The Southern Hoiho have had a dream run to start to Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa, beating the Northern Kahu 82-76 at the Edgar Centre in Dunedin on Saturday.
They have now beaten both finalists from last season after only winning one game last year.
Zoe Richards again proved she is a force to be reckoned.
She continued to show the improvements in her game, notching up another double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Ashten Prechtel recorded her second double-double, scoring 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Ahlise Hurst joined Richards as top-scorer on 19 points, banging in some big threes, and Paige Bradley and Samara Gallaher used their experience to control the tempo.
Kahu’s depth on the bench was limited with five players out, including Tall Ferns Krystal Leger-Walker and Penina Davidson.
It was the third quarter when the Hoiho inflicted the most damage, scoring 13 unanswered points.
Gallaher piled on points, and her side locked in on defence, pushing Kahu out wide.
Hurst nailed a three towards the end, Bradley secured a steal and finished it off, and Hurst weaved down the court to drain another three.
Kahu found themselves in foul trouble with starters Tahlia Tupaea, Akiene-Tera Reed and Ilmar’l Thomas on four fouls — Tauihi allows six fouls this season — and there was no denying they were quieter during the period.
It helped the home side push out to a 65-50 lead at the break.
Kahu came back in the fourth quarter, drawing the fouls and taking the points on offer at the free-throw line.
That was the main concern for the Hoiho, allowing Kahu to bank 35 points from the line.
But the home side held firm to secure the victory.
The Hoiho were the better side across the court but did not have it all their own way early in the game.
They were shaky in the first quarter, leaving some big gaps on defence that the Kahu exploited.
Thomas, a physical presence on court, had great vision, banging the ball across court to Reed who sat alone in the corner and drilled three points.
Kahu dominated the opening of the second period, going on an unanswered 11-goal run, leading 31-20.
Hurst put a stop to that when she stole the ball mid-air and banged it down to Richards to finish it off.
Bradley starred with her distribution, drawing defenders and dishing off to Prechtel and Richards.
Jennifer O’Connell made her first cameo of the season, stealing the ball, driving to the bucket to score, and picking up a foul. That levelled the scores 37-37 for the Hoiho to push on from.
Hoiho won the earlier Rapid League game against Kahu 33-20.
Tauihi Basketball
The scores
Southern Hoiho 82
Zoe Richards 19, Ahlise Hurst 19
Northern Kahu 75
Akiene-Tera Reed 27, Tahlia Tupaea 24
Quarter scores: 20-24, 37-37, 65-50.
