Talk about a statement performance.
The Southern Hoiho bounced back from two early losses to post their first win for the season in dominant fashion yesterday.
They crushed the Northern Kahu 96-69 in Auckland to get right back on track in the Tauihi league.
From the moment Claire Jacobs pulled up and made a jump shot after just 8sec, the Hoiho were never seriously troubled.
They quietly carved out a seven-point advantage after the first quarter and held the same buffer at halftime.
Then they really made their move.
Utterly dominant in the paint — they poured in 56 close-range points, double that of the Kahu, and won the rebounding battle 63-34 — and getting some nice input from the bench, the Hoiho stormed through the third quarter, out-scoring their opponents 24-8.
That allowed them the relative luxury of cruising home to post a morale-boosting victory.
Australian centre Jessie Edwards led the Hoiho with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, adding 15 rebounds — seven at the offensive end — to go with three assists and a couple of blocks.
Taylah Simmons had 22 points (8-of-12), seven rebounds and four assists, Jacobs finished with 16 points and five rebounds, and both Rebecca Pizzey (10 points and eight rebounds) and Lillian Dart (nine points and five rebounds) contributed nicely from the bench.
"We knew that we had to rebound this game. That’s been one of our weaknesses the past couple of games that we lost," Edwards told Sky Sport.
"I think the girls pulled together today and worked really, really hard. We just worked really cohesively as a team.
"It’s a good time for us. We’re a team full of talented players, and now that it’s finally starting to come together, our future is looking really bright."
Aliyah Matharu paced the Northern side with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Lauren Mansfield had a nice night with 10 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.
The Hoiho also dominated the Rapid League game, winning 44-28 on the back of Dart’s 12 points.
Next up for the Hoiho is a home game against the Tokomanawa Queens this Saturday.
The Queens moved to 2-0 with an 81-69 win over the Mainland Pouakai at the weekend.
Tauihi league
The scores
Southern Hoiho 96
Jessie Edwards 22, Taylah Simmons 20, Claire Jacobs 16
Northern Kāhu 69
Aliyah Matharu 18, Haliegh Reinoehl 16
Quarter scores: 29-22, 50-43, 74-51.
