Their rematch comes quickly, with the sides meeting on Saturday night at the Parakiore Recreation and Sports Centre in Christchurch. Each of the five teams will play 12 regular-season games across 10 rounds, before the top four qualify for the semi-finals, which will take place in the first week in December.
Pizzey’s return is a significant part of her side’s push to go all the way. Standing 191cm tall, she played 12 games in the 2025 season and averaged 13.5 points and 7.7 rebounds. She scored a season-high 20 points against the Northern Kāhu and also pulled down a season-best 13 rebounds against the same opponents in a different game.
Her basketball story began in Melbourne, where she was born and raised. Her mother was born in New Zealand and moved to Australia as an 18-year-old. Pizzey’s brother played the game and at the age of 8, she decided she wanted to follow him on to the court. As a youngster, she loved the team aspect and as she got older, the tactics and small details of the sport drove her on.
Pizzey has played seven seasons in the Australian WNBL, winning a championship with the Southside Flyers in 2020. She represented Australia at junior level, including at the 2016 Fiba Under-17 World Championship where Australia won gold.
But prior to her arrival to the Tauihi league last year, the dual national debuted for the Tall Ferns at the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup, where she averaged 8.8 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds. Her 12-point, 13-rebound double-double against Indonesia was an early sign she could translate her game to the international level.
“It’s been very cool being able to come back to New Zealand,” Pizzey says.
“We travelled here a lot when I was younger, but I haven’t had the opportunity to do that much since I’ve been older, so I really enjoy coming back up here and seeing my family.”
Southern Hoiho forward Rebecca Pizzey returns after last season’s heartbreak. Photo / Photosport
Away from basketball, Pizzey works as a physiotherapist at Lilydale Physio & Sports Medicine in Melbourne. She gave the clinic early notice that she wanted to return to the Hoiho for a second season.
“I told my clinic pretty much this time last year,” Pizzey says.
“This is something I really wanted to do again. I can’t play basketball forever and I really enjoyed my time with them, so I gave work a fair bit of notice and they were super supportive.”
Pizzey returns with good recent form behind her. She played her sixth season for the Eltham Wildcats, averaging 13 points and 10.7 rebounds and was named NBL1 South Defensive Player of the Year.
Reconnecting with the Hoiho, Pizzey believes the league is benefiting from retaining strong New Zealand players and imports, while adding new talent each season.
“It’s super exciting that we have a really strong core of Kiwis and imports that have been here and have come back for a few years in a row,” she says.
“It’s great that the league continues to retain these players and then we always add in new additions on top of the core players to strengthen the league as well. I think it’s only getting bigger, and more people are hearing about it.”
The Hoiho have also worked to understand the identity of the region they represent. The team name refers to the hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, a taonga species that connects whānau, hapū and iwi of the region with the natural world. As part of their pre-season, the squad visited The Opera – the Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance – to learn more about the bird and spend time together away from the court.
“We went to do a little bit of research and education about the hoiho, which was really cool. It was a really good team-bonding trip,” Pizzey says.
Northern Kāhu
2025 regular season – fifth (did not proceed to the playoffs)
After a disappointing campaign last year, which saw only one win from 12 games, the Kāhu have brought in experience to try to turn things around. Tall Fern Tayla Dalton won a title with the Whai last year and is joined by fellow international Ella Fotu, who, with new Kāhu teammate Azure Anderson, claimed 3X3 bronze at the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Import Erin Bollman returns for a second season and there are rookies including Talya Brugler, Shanique Lucas and Olivia Williams, who made her Tall Ferns debut at last year’s Fiba Asia Cup. Brugler and Lucas bring proven scoring form from NBL1 in Australia. The Kāhu also have one of the most exciting youth groups in the competition, with Areta Kahura, Sienna Maurice, Katie Moors and Imani Rasmussen all coming off strong, recent New Zealand age-group campaigns.
Tauranga Whai
2025 regular season – fourth
Beat Mainland Pouākai in the grand final.
The defending champions will be looking to make it three in a row. Emme Shearer returns after being the top Kiwi scorer in last year’s competition and starring for the Tall Ferns in their recent pre-Olympic qualifying campaign in Mexico. Laina Snyder is back for a third campaign with the Whai after being part of 2025’s All Star Five line-up, having finished among the leaders in rebounding, steals and scoring. Rookies Patricia Brossmann, Nici Gilday and Carla Pitman add Australian and international league experience, while 2024 championship winner Eva Langton returns after spending 2025 with the Hoiho, although she’ll also be going for a third title having won one with the Queens in 2022.
Tokomanawa Queens
2025 regular season – first
Lost in the semi-finals to Tauranga Whai.
The arrival of Connecticut Sun guard Charlisse Leger-Walker is a major boost, with the youngest-ever Tall Fern joining the Queens during the WBNA off-season. Older sister Krystal Leger-Walker is alongside her after being with the Kāhu for the last four years. Stella Beck returns for a fifth season to anchor the squad. A two-time Tauihi Defensive Player of the Year, she’s their all-time leader in appearances, points, assists, steals and blocks. Penina Davidson is back for a second season, having made the All Star Five last year. There is further WNBA experience via both Taylor Mikesell, who has joined from the Pouākai, and rookie Hailey Van Lith, who claimed an Olympic 3X3 bronze medal with the USA in 2024.
Mainland Pouākai
2025 regular season – second
Lost in the final to Tauranga Whai.
The vastly experienced Esra McGoldrick returns to the Pouākai after missing the back end of the 2025 season for the birth of her first child. She’s an established Tall Fern and proven points-scorer. McKenna Dale played all 14 games for the side in 2025, averaging 12.4 points and 7.3 rebounds, and as the new season starts, she’s in the top eight of all the major competition stats. The recruitment of rookies Sarah Mortensen, Mikayla Vaughn and Rebekah Frisby-Smith adds international depth, while Morgan Yaeger is back for a second stint, having been the grand final MVP in 2024, when she helped the Whai to victory. Youngsters Amelia Ainley and Ava Jones had limited time for the side in 2025, but both are coming off strong performances for the New Zealand team that finished fifth at this year’s Fiba U17 World Cup.
Southern Hoiho
2025 regular season – third
Lost in the semi-final to Mainland Pouākai.
American guard Paige Bradley returns for a fourth season in Dunedin, having played a total of 39 games for the side, with 511 points to her name in Hoiho colours. Lillian “Lil” Dart is also back, having played all 13 games in 2025, when she averaged 14.9 points per game. Since then, she’s played alongside Hoiho teammate Rebecca Pizzey for the Eltham Wildcats in Australia, where she was named in the NBL1 South conference All Star Five. Otago locals Zoe Richards and Samara Gallaher both return for their fifth campaigns. Rookie Marie Bertholdt is an experienced German international while fellow newcomer Julie Wojta has played in France, Belgium, Italy and Spain during her 14 years playing in Europe.
Opening weekend
Friday, September 25 – 7.30pm
Tauranga Whai v Northern Kāhu, QEYC, Tauranga
Saturday, September 26 – 7.30pm
Mainland Pouākai v Southern Hoiho, Parakiore, Christchurch
Sunday, September 27 – 3pm
Tokomanawa Queens v Northern Kāhu, Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua
Every game of the 2026 Tauihi season will be live on Sky Sport, with Friday night games also shown live on ThreeNow
This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.