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Basketballer McKenna Dale a regular at Parakiore
First published on Newsline on 25 September 2026.
Kicking off the Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa league at Parakiore this weekend means more time at her “second home” for McKenna Dale.
The Mainland Pouฤkai guard, whose team is up against the Southern Hoiho on Saturday (26 September 2026), has been spending at least five days a week at the facility in preparation for the season opener.
“It’s been really great to train on the court that we are going to play on,” Dale says, who primarily plays as a guard and is known for her shooting ability and floor-spacing skills.
Dale has been playing basketball in New Zealand for the last four years and this is her second season with Pouฤkai. She is also a member of the Tall Ferns.
Before Parakiore opened the Pouฤkai practiced and played at Cowles Stadium. While Dale says Cowles was a fun stadium to play at, with a lot of energy from the crowd to feed off, it was going to be good to be back on a bigger stage.
“Cowles was really intimate and you were close to the supporters so it will be really interesting to see how the stands fill up and what the vibe is like here.”
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Cowles was also the stadium that holds her first basketball memories. Dale was born in the United States (US) but lived in New Zealand from the age of seven until 10 – moving here with her family for a stint as her dad was a Kiwi.
She now lives about half the year in New Zealand playing basketball, and the other six months is overseas playing for other teams.
“I’ve really enjoyed getting to play different styles. At college in the US, it’s a very structured system. Here in New Zealand, there is just a lot more freedom and it’s fun. As a people, and as a country, it’s just way more relaxed here.”
Dale, 27, says there are a lot of benefits to now being based at Parakiore. The team can train and then use the pools and gym for conditioning and recovery work, without having to travel to other facilities.
“I love swimming, I used to do competitive swimming at high school, so getting to use the pools often is great. It’s my happy place to be in the pool.”
