The Whai produced an immense second-half performance to claim back-to-back Tauihi titles with a 93-66 demolition of the Mainland Pouakai in Christchurch yesterday.
They became the first repeat champions in the short history of the revamped women’s league, while the Pouakai were left licking their wounds at Cowles Stadium as they saw their dream of an inaugural championship evaporate.
The Whai only qualified fourth into the playoffs, though that did not really tell the story as three teams had identical 7-5 records.
After stunning the top-seeded Tokomanawa Queens in the semifinals, the Whai knew they had the momentum and the roster to go all the way.
"I’m just so happy and so proud of this group," star Whai import Mikayla Cowling told Sky Sport.
"We stayed in, we stayed to the game plan, we stayed connected, and we just bought into what our coaches were saying all season."
It was, to use that term beloved of rugby players, a game of two halves.
The first was a grind, a low-scoring and rather messy affair in which both sides looked hesitant and inaccurate.
The Pouakai were the highest-scoring team in the league but they struggled to find their range all night.
A 32-31 lead to the Whai at halftime suggested this was going to be a final that went to the wire.
Instead, the northerners jumped to a double-digit lead on the back on a Laina Snyder steal and bucket, they held a 13-point buffer at the three-quarter mark, and they completely ran away with the game.
Cowling led all scorers with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting (4-of-8 from long range), Emme Shearer scored 16 points, Snyder had 14 points and a whopping 20 rebounds, and Jessica McDowell-White had 10 points and 12 assists.
Snyder said dominating the rebound battle was always a focus for the Whai.
"You can control that — you can control your efforts on the boards," Snyder said.
"We knew that whoever controlled the boards controlled the tempo, and I wanted to control the tempo."
Taylor Mikesell paced the Pouakai with 13 points, supported by Morgan Yaeger (11) and Bee Hall (10).
But Mainland star Marena Whittle, while she had 12 rebounds and five assists, had a shocking shooting night (2-of-19), and the Pouakai’s shooting mark of 30% was never going to get it done.
Tauihi final
The scores
Tauranga Whai 93
Mikayla Cowling 28, Emme Shearer 16
Mainland Pouākai 66
Taylor Mikesell 13, Morgan Yaeger 11
Quarter scores: Whai 19-13, 32-31, 62-49.
