Punahou School junior Shawna-Lei Kuehu, The Advertiser's reigning Girls Basketball State Player of the Year, has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee and likely will miss the entire upcoming season.

Kuehu, a 5-foot-10 post player, suffered the injury during a Kalakaua Foundation Clinic fall league basketball game on Dec. 6. Punahou coach Mike Taylor said a magnetic resonance imaging exam on Thursday confirmed the ACL tear, and Kuehu will begin preliminary rehabilitation immediately before another evaluation on Dec. 28.

She then is expected to have corrective surgery, followed by several months of rehab. Kuehu's twin sister, Shaena-Lyn, also tore the ACL in the left knee on Nov. 1 and was scheduled to undergo surgery yesterday, according to Taylor.

Shaena-Lyn Kuehu was a second-team Advertiser All-State selection last season.

"It's a huge blow not just to our program, but to the entire state," said Taylor, who noted the twins have put on spectacular performances in helping the Buffanblu win the past two Hawai'i High School Athletic Association championships. "They play basketball the right way, always going hard. These are two special kids, and they do a lot of things you can't coach. So not just for their teammates, but also for all the basketball fans in Hawai'i not to see them play this season, it'll be tough."

Rehabilitation for torn ACLs typically lasts up to nine months or more, although in some rare cases athletes have returned to action within four or five months. But even in that best-case scenario, Shaena-Lyn Kuehu would not play until very late into the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season, and her sister wouldn't return until around state tournament week.

Taylor said there is slim hope for that, but also no good reason to risk further injury by rushing a comeback.

"(A return to action) depends on how the rehab goes, and with those two, I wouldn't count them out," Taylor said. "But any way you look at it, you can't have them coming back too soon. Their (long-term) future is not high school basketball; it's college basketball."

Shawna-Lei Kuehu is the most highly recruited player in recent Hawai'i girls basketball history. Her performances the past two seasons and during summer tournaments has drawn the attention of dozens of NCAA Division I programs.

Taylor said that at least two Pac-10 Conference schools, California and Southern California, assured him the injury will not prevent them from offering Kuehu a full scholarship.

"The coach at USC sent a text message right away saying don't worry about it," Taylor said. "They said they still love the way she plays and would love for her to be a Trojan. Cal also said nothing's changed, and (the University of Hawai'i) also said, 'Don't worry about it.' "

Taylor said UH has indicated it would offer scholarships to both sisters. He said Vanderbilt calls or e-mails him every week to keep tabs on Shawna-Lei.

"Almost every college you can think of" has shown interest in Shawna-Lei, he said.

Shawna-Lei burst upon the Hawai'i high school scene as a freshman, earning Advertiser All-State first team honors that season. Last year, she set a state tournament record with 37 points in a championship victory over Roosevelt.

She scored 16 points in the first period and had 35 points entering the fourth.

Last summer, Shawna-Lei Kuehu showcased her talents at tournaments in Oregon, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles and Augusta, Ga. She played for Kalakaua on the Oregon and Seattle trips and for the prestigious California Storm club team in Chicago and Augusta.

At Los Angeles, she was part of an elite camp.

In late September, the sisters were part of a team of Hawai'i players that won a tournament in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Dozens of college coaches attended all of those tournaments.

Shaena-Lyn Kuehu tore her ACL during a volleyball practice five days before the state tournament in November. Taylor said Shawna-Lei suffered her injury on an otherwise routine play at Palolo Valley Recreation Center Gym.

"She did an 'up-and-over' move, and her body went one way and her knee went the other way," Taylor said. "(The sisters) are pretty bummed right now, but they're also pretty determined to come back and antsy to start the comeback. The good thing is now they'll have each other to push and go through the rehab."

Taylor said his team, which has eight other returnees, will need to make major adjustments but he still believes they can win.

"They're all great kids, and they're resilient," Taylor said. "They'll take advantage of their opportunity and will build on it."

But Taylor reiterated that the loss is not only Punahou's.

"Anytime something like this happens, first of all you feel for the kids (who got injured)," Taylor said. "You can't get back your high school years, so to lose one of them is really tough. We're lucky they're only juniors. But it's a big blow to us, and a big blow to the state."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.