BNZ Northern Kāhu
If you THINK the return of Tahlia Tupaea was music to the ears of Kāhu fans THEN it was full blown rock concert in the third quarter against the Southern Hoiho when Tupaea scored 11 straight points in less than 90 seconds, including three big triples. It pushed the Kāhu’s lead out to 18 and they never looked back.
ProBuild ITM Mainland Pouākai
If you THINK the Pouākai will look to dissect a few things from their 18-point loss to the Whai THEN they may not want to look at how little their bench gave them. While Sharne Robati played her role well, it was very thin beyond that. Expect a big lift this week against the Hoiho.
Southern Hoiho
If you THINK the Hoiho will be looking for some improvements after losses to the Queens and Kāhu THEN it will likely start and end with their shooting. Despite being more than competitive against last year’s two grand finalists, the Hoiho missed way too many open shots. Expect a sharp improvement this Saturday night against the Pouākai.
The Northern Group Tauranga Whai
If you THINK the Whai were bummed out about Mikayla Cowling’s foot injury THEN the last thing they wanted was to see Australian Morgan Yaeger leave the court with a broken wrist just two minutes into her debut. Yaeger is expected to be in a cast for 4-6 weeks, not to mention the time needed to then build up her strength, with the Whai announcing young Kiwi star Pahlyss Hokianga will step into the starting line-up in Yaeger’s place.
ANZCO Tokomanawa Queens
If you THINK a pre-season trip to China was all fun and games for the Queens THEN the smiles were gone two hours before their opening Tauihi game when Florencia Chagas was ruled out with a travel bug, and as many as four other players were far from full strength with the same illness. On a positive note, the Queens got a win over the Hoiho and all the sickies are expected to be 100% healthy for Round 2.
