Photo Credit: Masanori Udagawa
With a pair of wins in Round 8, the ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens have wrapped up the 2025 Sky Broadband Rapid League title with two games to spare. The Queens dominated the BNZ Northern Kāhu (41–14) at home, then completed the double over the Southern Hoiho with a 38–28 win in Dunedin. Mike Lacey takes you through that details and everything else you need to get up to speed with the fastest hoops league in New Zealand in this week's Rapid Wrap.
Coming off consecutive wins, Northern Kāhu would have been optimistic about a third straight victory when they trailed by just three points at quarter time (10–7).
However, it quickly went downhill from there as the Queens controlled both ends of the floor. The league leaders held the visitors to just seven further points while scoring in double figures themselves in all four periods.
Keriana Hippolite led the way with 11 points, the Australian duo of Brooke Basham and Paige Burrows added 10 and 7 respectively, and Briarley Rogers — the Queens’ leading scorer this season — tallied 9 points.
Keeley Tini scored 8 points for Kāhu, but it was largely one-way traffic as the Queens cruised to a seventh straight win in front of the Porirua faithful.
ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens 41 – Hippolite 11; Basham 10; Rogers 9
BNZ Northern Kāhu 14 – Tini 8; Anderson 4; Tuilave 6 rebs
A fine all-round performance from Brooke Basham propelled Tokomanawa to a championship-sealing 38–28 win over Southern Hoiho in Dunedin.
Basham scored 9 of her 15 points in the opening half as the Queens built a 17–10 lead, and finished with 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Zoe Richards had a season-high 10 points and, when she made a pair of free throws early in the fourth quarter, it was a one-point game (23–22). Briarley Rogers and Hoiho forward Alexa Duff then exchanged threes before the Queens closed it out with a 10–3 run, Rogers and Basham combining for all 10 points.
Having lost to Pouākai in Round 2, the Queens have strung together eight consecutive wins to surge to the championship.
Southern Hoiho 28 – Richards 10; Duff 7; Fualau 4 & 8 rebs
ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens 38 – Basham 15, 7 rebs, 3 asts, 3 stls; Rogers 8; Hunter 5
A couple of put-back baskets from Emilia Ainley — on her way to a team season-high 9 rebounds — ensured Pouākai had the better of the opening exchanges to lead 10–7 at quarter time.
Tauranga Whai then took charge, scoring 13 unanswered points in the second stanza, 7 of those from Sophie Rogers, who passed 100 Rapid career points in the process.
Kavanah Lene’s deep three and Hannah Toli’s first points on debut trimmed the margin, but a buzzer-beating triple from Graecyn Parahi kept Whai in control.
Leading 27–17 at three-quarter time, Sophia Locandro and Jade Kirisome ensured there would be no late dramas as the Whai recorded their fourth win of the season and first in three attempts against the Cantabrians.
Tauranga Whai 35 – S. Rogers 10; Locandro 10, 7 rebs, 3 blks; Dalton 6 & 2 stls; Parahi 6 & 6 rebs
Yellow i Glass Mainland Pouākai 21 – Ainley 6 & 9 rebs; Lene 6; Lacey-Rameka 6 & 2 stls
9–1 Tokomanawa Queens
5–5 Mainland Pouākai
4–6 Southern Hoiho
4–5 Tauranga Whai
2–7 Northern Kāhu
81 Briarley Rogers (Queens)
80 Jade Kirisome (Whai)
76 Emma Rogers (Pouākai)
72 Keriana Hippolite (Queens)
68 Lil Dart (Hoiho)
64 Emma Schroeder (Kāhu)
59 Samara Gallaher (Hoiho)
58 Azure Anderson (Kāhu)
55 Sophie Rogers (Whai)
54 Kavanah Lene (Pouākai)
53 Charlotte Whittaker (Pouākai)
53 Sophia Locandro (Whai)
175 Pahlyss Hokianga (Whai/Queens)
169 Azure Anderson (Kāhu)
167 Jade Kirisome (Whai)
153 Eva Langton (Queens/Whai/Hoiho)
137 Jacinta Beckley (Queens/Pouākai)
132 Emma Rogers (Whai/Pouākai)
126 Tyler Mitchell (Hoiho)
123 Keriana Hippolite (Queens)
119 Steph Bairstow (Kāhu)
102 Sophie Rogers (Whai)
102 Alana Howdon (née Paewai) (Hoiho)
Sophie Rogers is the 11th player to pass 100 Rapid League career points, emulating the feat of sister Emma. Fellow teenagers Hannah Toli (Pouākai) and Riley McClenaghan (Whai) made their Rapid debuts in Round 8. Teenage forward Emilia Ainley, with 9 rebounds against the Whai, set a new Pouākai record for most rebounds in a Rapid League game. Only Jennifer O’Connell has bettered that number, three times grabbing double-figure rebounds for Hoiho in 2023.
The 14 points scored by Northern Kāhu against the Queens was the club’s lowest single-game total.
The Queens have raced to the Rapid League championship with two rounds to play. It is a first Rapid title for the Queens, following the successes of Pouākai in 2023 and Kāhu in 2024.
