Charmian Purcell and Noni Wharemate, part of the Tall Ferns team to the Beijing Olympics last year, combined to score 40 points as the Breeze defeated the Waikato Cougars 67-45 in the title game .
Purcell scored a game-high 26 points, while Wharemate added 14 for Harbour, who also included former Tall Fern Karlene Kingi.
Harbour jumped on the all-high school Cougars squad from the opening tip, up by 14 points, 23-9, after a quarter and pushed the lead out to 24 points by halftime.
Just as important for the Breeze was the effort at the defensive end, holding the Cougars to just 21 points in the first half and keeping top scorers Kyler Parai and Letava Whippy under double-digits for the game.
"The key was the defensive intensity and allowing them to only take one shot," Harbour coach Brett Goebel said. "If they don't make those shots, then it makes it hard for them.
"And then turning those one shots into fast-breaks. We dropped quite a few points in the open court."
The Cougars, a mix of students from Church College and Hamilton's Fraser High, did give Harbour some angst in the third, closing within 12 points after an 18-7 period. Emerging Junior Tall Fern Moengaroa Subritzky top-scored with 14 points.
Earlier, the defending national champion Breeze got all they could handle from the Canterbury Wildcats in their semifinal on Saturday morning, winning 67-61, while the Cougars stunned the Wellington Swish with a 33-11 fourth quarter to win 84-72.
The inaugural Women's Basketball Championship features three tournaments, in North Harbour, Dunedin (July 23-25) and Wellington (August 20-22), to determine a national champion.
