The Week That Was
Round 9 began with the Pouākai playing hosts to their Southern rivals as the Hoiho made the trek north to see if they could sneak a 2nd consecutive road win against the Mainlanders on their home court. But The Pouākai had improved since then and had lifted their offensive efficiency to match their form on the defensive end. The Hoiho came out strong, determined to elbow their way back into the finals conversation without Zoe Richards help get them there. Ahlise Hurst and Samantha Bowman came out firing to give hope that the finals were still within their grasp but as the game rolled along tstronger he Pouākai grew in strength on both ends of the court and used a stifling defense to hold the visitors to 32% shooting overall and a nail in the coffin 19% from the 3-point line to smother the Southerners and claim a 88-66 point win behind Haliegh Reinoehl's 22point 12 rebound double-double and 4 of her teamates in double figures. The win giving the Pouākai the inside lane to claiming a home semi-final and a legitimate chance to claim the top seed overall while the Hoiho will head into the final round with just pride on the line.
The second game of the round matched two teams that are seemingly heading in different directions as the sliding Queens would welcome the Whai to a new home away from home in Palmerston North where the home team thought they could find a little form heading into the postseason. The Whai however were finding form as an early season injury cloud had parted to allow the fastest paced team int he league to start to realise it's potential. But that injury cloud that left the Whai camp seemed to have settled over Tokomanawa, as Jordan Horston and club heartbeat Stella Beck would both be ruled inactive. After a slow first four minutes that saw the score knotted at 4, the Whai went ballistic, turning up the pace to score 19 straight before finishing the quarter up 21 in a game that was essentially over at halftime with the visitors up 30. The Whai offense explosive as ever as 48 three point attempts (!!) found the net 14 times to power 5 players into double figures, led by Ashley Joens with 32points and 9 rebounds. The win giving the Whai a chance to move up to 3rd in the standings while handing the Queens their 3rd consecutive defeat and staring straight at a difficult road double header where 2 wins are required to even have a small chance at claiming a home semi-final.
The Kāhu had a similar patch of difficulty, losing 3 of their last 4 while trending in the wrong direction overall. But the good news for our Northernmost team was that the lone win in that stretch had come against the Hoiho who were on their second game of the round, that was also their first since being effectively knocked out of the finals chase. Despite going down twice to the Kāhu, the last time by 21, the Hoiho would have been upbeat about their chances, especially if they could hold their opponents to 70 or below, a number they had been unable to pass in their 3 most recent losses. But the Kāhu rediscovered their strength on the interior as IImar'I Thomas (27pts, 10rbs) and Penina Davidson (16pts, 11rbs) both found double-doubles to lead the Kāhu to victory. The Hoiho fighting hard throughout, but unable to overcome another poor shooting night from deep (4-22 3pfg).
Worth Mentioning
Scoring Title Chase: Who will be the leagues top score is still up in the air as a tight race will find a crown over the weekend. Jordan Horston (23.86ppg) is the leader in the clubhouse and may or may not be available to play, but her slim lead is in danger of being overcome as Ashley Joens (23.64ppg) and IImar'I Thomas (23.45) are hot on her heals while finding themselves in fine form. Horston has her work in just 7 games this season (with a scheduled double header this round), but amazingly after playing 11 games a piece just a single bucket separates Joens (260 points on the season) and Thomas (258 points)! Expect these players to get heavily involved on the offensive end early in their games this week
Rebound Crown - The chase for the rebounding title isn't quite so close, with Lou Brown likely to hold top spot after pulling down 11.8 rebounds per game, but right behind her is where it gets interesting. Samantha Bowman and Lara McSpadden are dead even on the glass through 11 games a piece, with the pair each pulling down 109 boards for an average of 9.91 per game.
Laina Snyder- The stats aren't as gaudy as her first trip to NZ, but her play has arguably been more influential in her second Tauihi stint this season with the Whai. A double-double machine with the Hoiho in T1, this time around she found herself on a more talented team and was asked to play a vastly different role that has most recently found her as the first player off the bench in the 6th woman role. While not flourishing offensively her rebounding (5.82pg, 13th in the comp) and defense (2.73pg, 1st in comp) has lifted the ceiling of the Whai and kept the team rolling in the right direction even in the face of a bevy of injuries.
