photo credit: @juniorfilmsnz
The 2024 Sky Broadband Rapid League opened in sensational fashion with Southern Hoiho winning both games of their two game road trip in Round 1. The other winners were Northern Group Tauranga Whai as the two bottom placed teams in Rapid League ’23 made flying starts. Read about all the Rapid action below as Mike Lacey takes us through this weeks Rapid Wrap
ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens 24 Southern Hoiho 33
The opening game of the 2024 Sky Broadband Rapid League was played Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua where hosts ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens were defeated 29-24 by Southern Hoiho on Friday night.
Aliyah Dunn, playing against her former club, had the distinction of scoring the first points of the new season and with Tyler Mitchell - Hoiho’s leading scorer in Rapid action last year - adding points the visitors were out to a 13-9 lead.
Jacinta Beckley (12 points) and debutant Alana Paewai (7 points and 3 steals) trimmed the deficit but a pair of baskets from Abby Harris kept the Hoiho in the ascendancy.
Beckley gave the Queens their first lead of the game early in the fourth term and when an Awatea Leach triple cancelled out scores from Dunn (5 points and 7 rebounds) and Elise Gilbert, with a touch over two minutes to play, it looked as if the home side would go on to win the contest.
However it was Hoiho, and Chelsea D’Angelo in particular, that bossed the closing minutes. The Australian wing scored seven of Hoiho’s 10 unanswered points as they closed out an impressive victory to start the Rapid season.
The Northern Group Tauranga Whai 31 Haswell Timber Mainland Pouākai 14
Held to just 14 points defending Rapid champions Haswell Timber Mainland Pouākai came unstuck at Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre on Saturday as they were downed 31-14 by a youthful Northern Group Tauranga Whai.
The Whai demonstrated the way they intend to play this season, attempting 19 of their 29 field goal attempts from beyond the 3-point arc whilst making them at a good clip (36%),
The teenage Jones’ sisters Emma and Sophie impressed for the Whai. Having led Aquinas College to runners-up spot at the ‘A” Girl’s Secondary Schools National Championship earlier in the week they combined for 20 points on 7 from 15 shooting.
Eva Langton (6 points and 7 rebounds) was in good touch early on with a brace of threes as Whai moved out to a 13-2 lead. Ash Strawbridge, Tessa Morrison, Vitolia Tuilave and Sharne Robati (6 points) pulled Pouākai within five (15-10) early in the second half but they struggled to contain the Whai, who reeled off 11 unanswered points to claim an emphatic win.
BNZ Northern Kāhu 27 Southern Hoiho 32
Demonstrating that the win in Wellington was no fluke the Southern Hoiho continued on up to Auckland and took down BNZ Northern Kāhu 32-27 at Eventfinda Stadium on Sunday.
Chelsea D’Angelo led the Hoiho effort with 10 points, the Australian receiving good support from Tyler Mitchell (9 points) and Samara Gallaher (7 points). Stephanie Bairstow was the best for Kāhu with 10 points but whilst all seven of the home team players got on the scoresheet no others were able to tally more than 4 points.
A brace of D’Angelo triples opened the scoring ahead of a Krystal Leger-Walker make from beyond the arc. Bairstow pushed the hosts into the lead and when Chev Paalvast converted from inside the Kāhu half-time lead was 13-10.
Soon after the resumption Mary Goulding scored her first points in Kāhu colours before the Hoiho hit back strongly through Elise Gilbert and Gallaher to carry a narrow 22-21 lead into the final stanza.
Kāhu were outscored 7-1 early in the fourth quarter with Millie Simpson’s reverse layup putting Hoiho in a winning position. Gallaher then converted from the foul line and although the Hoiho sloppily turned over a couple of possessions they were able to chalk up their second road victory in three days to go top of the Rapid League Ladder.
Finally it was a pleasure to witness Mary Goulding step back on the pine following her well documented recovery from life threatening injuries. Pleasing to report Mary had 4 points, 5 rebounds and a couple of steals in almost 14 minutes of action.
Rapid Turnaround
Southern Hoiho only managed two Rapid League wins in the whole of the 2023 season. They have already matched that number in 2024 following back-to-back victories in Round 1.
Rapid Youth
In 2023 it was the form of Pahlyss Hokianga that was the talking point of the Rapid League. In the opening week of the 2024 season the buzz is around more teenage talent emanating from the Tauranga Whai as sisters Emma and Sophie Rogers caught the eye during a demolition of the Mainland Pouākai. With Hokianga back on court in Round 2 don’t expect the exuberance of youth to diminish in the slightest.
Rapid Fire
Hoiho struggled for points last season with 33 the most they accumulated in a single game. They equaled that output against Queens and were just one-point shy in Auckland – one can't imagine it will be long before the 33-points mark is eclipsed for the vastly improved squad.
In contrast, the Pouākai were a free scoring outfit in 2024 with 27 points their lowest score in a single game. They were 13 points light of that mark on Saturday against the Whai and will need to improve markedly for the Round 2 trip to Dunedin if they are to deny Hoiho a third straight win.
