Queens far too good for Pouākai
The Tokomanawa Queens produced glimpses of their class when they comprehensively beat the Mainland Pouā kai 78-59 in their Tauihi women’s basketball competition game at Cowles Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday night.
With little separating the teams after 10 minutes of play, it was the Queens who soon found their range in the second period with a 24-10 run to break the contest open.
Jaime Nared proved dangerous all over the floor for the Queens and, in particular from beyond the arc where she dropped a number of big baskets, while Elin Gustavsson and Florencia Chagas also showed their class.
With captain Stella Beck filling the stat sheet, the Queens visibly built some much-needed confidence and started to show a level of play they will hope takes them all the way to the top four from here.
The Queens also applied defensive pressure on Pouā kai’s star player Trinity Baptiste in an attempt to reduce their scoring options.
Try as they might, the Pouā kai just couldn’t get going and may come out of the game with some concerns over the form of Tessa Boagni, Mary Goulding and Lauryn Hippolite, all of whom were kept quiet in this one.
With the margin ballooning to as much as 23 points, the Queens won the last quarter 17-15 to celebrate their fourth win of the season and their first victory over the Pouā kai.
The form of Nared will have pleased coach Tania Tupu, while Gustavsson’s double-double after a lean run will also have pleased the dual Olympian who returned to the coach’s seat after a bout of Covid.
Meanwhile, the Northern Kā hu registered yet another victory with an 88-64 win over the Mid-North Whai in Tauranga yesterday afternoon, improving their season record to 9-0.