In Round 7 of the Sky Broadband Rapid League ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens traversed its first double-header of the season and split the games with a win and a loss – the victory against Hoiho notable for a three-point shooting explosion.
Elsewhere Northern Kāhu strengthened its grip on the top of the table position and Mainland Pouākai beat Tauranga Whai for the first time in three attempts. Read on to get more in depth on those contests and everything else Rapid as Mike Lacey takes you through the Rapid Wrap for round 7.
BNZ Northern Kāhu v ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens
When top of the table meets the bottom placed team the likely result is a win for the top dogs and that’s how it panned out as BNZ Northern Kāhu beat ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens 41-29 at Eventfinda Stadium on Thursday night.
However, the victory wasn’t entirely straight forward with Jacinta Beckley keeping the Queens in the hunt until the closing minutes.
Bairstow, the competitions leading scorer, had 8 points at half-time but with Beckley up to 11 the Queens trailed by just six points (24-18) at the interval.
The scoring tailed off in the third before another flurry of points from Kāhu settled the outcome. A triple from Beckley had raised Queens hopes before 7 fourth quarter points from Azure Anderson and a bucket from the lively Lilly Rotunno carried the home team to a seventh successive win.
BNZ Northern Kāhu 41 – Steph Bairstow 12pts/3blocks, Azure Anderson 12pts, Lilly Rotunno 8pts, Eliana Tuaiti 7pts/3 steals
ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens 29 – Jacinta Beckley 16pts, Lauryn Hippolite 4pts, Keriana Hippolite 4pts
Haswell Timber Mainland Pouākai v Northern Group Tauranga Whai
The Northern Group Tauranga Whai suffered just its third loss of the season going down 34-27 against Haswell Timber Mainland Pouākai at Cowles Stadium, Christchurch on Friday night.
Tessa Morrison led the way for Pouākai with a season high 11 points on 5 from 6 shooting while Ash Strawbridge and Sharne Robati contributed 8 and 7 points respectively.
Jade Kirisome posted 15 points – the highest score by a Whai player this season – and Pahlyss Hokianga scored 9 but there was scant assistance from elsewhere for the visitors.
Kirisome led all scorers with nine points at half-time although 7 points from Morrison and half a dozen from Robati helped Pouākai to a 21-11 half-time lead.
Lauren Tewhata and Abby Cubillo scores late in the third gave Pouākai a commanding 31-19 three-quarter lead and it looked as if the Cantabrians would run away with the contest.
However with Hokianga making her second triple of the game and Kirisome adding to her haul the Whai were able to close within six points. Ultimately though that slow first half proved too costly for them.
Haswell Timber Mainland Pouākai 34 – Tessa Morrison 11pts, Ashlee Strawbridge 8pts, Sharne Robati 7pts, Vitolia Tuilave 5rebs
The Northern Group Tauranga Whai 27 – Jade Kirisome 15pts, Pahlyss Hokianga 9pts, Kaylee Smiler 1pt/5rebs
ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens v Southern Hoiho
ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens grabbed its first win of the season in the previous round at the expense of Southern Hoiho and pushed the repeat button at TSB Arena on Sunday for a massive 43-25 win.
Queens were in hot form from beyond the arc making a Rapid League best 9 from 13 at a heady 69% with guard Alana Paewai a perfect 3 from 3 from deep.
Paewai led all scorers with 12 points, the consistent Jacinta Beckley scored 10 and Aawatea Leach had 9 while Aliyah Dunn was the best for Hoiho with 6 points.
A Lauryn Hippolite triple was the major difference between the two sides as the Queens claimed an early 9-5 lead.
Queens then dominated the second frame with a 9-2 run – a deft assist from Keriana Hippolite for a Paewai make the highlight play.
A pair of Millie Simpson baskets gave the Hoiho an ideal start to the third quarter before Queens answered with treys from Grace Hunter, Paewai and Beckley to establish a game defining 29-15 lead with a quarter to play.
Paewai continued her shooting exhibition in the fourth as the Queens cruised to the win.
ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens 43 – Alana Paewai 12pts, Jacinta Beckley 10pts/6rebs, Awatea Leach 9pts, Grace Hunter 6pts
Southern Hoiho 25 – Aliyah Dunn 6pts, Abby Harris 5pts
Rapid Express
Former Tall Fern Jacinta Beckley has top scored for Tokomanawa Queens in 5 of the 6 games she has played this season averaging 11.5ppg. Her 14 points against Kāhu equaled the Queens single game record set by Eva Langton in 2023.
Another player dominating the scoring is Kāhu forward Steph Bairstow. With 83 points to her name the Australian looks set to become the first player to pass 100 points this season – she has led the Kāhu scoring in 5 games and made double digit contributions in six of her seven appearances.
Rapid Fire
You wouldn’t have guessed that the Queens had been struggling to score points and muster wins if you watched them take apart Southern Hoiho on Sunday. Not only did they equal the highest Rapid score of the season (43pts) but shot a blistering 69% from 3-point land making a Rapid best 9 threes!
Rapid Leading Scorers
83 Steph Bairstow (Kāhu)
69 Jacinta Beckley (Queens)
57 Eva Langton (Whai)
52 Ash Strawbridge (Pouākai)
48 Azure Anderson (Kāhu)
45 Sharne Robati (Pouākai)
41 Chelsea D’Angelo (Hoiho)
39 Tyler Mitchell (Hoiho)
39 Bailey Flavell (Kāhu)
38 Kaylee Smiler (Whai)
38 Tara Manumaleuga (Pouākai)
37 Sophie Rogers (Whai)
Rapid Leading Rebounders
34 Steph Bairstow (Kāhu)
30 Kaylee Smiler (Whai)
30 Jacinta Beckley (Queens)
29 Vitolia Tuilave (Pouākai)
28 Eva Langton (Whai)
26 Millie Simpson (Hoiho)
26 Emma Rogers (Whai)
23 Aliyah Dunn (Hoiho)
23 Azure Anderson (Kāhu)
21 McKenna Dale (Whai)
21 Chelsea D’Angelo (Hoiho)
20 Sharne Robati (Pouākai)
Sky Broadband Rapid League Standings
