Round Five and the 2026 Tauihi Inclusion Round tip off in Christchurch on Friday night as ProcureX Mainland Pouākai host ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens at Parakiore.
Pouākai return home looking to bounce back after Southern Hoiho handed them their second defeat of the season, but they do so with a roster that has undergone significant change since the last time they took the court.
Injuries have forced Mainland to release Mikayla Pivec and Sarah Mortensen, with six-year WNBA veteran Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and American guard Ally Becki joining the group from today's game.
Mosqueda-Lewis arrives with an extensive résumé. The former UConn star was selected third overall in the 2015 WNBA Draft, played 169 WNBA games across six seasons and won a championship with Seattle in 2018. She also won three consecutive national championships at UConn and most recently added a Mexican league championship and Player of the Year honours to her long list of accolades.
Becki adds another playmaking option in the backcourt after being named the MAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year in 2025. She stuffed the stat sheet during her college career at Ball State before beginning her professional career in Greece before stints in Puerto Rico and Australia.
The talent is obvious, but the question that needs answering for the Pouākai is how quickly those pieces can fit around an established core led by McKenna Dale, Mikayla Vaughn and Morgan Yaeger.
The Queens head south still searching for their first win, but are continuing to close the gap on their opponents.
Tokomanawa came within five points of defending champions Tauranga Whai last Friday, falling despite leading at halftime and remaining within one possession deep into the fourth quarter.
Charlisse Leger-Walker continued her strong form with her second straight 30 point game, Taylor Mikesell continues to be locked in from deep while newly minted recruit Jacinta Monroe made an immediate impact on the interior in her Tauihi debut.
The first meeting between these teams was decidedly one sided
Pouākai ran away with a road victory in Porirua, dominating the glass and getting 60 combined points from Vaughn and Dale.
But neither team is similar to tboth rosters have changed since then.
Can the Queens turn improvement into their first win, or will Mainland’s new-look roster rediscover the offensive firepower that made them the competition’s early benchmark?
When: Friday 23 October
Where: Parakiore, Christchurch
Rapid League: 6:30pm
Tauihi: 7:30pm
Watch Live: Sky Sport 3 and ThreeNow in New Zealand, ESPN+ in the United States and FIBA YouTube everywhere else internationally
Commentary: Nick Bewley and Jaycin Tini
Box Score Here
Buy Tickets Here
Pouākai expect to set Morgan Yaeger, McKenna Dale, Bek Frisby-Smith, Esra McGoldrick and Mikayla Vaughn in the starting group.
Frisby-Smith is questionable with concussion.
New signing Ally Becki is available as a restricted player, while Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis is questionable pending eligibility requirements but is expected to be cleared.
Ruby Cutbush, Sari Mowbray, Ava Jones, Maddy Timms and Emilia Ainley make up the core of Rapid League group and will be called upon for depth.
The Queens will look to Krystal Leger-Walker, Hailey Van Lith, Charlisse Leger-Walker, Taylor Mikesell and Jacinta Monroe as their starting five.
Aria Cowley, Grace Hunter, Alaska Rhebok, Jade Kirisome, Hana Lacey-Rameka, Nahala Toeleiu and Ameia Williams make up the Rapid League group and depth for the Tauihi starters.
Penina Davidson is yet to return from overseas while Stella Beck is unavailable.
Pouākai produced one of the most dominant offensive performances of the season when these teams first met in Porirua.
Mainland started quickly with a 6-0 run before the Queens responded through Charlisse Leger-Walker and eventually levelled the game at 17.
Pouākai led just 23-22 after the opening quarter, but the separation began in the second term
Vaughn repeatedly attacked the paint, while Dale stretched the Queens defence with her shooting from the perimeter. Mainland took a 53-43 advantage into halftime before continuing to build through the second half.
The lead reached 75-59 by the end of the third before Pouākai exploded in the final quarter to complete a 37-point victory.
Vaughn was outstanding with 32 points and 12 rebounds, while Dale produced a huge 28-point, 19-rebound performance.
Yaeger added 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists as Pouākai finished with 114 points, 64 rebounds and 27 assists.
The Queens were led by Van Lith with 20 points, Charlisse Leger-Walker with 19 points and seven assists, as the WNBA duo took part in their first action of the Tauihi season, while Mikesell chipped in with 13.
