The G.J. Gardner Homes Tauihi Final Four Weekend delivered two exciting games with plenty of talking points. The ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens and The Northern Group Tauranga Whai came out on top, upsetting the two top seeds to win their way through to the 2024 grand final. With all roads leading to Tauranga this week, Sky commentator Justin Nelson takes a look at what we learned from this year's semi-finals.
The Stars Rise In The Big Moments
There were three big moments in the semi-finals that shifted mountains. The first two came in the final minute of the game at Cowles Stadium on Saturday night. In an amazing final quarter comeback, the Queens needed big play after big play to execute a Houdini-like performance, and the biggest plays came from a Stella Beck deflection and steal on a Mikhaela Cann pass, which was soon followed by a Lou Brown offensive rebound (her 12th for the game) off Jacinta Beckley's missed free throw. Big moments matter.
The third big semi-final moment came early in the second quarter between the Kāhu and Whai when two of the competition's best competitors in Mikayla Cowling and Tahlia Tupaea tangled up in a heated incident that resulted in both players picking up an unsportsmanlike foul. Though the Whai led 31-17 at the time and would need to withstand a couple of spirited Kāhu fightbacks during the middle quarters, Cowling's physical response to contact initiated by Tupaea sent a message to her teammates that the stakes were high and no Whai player should take a backward step against the 2023 champs.
There is little doubt Cowling took it personally and her response ensured Tupaea knew full well that she was in for a bruising battle. Big moments matter.
The Joens And Dale Show Is The Best In Town
Roll up to the best show in town! Ashley Joens and McKenna Dale put on another shooting clinic on Sunday against the Kāhu, cementing the deadeye duo as the best show in town for season 2024. Time and time again Joens and Dale came up with big plays and long-range bombs, as they have been doing all season. Having a green light to shoot is one thing, but it takes a special sort of player to know when to pull the trigger and when to pass the ball, and the Whai are fortunate enough to have two of the very best. If Joens and Dale do their thing this week then the Queens could be in for a tough afternoon at the office.
How did the top two seeds lose?
For the first time in Tauihi history the top two seeds were bundled out in the semi-finals, and with a move to home finals this season that means the visiting teams in the semi-finals both rode into enemy territory to pull down the streamers and pop the balloons. While we all saw how the Queens and Whai won, how exactly did the Pouākai and Kāhu lose?
Let’s start with the top-seeded Pouākai, who not only had home court advantage against the Queens, but they had also beaten them in all three previous meetings during the season and had demolished them at Cowles Stadium by 17 points just one week earlier. And then you also have the small matter of leading Saturday's semi-final by 16 points with a little more hand a handful of minutes left in the game – so how on earth did they lose what looked like the un-lose-able?
The answer = TURNOVERS! Inexplicably, the Pouākai committed 9 turnovers in a final quarter slump and the Queens took full advantage, storming home with a 26-9 run to win 75-70, marking an incredible 21-point turnaround from the 7:54 mark of the final period. To the credit of the Queens, they played to their strengths defensively and back the other way they played unselfishly offensively – and it worked.
As for the Kāhu, well they were simply swept away. A 17-2 start by the offensively powered Whai proved too big for the Kāhu to come back from. Sure, they had a couple of runs, but the fact is the 2023 champions never led the game and rarely looked the better team. But where did they lose it?
The answer? Tthey didn’t play to their strengths! A lack of opportunity for IImar’I Thomas was telling as the ball just didn’t get to her anywhere near enough with the Californian forced to create a big chunk of her opportunities from her own misses. Meanwhile, star shooter Tahlia Tupaea was kept under close check by Mikayla Cowling in a defensive masterclass, and her Kāhu teammates simply left her alone to battle for possession way too much when they didn’t work hard enough to help her shake the tag. With both Thomas and Tupaea kept largely in check, the Kāhu just didn't have enough A-graders to fill the gap.
Heart In Mouth Moment
Everyone took a deep breath, especially Whai fans, when Australian guard Morgan Yaeger fell to the court late in the game against the Kāhu, clutching her already heavily bandaged calf. For a moment, the unthinkable was a torn calf, but within 30 seconds the tough-as-nails Aussie was on her feet and pleading with her coach to put her back on the court as she walked to the bench. A minute later Yaeger was back on court, minus the calf cramp that hobbled her moments earlier as racing heartbeats amongst the fans settled … the ‘Yaeger Bomb’ was back!
Is Lou Brown Tauihi’s Best Ever Board Banger?
Regardless of what happens this week the Queens would be well advised to ask Australian forward Lou Brown to make sure her calendar is free between October and December next year. While we may have seen bigger rebounding hauls in the past – multiple 20+ rebounding game's by the Hoiho’s Ashten Prechtel in season 2023 come to mind – this year’s leading Tauihi rebounder, Lou Brown, may be the best board banger we’ve seen in the competition.
The Queens forward has set a new game and a new season rebounding record for the Queens this season, and she claimed a record 12 offensive rebounds in Saturday night’s semi-final in Christchurch, including a late grab of a missed free throw that almost certainly ensured her team would claim a memorable comeback victory and a grand final berth.
A New Face, But Respect Is A Must
This year’s grand final will feature a new face with the Whai competing in the Tauihi decider for the first time in the team’s history, a momentous occasion that should be celebrated and hopefully Tauranga turns up in big numbers to support their team. At the other end of the court the Queens are heading to their third successive grand final, meaning the 2022 champions have played in every Tauihi grand final since the league's inception – an incredible effort and respect must be given and shown.
What we saw from both teams in the semi-finals was belief, passion and excitement. This Sunday we have two WNBA stars in Jordan Horston and Ashley Joens, we have two Kiwi’s at the height of their powers in Stella Beck and McKenna Dale, and across both squads we have players representing four countries in yet a further sign of Tauihi’s rise as a recognised global pro league.
