Simply put, the focus for the University of Hawai'i's new era in women's basketball is to keep it simple.

The Rainbow Wahine open tonight at UC Riverside with new coach Dana Takahara-Dias. The last time they opened on the Mainland was 1985, with Takahara as a sophomore point guard.
Now, as she and her players face their first three games in Southern California, they all would like to distance themselves from the turmoil of last season. It wasn't so much the 8-23 record as all the drama that surrounded coach Jim Bolla's suspension and ultimate firing.

This team has many of the same players, who have tried to shed the baggage. After a retreat this summer, they started calling themselves the "Comeback Kids," as much for what they went through last year as for the challenges they know are ahead. They were picked to finish last by the Western Athletic Conference coaches.
Their leader is captain Keisha Kanekoa out of Ho-noka'a. She will start in the backcourt tonight, along with Kamehameha-Hawai'i graduate Leilani Galdones. Alllie Patterson and Breanna Arbuckle will be the forwards and Rebecca Dew has come from New Zealand to start at center.
Last season, Kanekoa led the team in points and assists, and led the league in free-throw shooting. The other four starters averaged 12 minutes and 3 points.
But "starter" will be a fleeting term. Takahara has no depth chart and divides her team into "points, wings and bigs." For the most part, all the players at each position are "interchangeable."
Her goals in her first season as a collegiate coach are elementary: Get better every game and have fun.
"I'm not going to lie," Takahara said. "This will be a hard trip. I always try to tell the players just compete hard, execute well and make sure you leave it on the floor. Then we can accept anything that comes our way. We want to make sure we stay united and compete and take care of all the little things."
She knows this team is not good enough to win without all-out effort every minute. The challenge now is to inspire that relentlessness.
A breakdown by position:

"BIGS"
Breanna Arbuckle (6-0, So.) touches the rim and coaches are expecting a "breakout year" from a player capable of scoring in bunches. ...  Rebecca Dew (6-4, So.) graduates to a much larger role this season. She played for New Zealand's junior national team and once scored 55 points with 23 rebounds in a regional game for Auckland. ... Katie Wilson (6-3, So.) is the team's most intimidating presence, with the softest touch. She won two provincial championships in high school in Canada, averaging 18 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks. ...  Julita Bungaite (6-2, Jr.) is expected to be a force, but is not eligible the first six games because she played against professionals back home in Lithuania. She is the fourth Rainbow Wahine from Weatherford Community College and will remind fans of Dainora Puida, inside (rebounding) and out (3-point shooting).
WINGS
Allie Patterson (6-1, Jr.) started six games last season after transferring from St. John's (N.Y.), getting 20 points in one. Coaches appreciate the California all-state player's work ethic and versatility. ...  Shawna Kuehu (5-10, Fr.) is the most intriguing newcomer. A two-time state player of the year, who led Punahou to three state titles, she has not played an official game since Feb. 22, 2008. Kuehu signed with Cal out of high school but never enrolled last fall. She scored a state tournament-record 37 points in the 2006 championship and competed for Team Aloha (coached by Takahara) and Southern Cal's Nike Storm (she was MVP) in her offseasons. Kuehu is dominant in practice, with "an uncanny ability to make things look easy," but struggled with her nerves and the 20-month layoff in UH's exhibition warmup. ... Dita Liepkalne (6-0, Sr.) is the only Rainbow that started every game last year and is, by far, the most experienced. She led the team in rebounds and was second in assists a year ago. A member of the Latvian junior national team, she is coming off surgery and was recently cleared to practice after four months out. ... Briauna Linton (5-10 So.) missed the exhibition after suffering a concussion. A former track athlete, she is one of the quickest players and helped Narbonne High to the L.A. City championship. ... Walk-on Courtney Gaddis (5-11, So.) sat out last year after transferring from Whitworth. The Kalani graduate is fundamentally sound and was a two-time all-state player for the Falcons and La Pietra, which she led to the 2006 ILH Division II title.
POINTS
Keisha Kanekoa (5-6, Jr.) is Hawai'i's only true playmaker and earned the team's only WAC Player of the Week honor last season. She was the 2007 state high school player of the year. ...  Leilani Galdones (5-6, Jr.) is the top 3-point threat for a team that averaged just four a game last season. ...  Jennifer Hamilton (5-6, So.) played in 27 games last year and might be the best "small" defender. ...  Mai Ayabe (5-4, Jr.) is most comfortable at full speed and has already scored points for persistence. She attended Kapi'olani Community College the past two years after moving over from Fukuoka, Japan, while waiting to earn a spot as a walk-on.
NOTES
This trip concludes Thursday at UCLA and Saturday at Cal State Bakersfield. Those games begin at 5 p.m. Hawai'i time. Today's game starts at 1 p.m. HST. All three UH opponents opened last week.
Senior shooting guard Megan Tinnin, who withdrew from school this semester to return to New Mexico for family reasons, could be back next semester as a redshirt. Tinnin is in touch with coaches on a weekly basis and has expressed interest in returning and training with the team and new staff next semester, then playing her senior season in 2010-11. Tinnin started 29 games last season and led the team in points and 3-pointers.
The last time the Rainbow Wahine played in the postseason was 2003 and their last winning record came in 2007. They have won 20 games combined the last two seasons.
Dana Takahara-Dias is Hawai'i's seventh head coach and only the second woman, after Patsy Dung, who started the program in 1974. Takahara is the first former player to be head coach. She was teammates with associate coach Da Houl from 1985 to 1987.
There is no eight-team Rainbow Wahine Classic this year because of the coaching transition, but the Rainbow Wahine might be playing in the next-best thing. UNLV's Duel in the Desert, Dec. 19 to 21, features five NCAA Tournament teams from last season (DePaul, Florida State, Kansas State, UT-San Antonio, Virginia Commonwealth), and a sixth that played in the WNIT (Arkansas). UNLV and Hawai'i, which opens against K-State, are the only tournament teams that did not participate in the postseason last year.