Leading Players
Queens: Hailey Van Lith (20P, 6R, 1A), Charlisse Leger-Walker (19P, 4R, 7A), Taylor Mikesell (13P, 2R, 1A)
Pouākai: Mikayla Vaughn (32P, 12R, 3A), McKenna Dale (28P, 19R, 5A), Morgan Yaeger (15P, 6R, 7A)
The Queens again came close to breaking through for their first win, pushing Whai deep into the fourth quarter in Porirua.
Tokomanawa started strongly and took a 38-36 lead into halftime behind the offensive work of Charlisse Leger-Walker and Taylor Mikesell.
Whai responded after the break and edged ahead 63-61 entering the final period, but the Queens stayed within reach.
The scores were level at 70 with five minutes remaining before Whai took control inside the final two minutes to close out the five-point victory.
Charlisse produced another huge performance with 31 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Mikesell added 23 points.
Monroe made her Queens debut and immediately provided the interior presence Tokomanawa had been seeking, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds and six steals.
Leading Players
Queens: Charlisse Leger-Walker (31P, 8R, 4A), Taylor Mikesell (23P, 6R), Jacinta Monroe (12P, 8R)
Whai: Emme Shearer (22P, 5R, 3A), Laina Snyder (19P, 12R, 4A), Patricia Brossmann (14P, 16R, 2A)
Pouākai fell to 3-2 after Hoiho claimed a hard-fought road win at Parakiore.
Mainland made the better start, with Yaeger scoring eight quick points as the home side looked to take early control.
Hoiho responded in the second quarter, using a 23-13 period to build a six-point halftime advantage as Pouākai dealt with foul trouble across the starting group.
Mainland fought back in the third and the teams traded momentum deep into the fourth.
With the game on the line, Lil Dart delivered key baskets for Hoiho before Julie Wojta converted two clutch free throws with nine seconds remaining to push the margin to five and effectively seal the result.
Dale again led the way for Pouākai with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, while Vaughn added 15 points and seven boards in the loss.
Leading Players
Pouākai: McKenna Dale (17P, 11R, 6A), Mikayla Vaughn (15P, 7R, 3A), Morgan Yaeger (12P, 7R, 6A)
Hoiho: Lil Dart (21P, 5R, 7A), Julie Wojta (19P, 11R, 2A), Paige Bradley (17P, 6R, 6A)
Mainland began the season with one of the competition’s deepest and most settled rosters, but injuries have forced significant changes.
Pivec had been providing 9.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists through four games and had become an important part of Pouākai’s versatility at both ends.
Mortensen did not get the opportunity to take the court this season, but her departure further alters the expected look and feel of the team.
Into the roster come Becki and Mosqueda-Lewis.
Becki gives Mainland another genuine ball-handler and allows Yaeger to spend time both on and off the ball.
Mosqueda-Lewis brings elite experience and another significant perimeter scoring threat.
Her ability to score at all three levels could be particularly important for a Pouākai side that has stumbled as it attempted to follow on from that 114 point effort against the Queens, with two of their last three efforts failing to crack 80 points.
The talent is easy to see but the challenge of finding immediate chemistry won't be easy to overcome against a Queens team starting to find its form.
The Queens team that lost by 37 points to Pouākai earlier in the season was still very much under construction.
Charlisse Leger-Walker and Van Lith were making their Tauihi debuts that night, while Monroe had not yet joined the roster leaving the team thin in the frontcourt.
Three games later the team is closer to its final form.
Charlisse leads Tauihi at 27.3 points per game and is shooting 46 percent from three after back to back games crossing the 30 point plateau.
Mikesell brings perimeter gravity and is averaging 17.3 points , Van Lith continues to score at multiple leves with 17 a game while Krystal Leger-Walker leads the competition with 10.3 assists per game.
Monroe's recorded 12 points and eight rebounds in her debut, and her arrival gives the team a genuine interior presence as they await the debut of Penina Davidson.
The record remains at 0-4, but the movement has been in a positive direction as the Queens have lost their last two games by three and five points.
The evidence says are getting closer but Friday will provide the clearest measure yet of how much they have improved.
Mainland’s biggest advantage this season has been on the boards.
Pouākai lead Tauihi with 48.4 rebounds per game and a resounding+13.0 rebounding margin. That difference was overwhelming in the first meeting, when they collected 64 rebounds to the Queens’ 28.
