HOOPS ZINE 03

THE HOME FOR ALL THINGS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

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TAUIHI ROUND THREE WRAPPED

HALIEGH REINOEHL

Round 3 of Tauihi was full of even more upsets and surprises across both the Tauihi and Rapid Leagues.

A well known face in the Tauihi League - but we asked a few questions about what drives her off the court.

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YOUNG GUNS

YOUNG GUNS CONT.

The Rogers trio are making their mark and taking their opportunities.

Tall Ferns teammates, Pahlyss Hokianga and Keriana Hippolite are leading the way.

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BREE HALL

THE LACEY LOWDOWN

Newcomer Bree Hall and why its so exciting to see her in Aotearoa

Mike Lacey joins us with the best of the stats and facts from the weeks games.

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KAHU MEDIA DAY 2025

INTERNATIONAL BALL

A fun look at some of the 2025 BNZ Kāhu team during their recent Media Day Photoshoot.

CONTRIBUTORS

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Tauihi Round 3

Upsets, Stat-Stuffers & New Leaders

Tauranga Whai 85 Mainland Pouākai 77 Friday night kicked things off with the Pouākai vs Whai in Christchurch. Pouākai Head Coach Alex Stojkovic looked to get the win over his previous team, but the Whai had other plans. The defending champs showed grit and hustle, and stormed ahead 85-77.

Hannah Hank solidified her position on the MVP ladder with 31 points and 10 rebounds, while Laina Snyder checked every part of the stat sheet with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks. Jessica McDowell-White and Emme Shearer posted also solid numbers to pull the Whai through.

For the home team, Marena Whittle led the way again with 16 points and 7 rebounds, and Morgan Yaegar had 15 points, but the Whai did enough to hold them off, and come away with the win.

Tokomanawa Queens 73 Southern Hoiho 80 Coming into Saturday afternoon, the Tokomanawa Queens were undefeated, but the Hoiho snatched that title away with an upset win 80-73 in Ōtepoti. In a back and forth battle, Hoiho got buzzed by the electric crowd in Edgar Centre, and held off a strong Queens side.

Paige Bradley came up big with 20 points, including five threes, and 7 assists, and her energy was just infectious. Aussie Claire Jacobs stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. The Dunedin crowd was electric after this performance. Queen Penina Davidson did what she could with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Jihyun Park performed efficiently as per usual, with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

Tauranga Whai 85 BNZ Kāhu 63 Whai came into the second leg of their double-header with a mission to top the table, and it was clear in the way they played, winning 85-63 vs the BNZ Kāhu. While it was tough to watch our girls go down, we commend the Whai and the way they performed this weekend. Laina Snyder came up HUGE again, with 19 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists, alongside a solid-as-always Hannah Hank with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

For us, Aliyah Matharu had 16 points and 4 rebounds, and Kāhu OG Tahlia Tupaea had her best game so far, with 15 points and 4 assists. Lastly, veteran Lauren Mansfield had a 10 point and 10 rebound double-double.

Rapid League Round 3 Wrapped While the Pouākai couldn’t get the sweep on the night, they had a near perfect performance vs the Whai in a 53-28 win. Emma Rogers - current Rapid MVP leader - recorded a Rapid ‘Triple Five’ with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists (The Rapid version of a triple double). Tall Fern captain Esra McGoldrick also added 16 points and locked down defensively. 15-year-old superstar Shamar Broughton led the way for the Whai with 10 points, while Graceyn Parahi had 6 points.

Queens snuck away with a win against the Hoiho 30-28. They were led by Tall Fern Pahlyss Hokianga who had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals, complimented by long-time veteran Josie Trousdell who had 8 points and 6 rebounds. The Hoiho were fearlessly led by Lil Dart, who had 12 of their 28 points.

The Tauranga Whai got a slim win over the Kāhu 36-31, led by their young Aussie import Sophia Locandro who had 10 points and 4 rebounds. Jade Kirisome, who consistently performs in Rapid, had 10 points as well.

For us at Kāhu, local gal Azure Anderson had 11 points and 3 rebounds, followed by workhorse Mary MortonJones who had 9.

That’s all for Round 3 of both Rapid and Tauihi. The competition is so close already, and we are only just getting started! What an absolute treat.

Haliegh Reinoehl IF ANYBODY EMBODIES THE SPIRIT OF ‘GIRL BOSS’, IT’S OUR VERY OWN HALIEGH REINOEHL. SHE’S NOT JUST BEEN AN IMPACT ON THE COURT DROPPING A CAREER HIGH 31 POINTS IN ROUND 1, BUT SHE’S AN OFF-COURT INSPIRATION.

