Arteivia Lilomaiva -- Daily Journal Girls' Basketball Player of the Year

Aragon High senior Arteivia Lilomaiva was the rarest of talents, a 6-foot-1 center who had the skills of a guard. "She brought up the ball against the press, could post up bigs, take short jumpers, was a great passer and could guard a guard and center," Dons coach Annette Gennaro-Trimble said. In other words, Lilomaiva was talented enough to do everything. The 2009-10 Daily Journal Girls' Basketball Player of the Year, Lilomaiva earned a full-ride scholarship to play basketball at Santa Clara University. Gennaro-Trimble has coached a number of standout athletes since taking over as Aragon's coach in the 1993-94 season, but Lilomaiva is the first athlete she's coached to earn a Division I basketball scholarship. A four-year varsity player, Lilomaiva didn't get the full attention of Division I programs until midway through this season. First it was Division III programs, then Division II, then the top level colleges finally started calling. "I was real nervous at the beginning of the year thinking my dream of playing in college wasn't going anywhere," said Lilomaiva, whom Gennaro-Trimble estimated averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds per game. "I was thinking my dream wasn't possible, but then as the year went on D-III schools started looking at me, then D-II and then D-I, and I'm like 'Whoa, it's coming.' It was a dream come true." Lilomaiva credited Gennaro-Trimble and her former AAU coach Alfonzo Joo for developing her game. Gennaro-Trimble was also the guiding force behind Lilomaiva's performance in the classroom. "She was strict in helping me keep my grades up," Lilomaiva said. "That really helped me get into Santa Clara because my SATs were (relatively) low. She helped keep me focused and I can't thank her enough." Gennaro-Trimble said her star talent did plenty by leading the team on and off the court. In addition to her skilled overall game, Lilomaiva provided a steady leadership role. She often talked to her teammates about constant effort, execution and focus. Her infectious, warm, easy-going personality is what made her a natural leader. "There are a lot of kids who work hard, but they can't make an impact (vocally)," Gennaro-Trimble said. "Arteivia was able to vocalize things well and part of that is having a great personality that everyone loves. Don't get me wrong -- we're going to miss her basketball (skills) -- but what we're going to miss the most is her smile and her ability to get the girls ready for games. She provided a calmness and at the same time provided authority in a leadership-type role that often helped us win tight games." Lilomaiva has great respect for her dad's opinion. After every game, Lilomaiva and her father Blair will talk about her performance. Mostly it's Blair who's doing the talking. "Both of my parents (Blair and mom Nadine) have inspired me to do my best," Lilomaiva said. "With my dad, I'm always hoping what he has to say is something good." Blair had great things to say about her daughter's game in Aragon's 67-63 loss to Terra Nova in the Peninsula Athletic League tournament championship game. Lilomaiva finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in defeat. Often times she scored at will and was a force on the boards. Lilomaiva even brought the ball up the floor against Terra Nova's vaunted full-court pressure. Dribbling is actually Lilomaiva's favorite aspect of the game. Sure, she likes posting up and banging down on the block, but for sheer fun, nothing beats blowing by defenders off dribble penetration. "I know it's weird, but maybe it's because of the challenge," she said. Lilomaiva was a part-time starter as a freshman and sophomore. Although she posted solid numbers as a sophomore, Lilomaiva said she struggled from a mental standpoint. So Lilomaiva promised herself to come back strong for her junior season, and that's exactly what she did, developing into a tour de force. Lilomaiva worked hard to improve every facet of her game, from dribbling to shooting effectively with her left hand. Gennaro-Trimble was continually amazed with Lilomaiva's athleticism; she points to Lilomaiva making the volleyball team this season and making an immediate impact as a middle blocker. By the end of the season, Lilomaiva had developed into a legitimate hitter as well. The ironic thing is Lilomaiva tried out for Aragon's frosh-soph volleyball team as a freshman and for some odd reason didn't make the squad. "Only a pure athlete can pick up volleyball for the first time (in her senior year) and have an impact," Gennaro-Trimble said. "She had a good volleyball season and that carried over into basketball." Each year, Lilomaiva set goals for herself and challenged herself to see just how far she could go. In the end, everything was within her reach.