Harbour Breeze are the 2019 Women's Basketball Championship (WBC) regular season champions.

Emphasising the tightness of the competition the Breeze jumped from fourth on the ladder at the start of the round to top after a successful ‘South Island Swing’. On Saturday the Breeze beat the Canterbury Wildcats 74-66 at Cowles Stadium and followed that with a comfortable 80-43 victory against AM I FIT Otago Gold Rush on Sunday in Dunedin.

Saturday June 29, 7.30pm – Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats 66 Harbour Breeze 74

The Breeze, on the back of 28 points (11/18FG) from Penina Davidson, locked in the fourth semi-final berth with a 74-66 victory against the Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats at Cowles Stadium on Saturday night.

In addition to being a constant threat at the offensive end Davidson kept Russian forward Mareta Davydova to a relatively modest 9 points and 7 boards – her lowest rebounding count of the season.

The Breeze led 40-30 at half-time and on the back of a scoring spree from Davidson, Ella Fotu and teenage guard Emme Shearer increased their advantage to 21 points (60-39) late in the third quarter.

In front of a sizeable crowd at Cowles Stadium forwards Tessa Boagni (17 points and 10 rebounds) and Terai Sadler led a Wildcats revival in the final period. However the Breeze held the 2017 champions at bay as they bounced back from the home defeat to the Waikato Wizards in the last round.

Wildcats 66 –Tessa Boagni 17/12r, Terai Sadler 10, Mareta Davydova 9

Breeze 74 – Penina Davidson 28/13r, Emme Shearer 14, Ella Fotu 13, Deena Franklin 6/10r

Sunday June 30, 3.00pm– AM I FIT Otago Gold Rush 43  Harbour Breeze 80 

The Breeze clinched the regular season title at More FM Arena Edgar Centre on Sunday with a comprehensive 80-43 victory against AM I FIT Otago Gold Rush.

Penina Davidson (14 points and 13 rebounds), Deena Franklin (10 points and 10 rebounds) and Keeley Tini (11 points and 10 rebounds) all produced double-doubles as the Breeze dominated the front court battle winning the rebounding count 51-35 and amassing 54 points in the paint.

The Breeze won the opening period 28-10 and never looked back with the teenage guards Tayla Dalton and Emme Shearer benefitting from that rebounding advantage to score a number of points in transition.

Zoe Richards was once again the Gold Rush leading scorer with 12 points (4/9FG) but other than Nicole Ruske’s 8 points there was little support for the power forward.

Gold Rush 43 – Zoe Richards 12, Nicole Ruske 8

Breeze – 80 Taylor Dalton 15, Penina Davidson 14/13r, Keeley Tini 11/10r, Emme Shearer 11/6s, Yume Negishi 10,  Deena Franklin 10 /10r

The Breeze will meet Canterbury Wildcats in the WBC Championship semi-final at AUT Sports Centre on Friday July 5th at 7.30pm. 

WBC Division 1 Placings

7-3 Harbour Breeze* (+16)

7-3 Auckland Dream* (+12)

7-3 Waikato Wizards* (-28)

5-5 Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats

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4-6AM I FIT Otago Gold Rush

0-10 Taranaki Thunder

*Teams have same win/loss record with placings decided on points differential.