Basketball adds center from Magna, Utah,

This archived article was written by: Fisher Hermansen

Magna, Utah’s, Akosita Tuitupou joined Utah State University Eastern as a center for the women’s basketball team. A freshman this year, she graduated in 2017 from Cyprus High School.
She plans on starting the season strong and progressing throughout the year and finish even stronger.
Anxious for the season to get going, she stays mentally focused by working out every day and trying to improve her game.
Getting into a steady work ethic keeps you engaged and locked in for the upcoming season, she says. The small lessons she learned from basketball has made her love for the game grow every day.
Learning to play as a team, having self-confidence, but being able to be selfless are just a few of the lessons she learned. Basketball has helped her grow and prosper as a person, it has also opened up many doors of opportunity. Her little sister is her motivation, she doesn’t have someone to look up too so she works to fill that role for her.
Coming to USUE and playing at a college level is something that she did for her sister, hoping that she can see that if you want something, you need to work for it. Tuitupou says that she sacrificed a lot of time to be where she is today. Hours and hours in the gym practicing rebounds, free throws and offensive moves in the paint just to better herself and her team.
The environment at USUE is something she loves. Talking with people and professors, she says that everyone on campus is friendly and helpful. Coming from West Salt Lake, she does not like how small the community is in Price, but enjoys it here more than home. Tuitupou says that the basketball team is close with one another and refers to them as a family. She believes that is how a team should be, in order to be successful.
One thing she loves to do is watch the New Zealand All Blacks, her and her father’s favorite rugby team. Tuitupou and the basketball team are ready for the year and hope to accomplish every goal that they set.