Otago fell at the final hurdle in a spirited effort at the women's championship in Wellington on Saturday.
The Harbour Breeze, which won the last full New Zealand women's national league in 2006, eased to an 80-53 win over the Otago Goldrush in the final, a match in which scoring varied wildly.
The Goldrush qualified for the final after a gutsy 63-50 win over the Taranaki Trojans in the semifinal.
It was a a tough tournament for the Goldrush, with six games in three days.
Otago coach Brent Matahaere said the initial goal had been to make the final, and the side knew it would be tough to beat Harbour.
Harbour featured many experienced players, and had strength and height inside, with former Tall Ferns forward Charmian Purcell scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Harbour flew out at the start and was up 16-1 at one stage but the Goldrush came back and was ahead at the end of the first quarter.
Harbour hit four three-pointers early in the second quarter, and the game was all but gone for the Goldrush.
Suzie Bates tried to keep Otago in the game but the Harbour side was too clinical and pulled away to win.
Bates finished with 14 points and Elise Cassidy grabbed 13, while youngster Samara Gallaher bagged 11.
Matahaere said his young side had to be proud of the way it played.
In the semifinal, the Goldrush was always ahead of the Trojans, winning on the back of a dominant third quarter.
It beat the same team by one point in round-robin play.
Otago also beat Canterbury and Waikato in the round-robin but, in a foreshadowing of the final, fell 73-63 to North Harbour.
Matahaere said the side had "really grown" throughout the tournament.
Bates performed well and won selection in the tournament team.
Forward Poppy Saker-Norrish, daughter of former New Zealand basketballer John Saker, was impressive, while guard Janet Main got through plenty of work.
Championship matches were played at North Shore and Otago and finished with the finals in Wellington.
Matahaere said there had been nothing on the national scene in the past couple of years, and the championship was a welcome boost for the sport.
He hopes Dunedin will host the finals next year.
North Otago beat Otago 95-78 in a men's match in Dunedin on Saturday.
Ian Cathcart scored 36 points for North Otago, while Matt Gillan added 29.
Otago's top scorers were Steve Robinson with 18 and Sam Toomata with 15.
North Otago led 45-39 at half-time.
Southland was supposed to compete against the other two sides, but pulled out last week.
