Before they square off for the trophy, The Probuild ITM Mainland Pouākai and The Northern Group Tauranga Whai have already spent three nights figuring each other out. Whai took the first two clashes in October, Pouākai finally cracked the code with a gritty road win in November.
Add it all up and Whai hold a 2-1 edge and a +12 point differential (250–238), but the momentum line tilts towards Pouākai after that last meeting.
| Game | Venue | Result | Top Whai Performers | Top Pouākai Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Oct | Cowles Stadium | Whai 85 def Pouākai 77 | Hank 31 pts, Snyder 12 pts / 5 ast, McDowell-White 13 pts / 6 ast | Whittle 16 pts, Yaeger 15 pts |
| 18 Oct | Cowles Stadium | Whai 102 def Pouākai 93 | Snyder 30 pts / 13 reb / 6 ast, McDowell-White 23 pts / 12 ast, Hank 16 pts | Yaeger 25 pts / 6 ast, Whittle 24 pts / 12 reb, Fogg 14 pts |
| 16 Nov | Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre | Pouākai 68 def Whai 63 | Cowling 13 pts / 4 ast, Hank 11 pts / 5 reb / 3 ast | Dale 21 pts / 15 reb, Hall 15 pts / 6 reb, Mikesell 13 pts |
Series Takeouts
Average score: Whai 83.3 - Pouākai 79.3
Games decided by single digits: 3/3
Each team won their road games and lost at home
Final score: Pouākai 77 - Whai 85
Quarter scores: POU 17-21-12-17, WHA 19-23-24-20
The opener set the tone for how punishing Whai’s front court could be in the 2025 season.
Hannah Hank was unstoppable, piling up 31 points, a personal season high, as she attacked mismatches, ran the floor and lived at the rim.
Laina Snyder added 12 points and 5 assists, operating as the connector at the four.
Jess McDowell-White chipped in 13 points and 6 assists, keeping the Whai organised and picking apart help defence.
The Pouākai actually started brightly behind Marena Whittle (16 pts) and Morgan Yaeger (15 pts), but foul trouble and Whai’s physicality inside slowly shifted the game. The second quarter saw Whai tighten the screws defensively, pushing the lead out before a decisive 24–12 third period effectively broke the contest open.
Game 1 Storylines:
Whai dominated the paint and the free-throw line, repeatedly getting downhill and punishing rotations.
Pouākai’s offense stalled whenever Whittle and Yaeger were forced to the bench or pushed into tough, late-clock looks.
Whai showed early that they were happy to live with Pouākai jumpers if it meant protecting the lane.
Final score: Pouākai 93 - Whai 102
Quarter scores: POU 22-26-18-27, WHA 30-22-22-28
The second meeting was pure fireworks. Both teams cracked 90, and the game produced a couple of the standout individual lines of the entire Tauihi season.
The Whai exploded out of the blocks, dropping 30 in the first quarter as Hannah Hank again set the early tone. Pouākai countered with a huge lift from Abi Fogg, whose 8-point burst in the second period dragged the hosts back within a possession. By halftime the margin was a single bucket.
The second half turned into the Laina Snyder & Jess McDowell-White show:
Snyder finished with a monstrous 30 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists, scoring at all three levels and punishing any switch.
McDowell-White orchestrated everything, posting 23 points and 12 assists and drilling one of the Whai shots of the season – a buzzer-beating three to end the third and push Whai up eight.
Hank added 16 points as the third member of the Whai three-headed monster.
Pouākai guards were outstanding in defeat:
Yaeger poured in 25 points and 6 assists, repeatedly snaking pick-and-rolls and finishing in traffic.
Whittle went toe-to-toe with Snyder for long stretches, ending with 24 points and 12 boards.
Fogg rounded out a balanced attack with 14 as Whittaker chipped in with 12 on 4-5 shooting.
Despite the production, Pouākai could never quite get enough stops. Whai’s spacing and ball movement created a steady diet of quality looks, and every time the hosts got within touching distance, Snyder or McDowell-White had an answer.
Game 2 Storylines:
Whai showed their offensive ceiling, hitting a season high with triple figures on the road and getting 69 combined points from Snyder, McDowell-White and Hank.
Pouākai’s shot-making kept them in it, but defensive lapses at the end of quarters, especially the two buzzer-beater threes, proved costly.
The 2-0 series lead gave Whai a real mental edge, confirming their ability to win on the road as they made the Cowles Cauldron look a little less fearsome.
Final score: Whai 63 - Pouākai 68
Quarter scores: WHA 21-15-16-11, POU 18-14-25-11
By the time the third meeting rolled around, Pouākai were under pressure. Whai had banked the head-to-head tiebreaker and looked like the more settled unit and the Pouākai were without key players as starters Whittle and Fogg were out of action. On the road in Tauranga, Pouākai finally flipped the script with a win built on defence and the glass, but that coincided with a key Whai cog going down.
The Whai again started the better, riding Snyder and Hank to a 21–18 first-quarter lead and stretching it to four at the half. But the tone of the game was very different to the first two clashes after Laina Snyder went down with injury:
The pace was slower, with transition opportunities limited.
Pouākai were far more disciplined in help, sending size at Hank on her catches and living with contested jumpers.
Everything changed in the third. Pouākai ripped off a 25–16 stanza to seize control, fuelled by a massive performance from McKenna Dale:
Dale was everywhere, finishing with 21 points and 15 rebounds, cleaning up the defensive glass and crashing for put-backs.
Bree Hall added 15 points and 6 boards, hitting big shots any time Whai threatened a run.
Taylor Mikesell (13 pts) gave them another perimeter scoring punch and a constant off-ball threat.
Statistically, it was the ugliest shooting night of the series:
Whai finished just 26-of-64 from the field and 7-of-37 from three, unable to punish sagging help.
Pouākai weren’t much better from deep, but their 16-of-32 clip inside the arc and +rebounds advantage gave them enough margin for error.
Whai still had chances late. Mikayla Cowling (13 pts, 4 ast) and Hank (11 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast) engineered one final push, and Sophia Locandro’s 10 points off the bench kept the scoreboard ticking. But Pouākai closed with composure, leaning on Dale and Hall to ice it at the line and in the half-court.
Game 3 Storylines:
Pouākai finally won the defensive battle, holding Whai to a season-low 63 points in the match-up and forcing them into heavy perimeter volume at low efficiency.
Dale’s emergence as a two-way force changed the geometry of the series, giving Pouākai another answer to Hank on the interior, which was much less fearsome sans-Snyder after she was ruled out of the game.
The road win proved Pouākai could execute a slower, more physical game plan against Whai over 40 minutes, even if at full strength their preference is to run.
Front-court wars could be deciders
Hank, Snyder and Dale, Fogg and Whittaker have been at the heart of all three clashes. When Whai’s duo controlled the paint (Games 1 and 2), they won. When Pouākai matched and then bettered that physicality (Game 3), they broke through.
Guard play swings momentum
McDowell-White vs Yaeger has been a fascinating subplot - one pushing pace and precision, the other attacking and scoring in bursts. Their best nights have aligned with their team’s best runs and this will be one heck of an arm wrestle.
Every game has been in the margins
All three contests were single-digit decisions, with key shots at quarter time and late in fourths acting as mini-pivot points. There’s been no blowout to hide behind; each side knows they’re one or two possessions from flipping any result.
Adjustments matter
Whai’s early dominance came from exploiting mismatches and running; Pouākai’s breakthrough came from slowing tempo, tightening help rules and trusting their depth. Whoever makes the next tweak, a change in match-ups, coverage or rotation, may very well own the Grand Final.