Round 10
Probuild ITM Mainland Pouākai v ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens, Cowles Stadium, Friday 7:30pm
The Pouākai come into the round with a chance to claim outright top spot on the ladder if they can couple a home win with a Kāhu loss, but look unlikely to finish lower than 2nd on the ladder as they come into their final home game of the season. But the Queens should be bolstered by the knowledge that they still control their own destiny in the hunt for a top 2 spot, that is if they can win 2 games in a final round double header against the top 2 teams on the ladder while making up a 13 point deficit in winning percentage to catch the Pouākai. A tough task yes, but not an impossible one especially if they can come into the game fully healthy. But if the availability of Stella Beck and Jordan Horston is still up in the air it becomes more difficult, but still not impossible. Job 1 for the Queens will be finding a way in influence the game defensively on the perimeter, as wing scorers have been too comfortable of late, none more so than McKenzie Forbes who set the league scoring record against them a few weeks ago. She'll be looking to find that form again but it might be of more import to get Cassandra Brown going, who was held to just 2 points (1-8fg) in her last outing. If the Queens find some form this will be a tough one to predict, but if it's close it could come down to free throws and the leagues top shooting team (Pouākai 84%) will have the advantage against the leagues worst from the stripe (Queens 73%)
Matchup to Watch: Mikhaela Cann v Florencia Chagas - Cann has been a steady hand guiding the Pouākai offense all season long but Chagas has the physical tools and athletic pop to force her off her game. Ball control will be key and that starts with the pg's.
Southern Hoiho v The Northern Group Tauranga Whai, Edgar Centre, Saturday 5pm
The Hoiho will line up for their final game with solely pride to play for, but that can mean quite a bit down South. The Whai however will have higher ambitions as a win would see them reach .500 and also open the door to claim the 3 seed with the slightest chance of hosting a home final. The Hoiho can lean on the fact that they've already topped the Whai on their homecourt, but as it was back on the 20th of October. To find that result again it will take a supreme defensive effort from Natalie Chou, who will likely be tasked with guarding Joens and her 23.64ppg, but she has done it before. Offensively it will come down to the long ball, and much of the season the form from deep has avoided the Hoiho, but with Ahlise Hurst and Paige Bradley the opportunity to get hot is just around the corner. But defensively the Hoiho allow the highest percentage from 3 for opponents of any team in the league, not a recipe for success against the most prolific 3point shooting team in the comp.
Matchup to Watch: Natalie Chou v Ashley Joens - This is a matchup that Chou has won previously, holding Joens to just 8points on 20% shooting in their first meeting. A repeat of that will make a 2nd victory possible, but Joens hasn't been slowed to that level before or since so it will be a tough task to replicate.
BNZ Northern Kāhu v ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens, McKay Stadium Whangārei, Sunday 3pm
The Kāhu control their own destiny (thanks to a fantastic points percentage advantage) and pulling down a win will guarantee them top seed and homecourt throughout the finals. But interestingly a bonus of playing the last game of the regular season will give them the ability to see exactly what is needed to clinch top seed and, depending on results, the opportunity to pick their opponent. For example if the Pouākai end up going down to the Queens and the Whai go up on the Hoiho, then the Kāhu will have first all sewn up and beating the Queens would mean a first round date with the Whai. Either way there will be an interest in getting some payback against a Queens team that took them down on their home court while limiting the Kāhu to just 36% shooting on the day. Jordan Horston was a star that day, dropping 28pts and 13rbs, so her presence will likely be required to give the Queens a chance to repeat. The Queens may experience a bit of fatigue as well with their 2nd game of the weekend coming in the far north in a venue that will be unfamiliar.
Matchup to Watch: Tahlia Tupaea v Jordan Horston - Last time these two squared off with 28 and 27 points respectively and repeat offensive explosion is exactly what I'm hoping for to finish the regular season and take us into the postseason.
All games live on Sky Sport
Rapid League tips off 1 hour before Tauihi tip off
