An ‘Aiea playground legend since the fourth grade who honed her skills at the Kalākaua Clinic, Shawna-Lei Kuehu ’08 made an outsized impact on the Hawai‘i girls basketball scene from the moment she set foot on the court as a 5’10” Punahou freshman. Her prolific scoring ability and excellence in every facet of the game propelled her to greatness as one of the most highly decorated prep hoopsters ever to play in the state.
With the height and leverage to play center, Kuehu also had the ball-handling skills to pull down a one-handed rebound and then push the rock up the court with the quickness and dexterity of a point guard.
In three dominating seasons of varsity play, Kuehu won three State Player of the Year awards, three state championships, two state tournament Most Outstanding Player nods, two first-team All-Defensive honors, two Hawai‘i Gatorade State Player of the Year awards, and was inducted into the HHSAA Hall of Honor in 2008. She set the record for the most points scored in a state title game when she dropped 37 on Roosevelt High School in 2006. This list of accolades would likely have been even more jaw-dropping if not for a knee injury that wiped out her entire junior season.
Kuehu also played three seasons of varsity volleyball at Punahou as a middle blocker, utilizing her height and hops, and earning second-team All-State honors as a sophomore.
She continued her remarkable basketball journey at the University of Hawai‘i, where she finished her career ranked top 10 in 13 different categories and was a two-time recipient of the team’s Ah Chew Goo Achievement Award.
Kuehu currently lives on the Big Island, where she coaches and runs a sports program.