What’s she doing off-court, you ask? She’s running a business. Haliegh is the founder of ‘LiveFive Online’, a web design and software company she started three years ago. It’s been three years of running the business, and she has grown a small team of developers, and has a business partner who manages the SEO section of the company.

LiveFive online does websites, web apps, logos and graphic design products - if you’re in need of any of those, you know where to go!

The business got its name because that’s what her college PG used to call her - ‘Live Five’ - because of being #5, and how energetic she was. She may be a businesswoman on this side, but it’s still got that hooper touch.

Amazingly, Haliegh has been running this business with US and international clients, while playing professional basketball around the world, including Germany, Switzerland, Australia and of course, New Zealand. To make matters more impressive, she is completely self-taught. During her Germany season, she taught herself web-design, and learnt enough to start a business and get some developers on board.

How does she fit it all in one day? Haliegh takes her meetings and does her work in the morning, the New Zealand time difference playing into her favour to work with her US team. This leaves the afternoon for her to work out and have team practice. Haliegh loves what she does, and loves both of her jobs - I don’t think she can imagine herself without either one of them. When professional basketball is all said and done, she hopes to continue running the business, and aims to take on larger projects.

She is living proof you don’t have to choose between passions. You can build both, and Haliegh is paving a way for young wahine to look up to. She is proof of what girl-bossing life looks like.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT

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The Rogers Trio

It’s only right to start with the Rogers girls: Briarley from the Queens, Emma from the Pouākai and Sophie from the Whai. Emma and Sophie are sisters, with Briarley being their cousin. There is a 60% chance that there is a trophy at their family Christmas.

Emma, like aforementioned, is leading MVP rankings for Rapid, and is playing serious minutes as the backup PG for Morgan Yaegar in Tauihi. Coming into Round 3, she was 4th in assists in Tauihi, showing court vision and maturity well beyond her years. Coach Alex Stojkovic thinks she deserves to be named in the Tall Fern squad heading to World Cup Qualifiers next year and at the moment, it’s tough to argue.

Sophie Rogers has cemented herself in the Rapid League, averaging 9 points and 2.5 rebounds - impressive numbers. Sophie is full of energy and hustle, with one heck of a 3pt shot on her. She is a non-stop worker, and has clearly been a solid go-to for Tane Bennett and the Whai coaching squad. I would not be surprised if we see more of her in Tauihi action soon.

Cousin Briarley Rogers is 100% from the field in Tauihi after some monster performances off the bench - she is literally 8 from 8 shots. How insane is that?!?!? My belief is she is the only player YET to miss a field goal. Her biggest performance so far is her 14 points off the bench vs the Pouākai. Last year, she was an emergency replacement player, and this year, she signed fulltime. That is one testament to her hard work, improving ability, and the bright future the Queens identified in this superstar.

YOUNG GUNS

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HOKIANGA & HIPPOLITE B rley ria Ro ger ’s

From U17 World Cup squad teammates to young Tall Ferns teammates, Pahlyss Hokianga and Keriana Hippolite for the Tokomanawa Queens are ones to watch.

Pahlyss Hokianga was the second youngest to ever debut for the Tall Ferns at just 16 years old, and a year later, she was being trusted by Coach Nat as starting PG for their Trans Tasman and Asia Cup campaigns.

Keriana debuted for the Ferns earlier this year at just 18, and has been electric for the Queens in Rapid and Tauihi.

She shot the lights out to score 18 points in Rapid, and you can see her confidence continuing to develop since then. Both of these athletes have big futures ahead - keep an eye out.

Historic silver medalists to rapid rivals Ava Jones and Shamar Broughton were both born in 2009, and they’re already shining in Rapid League - hope you don’t feel too old now. The pair were starters for New Zealand’s U16 squad at the Asia Cup where they claimed silver - our country’s best-ever finish at the level for the wahine.

Friday night saw Shamar top score for Whai’s rapid squad, and Ava earned her first Tauihi minutes. How good!

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BREE HALL

Welcome to Aotearoa Pouākai’s final import arrived last week - and she’s a big name.

Bree Hall arrives straight out of the WNBA playoffs where she suited up for the Indiana Fever.

Yes, that’s right. She was a teammate of Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell, Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham… and you get what I’m saying.

Bree’s WNBA ride wasn’t easy.

After she was drafted 20th by the Fever, they then waived her in May. Following that, she faced more waivers and hardship contracts, but persisted enough to find her way back to the Fever, and with them all the way through to WNBA semi-finals.

