photo credit: Masanori Udagawa
With a pair of wins in Round 9, the Yellow i Glass Mainland Pouākai secured runners-up on the Sky Broadband Rapid League table, while champions-elect ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens continued their winning run. Mike Lacey takes you through those details and all the tidbits you may have missed in the Round 9 Rapid Wrap.
Trailing 29-26 inside the last minute, a young Mainland Pouākai group scored the final five points to pinch a 31-29 victory over Southern Hoiho in Dunedin.
On her way to a game-high 16 points, Hana Lacey-Rameka hit a short-range jumper and a free throw to tie it. With overtime looming, Ava Jones drove for a go-ahead left-handed lay-up with two seconds remaining. Hoiho advanced the ball after a timeout, but the last-gasp shot fell well short, Pouākai moving outright second on the Rapid ladder.
A pair of threes from Jones helped Pouākai to a 12-11 half-time lead. A fast-flowing third stanza left it 23-23 at three-quarter time. Buckets from Lil Dart, Eva Langton and Samara Gallaher nudged Hoiho ahead 29-26, before Pouākai owned the closing seconds.
Southern Hoiho 29 - Dart 10 pts & 4 ast, Langton 7 pts, Richards 5 pts
Yellow i Glass Mainland Pouākai 31 - Lacey-Rameka 16 pts; Jones 9 pts & 7 reb; Ainley 6 pts; O’Neill 2 reb, 4 ast & 2 stl
After being held to a club-low 14 points the previous outing, the BNZ Northern Kāhu bounced back in style, beating the Tauranga Whai 35–20 at Eventfinda Stadium.
Kāhu scored the first five points and, with Vitolia Tuilave adding seven, led 18–10 at half-time. Emma-Kaye Schroeder pushed the margin to double figures; although Riley McClenaghan answered from deep, two Keeley Tini scores made it 28–15 at three-quarter time. Kāhu controlled the fourth to claim a third win in four.
BNZ Northern Kāhu 35 - Tuilave 9 pts, Tini 8 pts, Schroeder 7 pts
Tauranga Whai 20 - McClenaghan 8 pts, Kuka 4 pts
It was raining threes in Porirua as the Tokomanawa Queens beat the Whai 46-34 to make it nine on the trot.
Whai shot a handy 40% from three (6/15), but the Queens were even sharper at 53% (8/15). Early triples from Sophie Rogers, Charis Broughton and Sophia Locandro helped Whai to a 13-10 edge, before Briarley Rogers and Keriana-Marie Hippolite took over. Rogers nailed two triples in the second as Queens led 26-18 at half-time; Hippolite drilled two more in the third for a 38-28 buffer at the break. Rapid all-time scorer Pahlyss Hokianga joined the party in the fourth as Queens eased clear.
ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens 46 - Hippolite 18 pts; B. Rogers 13 pts; Trousdell 6 pts; Burrows 6 pts
Tauranga Whai 34 - Locandro 11 pts; C. Broughton 9 pts; S. Rogers 7 pts; McClenaghan 7 pts
10-1 Tokomanawa Queens
6-5 Mainland Pouākai
4-7 Southern Hoiho
4-7 Tauranga Whai
3-7 Northern Kāhu
94 Briarley Rogers (Queens)
90 Keriana-Marie Hippolite (Queens)
80 Jade Kirisome (Whai)
78 Lillian Dart (Hoiho)
76 Emma Rogers (Pouākai)
71 Emma-Kaye Schroeder (Kāhu)
66 Sophia Locandro (Whai)
65 Sophie Rogers (Whai)
64 Hana Lacey-Rameka (Pouākai)
62 Samara Gallaher (Hoiho)
62 Azure Anderson (Kāhu)
178 Pahlyss Hokianga (Whai/Queens)
173 Azure Anderson (Kāhu)
167 Jade Kirisome (Whai)
160 Eva Langton (Queens/Whai/Hoiho)
141 Keriana-Marie Hippolite (Queens)
137 Jacinta Beckley (Queens/Pouākai)
132 Emma Rogers (Whai/Pouākai)
126 Tyler Mitchell (Hoiho)
119 Steph Bairstow (Kāhu)
112 Sophie Rogers (Whai)
103 Alana Howden (née Paewai, Hoiho)
For the second time this season, Hana Lacey-Rameka scored 16 against Hoiho, one shy of the Pouākai single-game record of 17 (Jacinta Beckley, 2023).
For the second time this season, Keriana-Marie Hippolite scored 18, one shy of the Queens single-game record of 19 (Jacinta Beckley, 2024).
And yes, Beckley holds the single-game marks for both clubs.
Queens clinched the Rapid title with two rounds to spare; Pouākai have locked in second.
Queens also boast the top two scorers of ’25, Briarley Rogers (94) and Keriana-Marie Hippolite (90), both closing on 100. Rogers leads the league in three-point percentage at 34%.
The following players have played every Rapid League game for their respective clubs this season:
Kāhu - Azure Anderson, Keeley Tini, Vitolia Tuilave, Mary Morton-Jones
Whai - Laura Kuka, Sophie Rogers
Queens - Briarley Rogers, Keriana-Marie Hippolite
Pouākai - none
Hoiho - Samara Gallaher, Zoe Richards, Eva Langton
