Pouākai reload around returning core as another championship push looks to take shape
Head Coach: Alex Stojkovic (2nd year, 8-6)
Home Venue: Parakiore Recreation & Sport Centre
2025 Finish: 7-5 regular-season, 1-1 post-season Grand Finalists
Key Returnee: McKenna Dale
Key Signing: Mikayla Pivec
Player to Watch: Morgan Yaeger
The Pouākai came within one win of a championship in 2025.
In response they have looked to retool rather reload.
The franchise has retained the core of the group that reached the Grand Final, added significant international experience around it, while continuing to invest in some of New Zealand's most promising young players.
The result is one of the deepest rosters in the competition.
Pouākai led Tauihi in scoring last season at 87.4 points per game and also topped the league in rebounding margin and blocked shots. They ranked second in three-point percentage and first in made threes, reflecting a team comfortable playing with pace and stretching the floor.
The biggest issue needing remedy was at the other end.
Mainland conceded 84.2 points per game, ranking fourth defensively, while their turnover margin was the worst in the competition.
The ability to score was never really the question. Controlling games was.
That is where the 2026 additions come into play.
Mikayla Pivec brings elite creation, rebounding and decision-making from the guard position. Sarah Mortensen adds scoring and physicality to the frontcourt. Mikayla Vaughn provides genuine size and defensive pedigree in the middle, while Sari Mowbray adds another perimeter shooting option.
Around them remains a core that already knows what a Tauihi post-season run looks like.
Morgan Yaeger, McKenna Dale and Esra McGoldrick are back.
And this time, the Pouākai look even deeper.
New arrivals from the 2025 Tauihi roster in bold.
Mikayla Pivec
Mikayla Vaughn
Bella Kraenzlin
Eva Jeffries
Maddy Timms
Ruby Cutbush
Ava Jones
Sari Mowbray
Esra McGoldrick
Rebekah Frisby-Smith
Maiyah Lavea-Martin
Emilia Ainley
Morgan Yaeger
Renae Fualau-Searle
Sarah Mortensen
McKenna Dale
The Pouākai were the competition's most productive offensive team in 2025.
Marena Whittle led Tauihi in scoring at 19.6 points per game, while Taylor Mikesell averaged 13.9, Dale 12.4, Yaeger 12.3 and McGoldrick 11.3.
Whittle also averaged 8.5 rebounds per game, fifth in the league, while Dale contributed 7.3 and McGoldrick 6.1.
Dale was the team's leading facilitator at 4.1 assists per game, with Yaeger close behind at 3.8.
The frontcourt also provided one of the competition's best defensive deterrents, with McGoldrick leading Tauihi at 1.7 blocks per game to set the tone in the paint.
| Team Stat | 2025 Pouākai | League Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring offence | 87.4 ppg | 1st |
| Scoring defence | 84.2 ppg allowed | 4th |
| Scoring margin | +3.21 | 3rd |
| Field goal percentage | 42% | 3rd |
| FG% defence | 43% | 3rd |
| 3-point percentage | 34% | 2nd |
| 3-pointers made | 10.79 per game | 1st |
| Free throw percentage | 74% | 3rd |
| Rebounding margin | +5.36 | 1st |
| Assists | 20.21 apg | 3rd |
| Steals | 8.29 spg | 3rd |
| Blocks | 4.57 bpg | 1st |
| Turnovers | 14.79 per game | 5th fewest |
| Turnover margin | -1.79 | 5th |
| Assist/turnover ratio | 1.37 | 4th |
The identity was clear.
The Pouākai pushed the pace, could score and rebound with anyone and protect the rim better than anyone.
But they also gave opponents too many opportunities through a high turnover rate, and were not consistently able to turn their offensive firepower into control of game flow.
The challenge entering the 2026 season is to keep the pace and post toughness while limiting the mistakes and turning that post presence into defensive control of games.
While there is significant roster change, a core of players closely associated with last year's run remain.
Dale, Yaeger and McGoldrick give Head Coach Alex Stojkovic three experienced pieces who already understand the system and are capable of impacting multiple phases of the gameplan on both ends of the court.
That will matter when so much new talent is being integrated.
The Pouākai are not starting from scratch.
They already have the framework for success, now it's about taking it one step further.
The 2026 Pouākai look built to maintain the offensive versatility of last season, but with even more players capable of initiating possessions.
Pivec looks to be a key to unlocking that offensive versatility..
