Women’s games keenly contested at YMCA

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Sandee Porter showed her team how to do it at the YMCA in Game 1 on Monday night.

The captain scored 14 points and her crew's first 10 in Uawa Tuakana Teina's 58-29 win against Uawa Hard at the Tolaga Bay women's club basketball derby.

Porter's teammates Zenda Moeke (15 points) and Kawai Winiata (8) also shot the ball with great touch effortlessly. For their part, Uawa Hard rebounded as strongly as any team in the women's competition to date in Round 5. Chadene Mihaere was to the fore.

Porter showed poise to the right of the basket in scoring her team's first field goal, and dropped two jump-shots from the left side of the floor.

The game was played energetically and complemented by watchful officiating: trial referee Amoe Tarsau picked up Winiata for progress in the backcourt at 8-2 and Tarsau's partner Donna Nepia nabbed Mihaere for the same infraction in the second period.

Tori Hingston (Uawa Hard) showed flair, scoring the last field goal of the first period with a leaner, the first basket of the fourth quarter and also the first basket of the fourth quarter for Uawa Hard 23, Uawa Tuakana Teina 33.

Uawa Tuakana Teina's quickness and athleticism extended to Porter's making her second consecutive field goal for 45-26 in spectacular fashion, two metres wide of the basket left-side: an incredible shot on the run. Uawa Hard captain Tashena Waru acknowledged the rugged inclusiveness of Gisborne Basketball Association club ball: “That game was tough — a few members of my team said, ‘It's like playing rugby out there' — but we stuck at it.”

These are sentiments that many have shared in the last 60 years, since the move from the Army Hall.

Team 2022 captain Melissa Mackey-Huriwai has seen and done a lot in sport at home and abroad.

But the champion martial artist couldn't stay away from the YMCA.

“Having been overseas for the past couple of months, I'm still jet-lagged,” Mackey-Huriwai said.

“I haven't touched a basketball since the draft league last year.”

The skipper's return from Kuala Lumpur and the International Federation of Muaythai World Senior Championships helped get Team 2022 over the line against Matariki, 42-29, in Game 2.

Her teammate Jett Pohatu was also a big factor for Team 2022 at both ends — in the first three periods, solely through her defensive presence and rebounding. In the fourth quarter, she scored two baskets.

Pohatu set the defensive tone for the clash by blocking Paige Tamatea on a baseline drive left of the hoop, with Mackey sisters Melissa, Maiangi and Natalie supplying hustle. Alex Campbell-Ratapu and Shean Edwards' three-point shooting gave Matariki a 6-4 lead at quartertime. Team 2022 went 15-13 up at the break, and Matariki drew level, 23-all, down the home stretch.

Richelle Tarsau played with real urgency: her shot on the left baseline saw Matariki take the whip-hand back 8-6 shortly before the Team 2022 skipper gave the best assist of the night. Having cleared the defensive boards, she gave Amoe Wharehinga (13pts) — who led all scorers from both clubs — a wicked bounce-pass for 11-6.

Melissa's daughter Ishtar hit a 20-footer in Matariki's cause two plays later to close it to 13-11, but Team 2022 are hard to bottle up: Maiangi's bank-shot right side for 23-20 spoke to that.

In the fourth period, Maiangi drove left, stopped at Matariki's player-coach Dyani Johnson and popped a long jump-shot, her second consecutive field goal, for 29-23. Before and after that sequence, Pohatu scored: huge news for Team 2022, as she has the potential and stature to put up double-figures against any club.

While Team 2022 pulled away in the fourth period, Edwards proved — with three treys in her 11-point tally —that she can match the league's most aggressive and potent opposition for effectiveness.

Horouta Te Waka are a fiercely proud basketball club.

Ngāti Porou beat Te Waka 36-19 in Game 3 — though not for lack of effort on the part of Tamara Te Hau-Hedge or Ngarita Ehau-Taumanu. They led their team's scorers with five and four points against mighty opposition — Chiarn Waikawa (17pts), Maia Rickard (8) and Ngati Porou's legendary captain Bronya McMenamin (7) chief among them.

McMenamin said: “We had a lot of decent looks in the first half, but just couldn't sink many then — which made pulling it back in the second hard work. I think I speak for everyone when I say 8pm games are the most difficult to play.”

Waikawa served notice that she would hustle with an effort-play to save the ball in-court left side, to level the scores 2-2. On the next play, Te Hau-Hedge zoomed downcourt left-side, wheeled off Lordharna Puketapu for 4-2; five seconds later, she hit a jumpshot for 6-2.

Ngāti Porou took their first lead of the game at 8-2, on a drive coast-to-coast by McMenamin for 10-8. In the third period, Tiara Weir made the defensive play of the night, recovering with her team 14-12 down: she forced Ehau-Taumanu to miss a tough shot at the rim. Jayda Waititi-Leach hit the second of her two treys for Ngāti Porou, to see them 22-15 up at three-quartertime, having scored all 10 of their points in the third period.

Rickard got things moving in the fourth quarter by elevating in the key to score, for 24-15 but Materoa Poi gave perhaps the only assist on Monday to rival that of Melissa Mackey-Huriwai's dish to Amoe Wharehinga in Game 2: a slick pass left of the hoop to get Ehau-Taumanu past McMenamin to close it to 24-17.

GBA women's club basketball league, Round 5, Gisborne YMCA —

Uawa Tuakana Teina 52 (Zenda Moeke 15, Sandee Porter 14, Kawai Winiata 8) Uawa Hard 28 (Tori Hingston 10, Chayne Riki 8, Tashena Waru 7). Q1 Uawa Tuakana Teina 13-4, HT 20-15, Q3 33-21.

Matariki 29 (Shean Edwards 11, Alex Campbell-Ratapu 8, Ishtar Mackey-Huriwai 6) Team 2022 42 (Amoe Wharehinga 13, Maiangi Mackey 7, Reremoana Bartlett-Tamatea 6, Melissa Mackey-Huriwai 6). Q1 Matariki 6-4, HT Team 2022 15-13, Q3 23-23.

Horouta 19 (Tamara Te Hau-Hedge 5, Ngarita Ehau-Taumanu 4) Ngāti Porou 36 (Chiarn Waikawa 17, Maia Rickard 8, Bronya McMenamin 7). Q1 Horouta 6-5, HT Ngati Porou 12-9, Q3 22-15.

GBA men's premier grade club basketball league, Round 5, Gisborne YMCA —

Green Up 83 (Paddy Blackman 33, Weighn Wilson 11, Adam Nepe 7, Safin Tuwairua-Brown 6, Darius Waititi-Leach 6) Massive Marauders 56 (Luke Bradley 15, Adam Harford 12, Stefan Pishief 9, Simon Wilson 8). Q1 Green Up 20-6, HT 46-26, Q3 72-41.

SE Systems 48 (Carl Riini 15, Matt Kemp 11, Connor Mitchell 10, Wi Brown 7) Raiders 52 (Ethan Ngarangione-Pearson 18, Willie Brown 9, Luka Russell 9). Q1 Raiders 17-4, HT 27-23, Q3 39-33.