Te-Hina Paopao

Te-Hina Olive-Talaave Paopao (born August 21, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Plum would often invite Paopao to train with her, stating "Even to this day, when I go back, that's the only kid I would let work out with me, because she can hang with the intensity... She pushes me because I'm like, 'I can't let a 12-year-old beat me in this shooting drill.

She led her team to a 32–1 record and the Southern California Open Division regional title, but the state championship game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[5] Paopao entered her freshman season as Oregon's starting point guard, replacing Sabrina Ionescu.

Kelly Graves, head coach of Oregon, had high praise for her: “I think Te-Hina is next in the line of those guards that we’ve had that can just fill up the stat sheet.

[9] Two years later in a podcast, she revealed that while her family had encouraged her to transfer as well, she chose to stay to be 'loyal' to the program who had stuck with her through her high school injuries.

[10] In her junior season, Paopao averaged 13.1 points, 4.2 rebounds 3.3 assists per game, earning All-Pac-12 honorable mention.

[13] For her senior season, she transferred out of Oregon and was recruited by Dawn Staley to South Carolina for her 3-point shooting skills, leadership and experience.

[14] Staley has commented on the impact of Paopao on their team, “It makes a big difference for someone like Pao, who is always calm, cool, collected.

Paopao was named as "Finalist" for the Nancy Lieberman Award, alongside Georgia Amoore, Caitlin Clark, Hannah Hidalgo, and Jacy Sheldon.

Paopao with South Carolina before the 2024 NCAA championship game