The American guard was selected 25th overall in the 2020 WNBA Draft and arrives following an exceptional NBL1 West campaign with Mandurah Magic.
She averaged 17.9 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game, earning All-NBL1 West First Team honours. Her ability to rebound and immediately initiate offence should be particularly valuable for a team that wants to play with pace.
That type of all-round production allows Stojkovic to play Yaeger off the ball more often, enabling a more potent offensive attack when the ball swings to the second side and attacks defensive in the midst of rotations.
Yaeger herself arrives in outstanding form.
After averaging 12.3 points and 3.8 assists for Pouākai last season, she returned to Australia and produced 19.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game during an NBL1 North Finals campaign.
There are also multiple options who will work in the paint.
Mortensen averaged 19.6 points and 11.7 rebounds for East Perth during the NBL1 West season and gives the Pouākai another proven scorer in the frontcourt.
Vaughn stands at 191cm and gives Pouākai another genuine interior presence.
Then there is McGoldrick.
Few players provide the combination of shooting touch and tough rim protection she offers.
She averaged 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds last season while shooting 49 percent from the field and 40 percent from three. Her 17 blocks in just 10 games led Tauihi at 1.7 per contest, and her presence was missed in the title run as she stepped back from the game with the impending arrival of her first child.
That mix of interior and perimeter options gives the Pouākai enormous positional flexibility.
The biggest loss is Marena Whittle.
Whittle garnered All Star Five honours as she led the league in scoring at 19.6 points per game and also averaged 8.5 rebounds while shooting 43 percent from three.
The gravity of Taylor Mikesell is another major loss after averaging 13.9 points and leading Tauihi with 43 made three-pointers.
Bree Hall, Charlotte Whittaker, Emma Rogers and Abigail Fogg also leave sizeable roles behind.
Collectively, that represents a lot of scoring, size, shooting and depth.
When tasked with pulling together the 26 squad, the Pouākai have not tried to replace those players like-for-like.
They have instead changed the shape of the roster to change the way they can attack the game on both ends of the court.
Pivec is the headline signing.
Her combination of scoring, rebounding and playmaking gives the Pouākai another player capable of running the offence without limiting what Yaeger or Dale can do.
Mortensen adds another established professional in the frontcourt. She has played in Germany, Spain, Iceland, Poland, Greece and Australia and has represented Denmark internationally.
Rebekah Frisby-Smith adds another versatile forward after a five-year NCAA Division I career at William & Mary, where she made a school-record 131 appearances and helped the programme reach its first NCAA Tournament.
Mowbray provides shooting.
The New Zealand-eligible guard arrives with extensive NBL1 experience and was part of Manly Warringah's 2025 championship side.
Vaughn provides another big body in the middle, while Maddy Timms returns after missing 2025 with an ACL injury, giving Pouākai another versatile forward who already knows the club environment.
Dale remains one of the most complete players in Tauihi.
She averaged 12.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 2025 and enters the new season among the league's all-time leaders across scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks.
Yaeger gives Pouākai their established downhill guard.
Her 12.3 points and 3.8 assists per game last season only tell part of the story. Her ability to break the first line of defence creates opportunities for everyone around her, and the improvement shown during her Australian season suggests she returns with even greater confidence.
McGoldrick gives them continuity in the frontcourt after missing the latter stages of last season ahead of the birth of her first child.
She remains Tauihi's all-time leader in blocked shots and provides one of the competition's most difficult combinations of length, shooting and defensive presence.
Pivec could change the shape of the Pouākai offensive attack.
A guard capable of averaging nearly eight assists and 11 rebounds per game does not need to wait for someone else to initiate transition.
She can rebound, push the ball to initiate the next action herself, speeding up what was already one of the most potent transition attacks in the competition.
If her skillset translates quickly, the Mainlanders could become even harder to contain than the team that led the league in scoring a season ago.
Yaeger may be positioned to take another step.
She already owns a Tauihi championship and a 2024 Finals MVP award, reached another Grand Final last season and now returns from an Australian campaign in which she averaged close to 20 points per game.
The addition of Pivec should take some organisational pressure off her and give Yaeger more freedom to attack, creating opportunities for herself and others.
That could make her particularly dangerous in her third season in the league.
McGoldrick's presence changes the equation at both ends of the floor.
A forward who shoots 40 percent from three while leading the league in blocked shots is difficult to replace.