Before the W, Bree spent 4 years at South Carolina, playing 147 games, which is the most out of any 4-year-player in the programme’s history. She won two NCAA March Madness chips with this team in 2022 and 2024. The latter was a historic year - the Gamecocks going 38-0 on the season. For her Junior and Senior years, Bree shot 38% from three (if you’re not familiar with basketball statistics entirely, this is an excellent percentage to shoot over a season).

If you don’t follow college basketball, just know that South Carolina has risen to be one of the best women’s college basketball programmes ever.

Despite being 22 years old, she brings a lot of experience and knowledge that the Pouākai will look to learn from.

On the flip side, the experienced veterans of the Pouākai squad can look to be a facilitating hand as her journey of professional basketball continues to develop.

In her Pouākai debut, Bree looked extremely solid with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists and some lockdown defence - all while battling jet lag.

It’s no doubt Coach Alex is stoked to have Bree on board, and we can’t wait to see what she can do.

BREE HALL

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The Lacey Lowdown Stats & Milestones BNZ Kāhu Haliegh Reinoehl needs 6 points to reach 250 career points. In Rapid, Azure Anderson scored 11 points carrying her to 130 Rapid points in 24 games.

Whai Laina Snyder pulled down a season high 14 rebounds against the Kāhu and reached 250 career rebounds in the process – the 3rd player to reach this milestone.

Hannah Hank scored 31 points v the Pouākai – the third player after Haliegh Reinoehl and Marena Whittle to score 30 points or more this season.

Queens Penina Davidson (22pts ; 10rebs) posted a third consecutive double-double.

With 6 rebounds Lou Brown passed 200 career rebounds – the 7th player to reach the mark and the second Queen after Stella Beck. In Rapid, Pahlyss Hokianga scored 9 pts and moved to 141 Rapid League career points, to become the League’s all-time leading scorer.

Pouākai Esra McGoldrick will play her 40th Tauihi game against Tauranga Whai, equalling the Tauihi all-time appearance record held by Krystal Leger-Walker. Emma Rogers is the Rapid League’s leading scorer in 2025 with 53 points at 13.3ppg.

Esra McGoldrick (271 rebounds) and Penina Davidson (270 rebounds) are neck and neck at the top of the Tauihi all-time rebounding list.

Hoiho Paige Bradley needs 6 assists to equal Krystal Leger-Walker’s Tauihi career record of 195 assists. Zoe Richards need 5 rebounds to become only the 4 th player to grab 250 career rebounds. In Rapid, Lil Dart scored 12 points to equal the most points in a Rapid game by a Hoiho player.

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Kahu Media Day 2025

International Ball Overseas basketball is alive and well as the WNBA has wrapped up its season. After a whirlwind few months, the 2025 WNBA Finals concluded over the weekend with the Las Vegas Aces winning their third WNBA championship. There’s no question that a dynasty is in the making in Vegas and their dominance was on display as they swept the Phoenix Mercury for a clean sheet in the finals series.

As impressive as the team performances were, there's an important name to remember: A’ja Wilson. The star forward was a hero for the Aces once again, averaging 28.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and two blocks in the finals series. Wilson is no stranger to winning and big moments; her accolades include being the first player to win the regular season MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Finals MVP in the same season, just to name a few.

Wilson is cementing her name as one of the top WNBA players of all time and her Finals performance has only furthered that case.

As Becky Hammon and the Aces look to build on history, it’s appropriate to acknowledge that the Aces are the only franchise besides Houston with this record in the finals. Houston won the first four titles in WNBA history (1997-2000) and have no doubt set a foundation that the Aces aspire to contribute to. Keep an eye out for these strong wahine in offseason leagues such as Unrivaled and Euro League. More to the story is coming.

Contributors MAIA WILLIAMSON

LINDEN MOORE

MIKE LACEY

NZ CONTENT

OFF SHORE CORRESPONDENT

OFF SHORE CORRESPONDENT

LEAGUE STAT’S

NZ CONTENT

Not only can Maia play, coach and commentate basketball - she can also scribe. We are very grateful to have a fully fledged journo on our team and you can look forward to many more insightful articles and features over the months ahead.

Aotearoa really is on the edge of the earth and Linden is going to try and make sure we keep up with the play internationally and especially with what the former Tauihi players are up to now.

LEAGUE STAT’S There are people who know NZ basketball, and then there is Mike Lacey.

A basketball statistician extraordinaire, who offers us the stats and facts we never even knew we needed!