The Ice Girl Cometh For Kahuku

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Within the Kahuku girls basketball program,Artevia Wily went by the name of “Ice” for her ability to deliver in the clutch.

Her teammates were far from the only ones to take note of her considerable talents, however.Wily was recently named the Oahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division Player of the Year by the conference coaches.

“Whenever it was critical, she could hit - she was cool,“Kahuku coach Val Anea said of Wily. “She always made her free throws when we needed them. It takes a certain type of player to be able to do that. Basketball-wise, she was our best player - the only one who plays year round, and it showed.”

In a league that also boasted Kalaheo High’s Shanadee Canon and Roosevelt’s Tati Beasley - not to mention Wily’s own teammate, Camilla Ah-Hoy - the selection of Wily would seem all the more impressive.

“We had our athletic banquet at Kahuku the other night, and both Artevia and Camilla were named as our Most Valuable Players,” said Anae.

“Both were good leaders: Camilla was a leader by example; Artevia is quiet and reserved, and she always got the job done. She has good skills and an understanding of the game.”

Wily’s older sister, Latoya, was a standout post player for the Red Raiders in 2003 and 2004, and is currently a starter at Division IAlcorn State University in Mississippi. Anae, who played Division I college basketball herself at Brigham Young University, thinks Artevia Wily could also benefit a DI should she get the opportunity.

“I believe she can play (at that level),” she said.

Wily, who is 5-foot-7, was a point guard for half of the season before switching to the off-guard spot. In perhaps her best offensive showing of the season, she poured in 29 points in a double-overtime loss at Kalaheo March 18. She scored in double-figures in all 12 of Kahuku’s regular-season encounters and averaged 18.4 points per game for the year.

“We asked her to do more scoring this year for us, but she’s also a great passer,” Anae said. “We moved her at mid-season, and she continued to score, but she also began to get 9 to 12 rebounds for us.”

Ah-Hoy, who will attend Oregon State in the fall on a volleyball scholarship, was also a First Team selection in the East.

Canon, a junior, was named to the First Team from Kalaheo. The lone returning starter for the Lady Mustangs entering the season, she delivered big for Kalaheo, averaging 20.1 points per game despite going up against defenses specifically designed to stop her.

Both Canon and Wily were key members of the Hawaii Select All-Star team that captured the Vision Sports Youth National Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas last July under Kalaheo coach Chico Furtado.

Kalaheo’s Kendra Fischer was a Second Team selection, while Hoku Kaiu-Denning, Kaliko Kepa and Delicia Wilson were named Honorable Mention for the Lady Mustangs.

Kahuku placed six players - Brittany Fesola’i, Lily Latu, Charlotte Livai, Christine Meredith, Lenora Nauahi, Ane Vea - on the East’s Honorable Mention team.