Thrilling Season Opener: Tokomanawa Queens Host Southern Hoiho!
The 2023 GJ Gardner Homes Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa season tipped off with your Tokomanawa Queens hosting the Southern Hoiho at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua. It would be a challenging first game back for the defending champions, Queens. They could only take one point away from the contest, courtesy of the Sky Broadband Rapid League.
RAPID LEAGUE
In the first-ever Rapid League game, we saw the benches for both teams go head-to-head in a quick-fire 16-minute match, playing for one completion point, which would go towards their season total.
The Queens’ dominant 30-17 victory was highlighted by three critical performances by Te Araroa Sopoaga, Parris Mason and Letava Kenny. Sopoaga and Kenny combined for half of the Queens’ total while only missing one shot (7-8 FGM). Whereas Mason dropped a well-rounded seven points, five rebounds and two assists.
Unfortunately for the Hoiho, they could never get a foothold on the game, not taking the lead at any point. The main factor for this was the stifling Queens’ defence, as they were held to just 4-24 (16%) from the field, compared to 13-27 (48%) from the Queens.
The Rapid League is a world first, so more experimenting will continue throughout the season. Seeing some local talent show their skills on the big stage was good.
TAUIHI LEAGUE
As you would expect for the first game of a new season, both teams had their nerves to shake out in the initial moments of the game. And once both teams settled into their work, the electric Te Rauparaha Arena crowd was treated to a high-level, to-and-fro first half of basketball. The two sides were inseparable after the first 20 minutes, Hoiho leading 41-40.
The main storyline throughout the game was the Southerners’ domination of the offensive glass, particularly American Ashten Prechtel. A former teammate of our very own Maya Dodson, Prechtel was a force from the start to the finish of the game, ending with 25 points and 21 rebounds, the first 20-20 game in Tauihi League history. The Hoiho also had two other players record double-doubles, Zoe Richards (15 PTS, 12 REB) and Paige Bradley (12 PTS, 11 REB).
The Hoiho’s 22-4 offensive rebounding dominance allowed them 18 more shots than the Queens, resulting in a 26-6 lead in the second chance point statistic. Despite this considerable disparity, our Queens put up a strong fight. Led by the American backcourt of Chrislyn Carr and Steph Watts, scoring 25 points and 21 points, respectively. Carr was even on triple-double watch with eight rebounds and seven assists to accompany her 25 points.
The closest the Queens could get in the second half was five points, courtesy of a smooth Chrislyn Carr midrange. But the size and strength of Southern Hoiho proved too much as they moved to 1-0 on the season with an 82-75 victory.
Even though the team couldn’t get the result they were after, this didn’t stop the best fans in the league from getting fully behind their team and creating an atmosphere that is the envy of the rest of the league. If you want to get amongst it and have fun with the rest of the fantastic community, check out our website for tickets to the upcoming games.
Unfortunately, we will have to wait 11 more days until 23 July, when the Queens are back in action. But the contest is worth waiting for, as it is a 2022 grand final rematch against the Northern Kāhu on their home court. Catch the game live on Sky Sport at 2 pm.
RAPID: Queens 30, Hoiho 17 ➡️ Full Stats
TAUIHI: Queens 66, Hoiho 89 ➡️ Full Stats