Queens Win High-Stakes Duel against Pouākai: Road Victory Shakes Up Playoff Picture

For their final road game and penultimate regular season game, the Tokomanawa Queens travel south to take on the Mainland Pouākai. This will be their third matchup of the season, with the previous two providing some tense and exciting basketball. While the Queens will be looking to use this game to build form and try new rotations before the finals, it is a different story for the Pouākai, who are playing for their season.

RAPID LEAGUE

Taking on the 2023 Rapid League champions on the road after losing the previous two matchups by one point, and with their season on the line, is the recipe for a tough matchup. The Queens stepped up to the challenge and won 42-27, highlighted by an emphatic 15-1 final quarter.

While these final games are vital for the Pouākai as they look to crack the final four, they are also important for seeding. So much so that the Queens decided, for the first time, to play starters Chrislyn Carr and Stella Beck in the Rapid League.

This decision immediately paid off as Carr scored nine of her 11 points in the first half, hitting three triples. Beck contributed in her traditional all-around fashion by pulling down a game-high eight rebounds to go along with six points.

Unfortunately, for the Pouākai, they couldn’t match the star power of the Queens. Lauryn Hippolite led the scoring with six, but turnovers cost the Pouākai dearly. Their 10 turnovers led to a 12-3 disadvantage in terms of points scored off them.

The loss puts extra pressure on the Pouākai for the Tauihi League game.

TAUIHI LEAGUE

With the added star power in the Rapid League, Eva Langton made her first start of the season for the Queens. The change didn’t affect their winning ways against the Pouākai this season. The 96-84 Queens win pushes them further up the standings while eliminating the Pouākai from playoff contention.

The game couldn’t have started any better for the Queens, transferring the strong end to the Rapid League into a fast first-quarter start. Courtesy of a 12-2 run in the middle of the quarter, the Queens were able to take an early lead of 24-16. Another similarity between the two games was the hot three-point shooting. Despite averaging just six makes a game, the Queens shot five for seven from behind the arc in the first quarter.

The game was at risk of blowing out at the start of the second period as the Queens were able to push their early lead of eight to 13 points. Fortunately for the Pouākai, a huge 10-0 burst pulled them to within three points. 

Tall Fern, Esra McGoldrick put the team on her back in the first half, scoring just two points less than her season average of 14. The Pouākai would be looking for star import Jasmine Dickey to catch fire in the second half. After lighting the Queens up for 28 in their last matchup, she had just six points on 25% shooting. 

While it wasn’t Dickey who started the second half off strong, the entire Pouākai starting five put in an early push to challenge the Queens’ lead. Their eight unanswered points to start the quarter tied the game up and prompted Queens’ coach, Tania Tupu, to take a quick timeout.

The team responded quickly and turned up the defence to allow just 10 points in the third quarter. This, combined with 26 points of their own, led to a 16-point lead heading into the final quarter, punctuated by a Steph Watts three-pointer. 

The final quarter saw much of the same as the Queens cruised to victory. Chrislyn Carr’s 27 points, followed closely by Stella Beck, who recorded a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

One of the keys Carr touched on at the end of the game was moving the ball and hitting shots. Their 19 assists were much higher than the season average of 13. Another key to the game was the Queens’ physical presence, leading to a 19-8 free throw advantage.

This win moves the Queens and the Kāhu equal on top of the table with 26 points. The top spot will most likely be up for grabs when they meet on Saturday in Porirua at 3:00 pm. Make sure to catch the last home game of the season between two teams with championship aspirations.

RAPID: Pouākai 27, Queens 42 ➡️ Full Stats
TAUIHI: Pouākai 84, Queens 96 ➡️ Full Stats