The Goldrush wasted no time making its intentions clear in its first game as it powered to a big early lead before cruising to a 63-55 win over the Nelson Sparks.
It was 17-11 at the end of the first quarter and 28-19 at halftime. Nelson bounced back in the third to close the gap to seven, but the home side turned up the pressure again in the final quarter.
New citizen Casey Lockwood powered the Goldrush with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Daneka Wipiiti had a nice double-double with 10 points (5-of-5 shooting from the floor) and 11 rebounds.
Danielle Calnan showed her strength on the glass, hauling in 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end, and Jodi Brown chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.
The Sparks were a bit of a one-woman team, with Tall Fern Jelena Vucinic pouring in 32 points but taking no fewer than 31 shots to get there.
Former Otago player Kat Jones grabbed nine rebounds and Shannon Perrett was the next-best scorer on seven.
The Goldrush was then too good for the Hutt Valley Flyers, winning 74-55.
In a low-scoring game, the defending champion Harbour Breeze beat the New Zealand Force Academy 50-41.
But the Breeze slumped to a 75-62 loss to the Hutt Valley Flyers in a later championship game.
Nelson rebounded from its loss to the Goldrush with a 67-46 thumping of the New Zealand Force Academy.
In plate games, the Southland Pearls, with Steel netballer Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit grabbing 17 rebounds, beat the Taranaki Trojans 69-54, and the Waikato Wizards thumped the Palmerston North Storm 73-49.
The Wizards later beat the Canterbury Wildcats 69-43, and Palmerston North beat Southland 58-45.
Canterbury bounced back from its opening loss to beat Taranaki 77-47.
