with college experience."
Anae pointed out that Funaki was the only senior on the inaugural team, so nine players are returning next season. "I hope in the future we build a strong solid program, that we are program recognized for graduating and building character in players, and that we are program recognized for great basketball on the national level," she said.
"I also hope the players take away great memories, life lessons and a stronger testimony."