Dale sits second in Tauihi at 11.2 rebounds per game while Vaughn is averaging 8.3 to sit fourth on leader ladder. But even with their success, Pivec’s absence will leave a notable hole.
She was averaging 9.8 rebounds (3rd in the league) and had collected 15 offensive boards through four appearances.
Tokomanawa still sit last in rebounding margin at -11.5, but Monroe gives them genuine size in the paint, something they did not have in the first matchup.
Her eight rebounds against Whai were encouraging, particularly after the Queens had struggled throughout the opening rounds to consistently finish defensive possessions.
Have the Queens closed the gap? Or will the Pouākai snap in a new puzzle piece and continue their dominance on the glass.
There is one area where Tokomanawa hold a clear statistical advantage.
The Queens average just 11 turnovers per game and lead Tauihi with a 1.95 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Pouākai have given up 16.8 turnovers per game to sit at -4.0 in turnover margin, 2nd worst in the league.
The Queens are also producing 9.3 steals per game, and this defensive effort could provide their cleanest path to limiting their opponent.
It remains to be seen if the Queens can battle Pouākai possession-for-possession on the glass, but they have proven their ability to create opportunities before the rebound ever becomes a factor.
If the Queens can continue to look after the basketball while turning Mainland mistakes into transition opportunities, they can reduce Pouākai’s biggest physical advantage and get that much closer to their first victory of the season.
Becki’s arrival gives Stojkovic a fresh backcourt option.
She lands in Christchurch after a college career in which she became just the seventh player in NCAA women’s basketball history to surpass 1,600 points, 700 rebounds and 700 assists.
Her ability to defend, facilitate and shoot gives Pouākai greater positional flexibility alongside Yaeger. The most interesting aspect may be what she allows Yaeger to do.
With another point guard capable of organising the offence, Yaeger may spend more time operating away from the ball, giving her the opportunity to attack a rotating defence from the second side.
That could become particularly valuable against a Queens backcourt loaded with size and defensive versatility.
Monroe’s second Tauihi appearance will be worth watching closely.
The 6’5” forward-center immediately gave the Queens greater size and interior impact against Whai, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds and six steals.
But the Pouākai present an even greater challenge in the paint.
Vaughn punished the Queens inside in the first meeting, while Dale punished them from everywhere else as the duo combined for 60 points and 32 rebounds while repeatedly creating second chance opportunities.
Monroe can't be expected to solve that problem alone.
But her presence changes the options available to Tania Tupu and the Queens coaching staff.
The Queens can now put genuine size on Vaughn, provide more resistance around the rim and potentially make Pouākai defend the interior rather than loading all of their attention onto Tokomanawa’s guards.
But will it be enough to get the Queens on the winning side of the leger?
Two of Tauihi 2026's premier guards meet in Christchurch tonight.
Charlisse leads the competition at 27.3 points per game while also droping five assists to go with it.
Yaeger has been the primary creator for Mainland, averaging 18.6 points and 6.2 assists, while punishing transition defense and forcing halfcourt defenders into rotation.
Charlisse has scored 31 or more in each of her last two games and continues to stretch defences with her ability to attack both off the dribble and from deep.
Yaeger will look to control tempo while making the Queens work through multiple actions defensively.
If either player is able to gain a definitive upper hand, her team will likely find itself on the road to victory.
This matchup did not exist the first time these teams met.
Vaughn dominated that game with 32 points and 12 rebounds and enters the rematch averaging 22.3 points on a ridiculous 73 percent shooting from the floor.
Monroe provides the Queens with a much improved defensive option the second time around.
She is coming off 12 points and eight rebounds in her debut and has the size to offer far more resistance around the basket than Tokomanawa could produce in the first meeting.
How quickly she can adjust to Vaughn’s movement, power and finishing will be crucial to the Queens chances of finding their first victory of the season.
The arrival of Becki sets up another intriguing guard matchup.
Krystal leads Tauihi at 10.3 assists per game and has been the primary organiser for a Queens offence that has become more efficient each week.
Becki arrives with a reputation as a two-way guard who can facilitate, defend and play both on and off the ball.
Her ability to apply pressure to Krystal while helping Yaeger share the playmaking load could immediately become valuable for Mainland, but if KLW can facilitate at her normal rate while imposing her will defensively the Queens will be that much closer to victory number 1.
Shooters are going to shoot.
