St Mary's College teammates Jade Kirisome (left) and Tayla Dalton were reunited in the Tauranga Whai the last Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa season.
Suzanne McFadden for LockerRoom
Over the past six years, Jade Kirisome and Tayla Dalton have forged a virtually inseparable bond.
It all began with the Australian-born Kirisome looking after Dalton when the Kiwi basketballer left home for the first time and arrived at St Mary’s College of California during the Covid pandemic.
Kirisome, who has a Kiwi dad, visited Dalton every day while she served her fortnight in isolation. “I knew it was rough for her, so we’d have a little outside chat with social distancing,” Kirisome, 26, says.
“Over our years there, we got super close and became best friends. I love basketball for that.”
When Kirisome was unsure what to do at the end of her college career, Dalton suggested she try out for the new Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa league and put her in touch with New Zealand coaches she knew. Kirisome then spent the next three seasons with the Tauranga Whai – winning back-to-back championships for the past two years.
Last season, she was reunited with Dalton at the Whai – where they not only became teammates again but flatmates, sharing a house in Mount Maunganui with WNBA import Mikayla Cowling.
“We can’t get rid of each other,” Kirisome laughs. “We just bounce off each other. We’d start every day with a coffee and a walk around the beach. We were in heaven living in Tauranga.
“T’s the best flatmate. She loves cooking, so we’d do our grocery shopping and meals together because we eat quite similar. I was her sous chef, and I brought the good vibes, the good energy.”
Their connection was reflected on the court too.
“It’s just fun to be playing together again and living together. It was an awesome season for that reason,” Kirisome says.
And now Dalton and Kirisome are connected through the black singlet – joining forces for the Tall Ferns for the first time at the Fiba World Cup qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico this week.
Kirisome will likely make her debut for New Zealand in Wednesday morning’s opening game against European powerhouses Spain, and can’t wait for the opportunity to play the world No 1-ranked team, the USA, on Monday.
Dalton, 24, has already played 18 internationals with the Tall Ferns.
It was a tense 48 hours between Kirisome being told by head coach Nat Hurst she’d made the team, and then sharing the news with Dalton.
“Nat asked me not to say anything straight away because she was still making phone calls. I really wanted to call T – I knew she’d be in the side, because she’s just a great leader in the Tall Ferns group,” Kirisome says.
“Then she called me on FaceTime a couple of days later, and we just started smiling and giggling straight away. We didn’t have to say a word, just knowing we were going to be playing together again but on an international stage.”
Dalton, daughter of the late Silver Fern Tania Dalton, had struggled to contain her excitement when she heard Kirisome had made the Tall Ferns. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving,” she says. “She’s worked so hard over the years to get here and she’s earned her spot.
“On the court, Jade is relentless. You can always count on her to be the first to dive on the ball. She’s a knock-down shooter with a high basketball IQ. Off the court, she’s one of the greatest humans you’ll ever meet, with the kindest heart, a great sense of humour and an energy-giver.
“It’s a privilege every time you get to wear the black singlet, but to do it with one of your besties makes it all the sweeter.”
They could well have been arch-rivals. Kirisome rose through Australia’s age-group basketball system.
Her Samoan dad, Keith Kirisome, was born in Wellington, where he met Kirisome’s Australian mum, Nicole Kirisome, in their teenage years. They moved to Brisbane, where they’ve raised three kids.
Their eldest daughter, Déla Kirisome – who now lives in New York working for Australian designer Dion Lee – first drew her 5-year-old sister to basketball. “She’s eight years older than me, and I absolutely idolised her – I wanted to play every sport she did,” Kirisome says.
Their younger brother, Tane Kirisome – also living in the US playing college basketball in Missouri – held bragging rights over his sister after he made the Tall Blacks at just 17 in 2020.
“He was holding that over my head for a long time, but now we’re even,” Kirisome laughs. “Watching him do the haka I was like, ‘That’s so awesome, I’d love to be on that stage one day’.”
It was playing in the Tauihi league that pulled Kirisome closer to her Kiwi roots. “I’d always had the passport and really strong ties to New Zealand through my Dad’s family,” she says.
“When I came to the Whai, I was able to understand how the basketball system here works and meet more coaches. Then the opportunity to try out for the Tall Ferns presented itself.”
But a badly timed injury nearly derailed her dream of playing for New Zealand.
She rolled her ankle during the Tall Ferns camp in January, landing on another player’s foot. “I was so devastated, because I couldn’t finish the camp, it was so swollen and bruised,” she says.
“I thought, ‘Did all my chances just go away?’ But I worked with some great physios in Brisbane to get me back in time.”
Kirisome has already faced her fair share of career-jolting injuries. A nasty shoulder injury ended her junior season at St Mary’s. “It caused me a lot of grief through my college years, constantly dislocating. It’s hard to play when your mind’s on getting injured again,” she says. “But knock on wood, my shoulder is perfectly fine now.”
While Brisbane remains home, Kirisome also spends part of the year in Sydney, where she’s been playing NBL1 for the last two seasons, and where her partner lives. She’s playing for the Hills Hornets for a second season, but the pull to return to the Whai later this year is still strong.
Winning the Tauihi title again in 2025 was “really special” with a new-look team. The scene was set before the season began when coach Tane Bennett told his team to “throw out all the pressure”, Kirisome says.
“We really needed that. We had to find our own identity as a new group, and once we made the final, it was only excitement, not pressure to win,” she says. “We just played with joy.”
The 1.7m dynamic guard is one of three newcomers in a young Tall Ferns side for this qualifying tournament, along with cousins Emma and Briarley Rogers. She feels grateful to finally get the chance to match her brother and her best friend in the black singlet.
“There will be a lot of pride, knowing all the hard work, sacrifices and setbacks behind the scenes. Once I pull that jersey on, it’s going to feel so worth it,” she says.
With five games in seven days, finishing in the top four to secure a spot at the 16-nation World Cup in Germany this September will be a tough challenge.
“We’ve got a really tough draw with Team USA,” Kirisome says. “If you look at them on paper, it’s quite an intimidating roster. But honestly, everyone’s really pumped to play against such a high calibre of players like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers.
“We’re just going to give it a crack and do the best we can. Everyone’s embracing the opportunity.”
And Dalton sees playing the home side as a chance for redemption – she was in the Tall Ferns two years ago when they missed out on qualifying for the Paris Olympics, denied by Puerto Rico.
“I’ll be honest, it’s still a bit raw,” Dalton says. “That game against Puerto Rico, losing by two points on the buzzer – knowing that Olympic ticket was right there. But I think that’s why you play the game. With sport you can be on top of the world, but at the same time it can be brutal.”
This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.