If she is healthy and available for a full campaign, Pouākai immediately regain one of the most versatile frontcourt players in Tauihi, lifting the ceiling for a franchise that was just short of an inaugural championship.
Pouākai again have one of the deepest development groups in the competition.
Emilia Ainley and Ava Jones are the most advanced of that group.
Ainley made three Tauihi appearances last season and was outstanding in Rapid League, averaging 5.4 points and 7.2 rebounds across five games. She shot 50 percent from the field and pulled down a Pouākai Rapid record 14 rebounds in one appearance.
She then emerged as one of New Zealand's standout players at the 2026 FIBA U17 World Cup, leading the team in both scoring at 11.9 points and rebounding at 10.3 per game.
Jones is another player rapidly moving up the pathway.
She averaged 5.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in Rapid League last season while shooting 36 percent from three.
She followed that by earning MVP honours at the 2026 U20 National Championships and shooting 41 percent from three at the U17 World Cup.
Both should push for Tauihi minutes, but the depth of the senior roster means Rapid League will remain an important environment for consistent playing time.
Behind them sits another group at the beginning of their basketball jounies.
Eva Jeffries has already been part of multiple national championship teams, while Maiyah Lavea-Martin enters the programme as another highly regarded young forward.
Ruby Cutbush returns after four Rapid League appearances last season.
Bella Kraenzlin is another 16-year-old guard entering a deep senior rotation.
And Renae Fualau-Searle becomes one of the youngest players on the roster. The 15-year-old guard was part of Canterbury’s U16 National Championship-winning team in 2026 and has been a leader for Avonside Girls’ High School, helping the school finish third at the South Island Championships and qualify for Nationals for the first time in programme history, all while still in Year 10. She will primarily find her early opportunities through Rapid League, where she can begin adjusting to the speed and physicality of senior basketball while training around an experienced Pouākai squad.
For Kraenzlin, Cutbush, Jeffries, Lavea-Martin and Fualau-Searle, Rapid League is less about immediate Tauihi production and more about establishing themselves in the professional environment, earning meaningful minutes and building towards larger roles in future seasons.
That development layer gives Pouākai considerable depth beyond the players expected to carry the main Tauihi rotation.
The scoring came relatively easy in the 2025 season.
Mainland led Tauihi at 87.4 points per game, made more threes than anyone and owned the best rebounding margin in the league.
Yet they couldn't turn that offensive prowess into a dominant season, finishing in a 3-way tie for second after the regular season with a 7-5 record.
This was mostly due to defensive numbers that were middle-of-the-pack and they had the competition's worst turnover margin.
That combination meant opponents were given too many extra opportunities to stay in games when the offense should have been creating separation.
Pivec will help address the ball-control issue.
Vaughn and Mortensen will bring the size.
McGoldrick returning for a full season provides cover in all areas of the gameplan.
If Pouākai can retain their offensive punch while becoming more disciplined with possession and more consistent defensively, the numbers suggest they have room to make another jump.
Last season ended just short of a title in the Grand Final where they lost on their home court.
That naturally lifts the expectations.
The Pouākai are no longer trying simply to establish themselves as a playoff team.
They have done that.
The returning core understands what is required, and the new arrivals add considerable professional and international experience.
Pivec, Mortensen and Vaughn deepen the senior group.
Yaeger enters in outstanding form.
Dale remains one of the league's best all-round players.
McGoldrick returns.
And behind them is a development group capable of contributing through both Tauihi and Rapid League.
For Pouākai, success means putting themselves back into the championship conversation and giving themselves another opportunity to finish the job they could not complete last December.
The 2025 Pouākai could score with anyone.
The 2026 version may be even more versatile.
Pivec adds a genuine all-round creator. Mortensen brings another proven frontcourt scorer. Vaughn adds size. Mowbray gives them shooting. Frisby-Smith brings NCAA experience.
And none of that requires Pouākai to start over.
Dale, Yaeger and McGoldrick remain at the centre of the group.
Behind them, players including Ainley, Jones, Jeffries, Kraenzlin, Cutbush, Lavea-Martin and Fualau-Searle ensure Pouākai are also investing heavily in what comes next.
There is youth behind the established core, experience around it and unfinished business from the Grand Final defeat.
The question is no longer whether they have enough talent to get deep into the post-season.
It is whether they can turn that talent into the control and consistency required to go one step further.