Mikesell enters after a season-high 23 points against Whai and is averaging 17.3 points as she does most of her work off the ball for a Queens team still finding its way to premiere offence.
Mosqueda-Lewis arrives with a career built around her shooting ability, graduating from UConn as the NCAA’s all-time leader in made three-pointers before embarking on a professional career that took her to the WNBA and around the world.
If either shooter is able to get hot early the space of the court will change to open up oppotunities for their teammates. When their shooting gravity isn't pulling defenders in their orbit look for both players to knock down opportunities with regularity.
| Category | Pouākai | Queens |
|---|---|---|
| Points | Mikayla Vaughn, 22.3 | Charlisse Leger-Walker, 27.3 |
| Rebounds | McKenna Dale, 11.2 | Jacinta Monroe, 8.0 |
| Assists | Morgan Yaeger, 6.2 | Krystal Leger-Walker, 10.3 |
| Steals | Dale/Yaeger, 1.2 | Krystal Leger-Walker, 3.3 |
| Blocks | Esra McGoldrick, 1.7 | Grace Hunter, 0.8 |
| FG% | Mikayla Vaughn, 73% | Jacinta Monroe, 56% |
| 3P% | Ava Jones, 63% | Charlisse Leger-Walker, 46% |
| 3PM | McKenna Dale, 3.2 pg | Charlisse Leger-Walker, 4.0 pg |
| Category | Pouākai | Queens |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 3-2 | 0-4 |
| Points | 89.6, 1st | 76.5, 4th |
| Points Allowed | 81.6, 4th | 89.3, 5th |
| Scoring Margin | +8.0, 1st | -12.8, 5th |
| FG% | 45%, 1st | 40%, 4th |
| FG% Defence | 41%, 2nd | 45%, 5th |
| 3P% | 32%, 32% | 34%, 2nd |
| 3P% Defence | 41%, 2nd | 45%, 5th |
| FT% | 66%, 5th | 74%, 4th |
| Rebounding Margin | +13.0, 1st | -11.5, 5th |
| Assists | 19.8, 4th | 21.5, 2nd |
| Turnover Margin | -4.0, 4th | +3.0, 2nd |
| Steals | 6.6, 5th | 9.3, 3rd |
| Assist/Turnover Ratio | 1.18, 5th | 1.95, 1st |
Pouākai own the competition’s best offence and its biggest advantage on the glass.
The Queens counter with excellent ball movement and ball security, ranking second in assists, second in turnover margin and first in assist-to-turnover ratio.
The Rapid League matchup could be just as competitive.
Mainland sit at 3-2, while the Queens enter at 1-3 after an overtime loss to Whai in their most recent game.
Pouākai average 27.0 points per game, fourth in Rapid League, while allowing 29.0, third.
The Queens average 27.3 points, third, and sit second defensively at 28.8 points allowed.
Their first Rapid meeting went Mainland’s way 29-22.
Nahala Toeleiu remains the competition’s leading Rapid League scorer at 10.8 points per game and has been remarkably efficient, shooting 60 percent from the field.
Ruby Cutbush leads Pouākai at 7.6 points and tops Rapid League with nine made threes.
Mainland also have one of the competition’s most productive frontcourt players in Emilia Ainley, who is averaging 5.8 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 80 percent from the field.
The possession battle again provides an interesting contrast.
Pouākai rank second in Rapid League assists and lead the competition in offensive rebounds, while the Queens are second in steals and have the league’s best free-throw percentage.
With both teams sitting close to the middle of the standings, Friday’s result could become important as the Rapid League race begins to tighten.
Pouākai remain one of the competition’s most talented groups and still lead Tauihi in scoring, scoring margin and rebounding margin.
But they enter Round Five with two losses from their last three games and major roster changes forced by injury.
Pivec is gone. Mortensen never got the opportunity to take the court.
Now Becki and Mosqueda-Lewis are in the mix and will be major factors.
That creates enormous upside, but also a need to build combinations quickly.
Across the floor, the Queens finally look settled.
Charlisse Leger-Walker is leading the league in scoring, Mikesell is coming off her best offensive game of the season, Krystal Leger-Walker continues to create at an elite level and Monroe has given the group the interior presence it lacked in the first meeting.
Can the Queens finally breakthrough for their first win of the year?
Or will the Pouākai get their season back on track in Parakiore?
