Okaihau College crowned Northland Secondary School Girls' Basketball champs

The 2018 Northland Secondary Schools Girls' Basketball champions Okaihau College. Photo / Supplied

Sixteen teams from around Northland descended on ASB Stadium, in Whangārei, this week for the Northland Secondary School Girls' Basketball competition.

And after some intense competition Okaihau College was the winner, beating Whangārei Girls' High School in the final on Thursday.

Whangārei Girls' High School player Quincel Nathan, left as Tawai Parangi from Rodney College looks for an opportunity to stop the momentum.

Northland Basketball general manager Josh Port said basketball is on a high in the region after the Northland under-13 rep team beat their Auckland counterparts for the first time last weekend.

Kaikohe Christian School's Mata Kingi takes on the Kamo defence.

Basketball in Northland and New Zealand is on the rise, it is the fastest-growing sport in New Zealand, the third most participated in sport in New Zealand currently.

Kamo's Hannah Moore is shadowed by a Kaikohe Christian School defender

"With Northland Basketball striving to accommodate the talent and provide development opportunities for the young people of Northland, we are aiming to be one of the big players in the national conversation when it comes to basketball," Port said.

Okaihau's Jessica-James Wikaira looks for an option in the final against Whangārei Girls High

Both under-13 boys and girls teams will play in the SuperCity competition, which has teams from every region within Auckland - North, Counties, Auckland, Waitakere, Hibiscus Coast, Northland and North Harbour.

The U13 boys will play at 2.40pm at AUT Akoranga against North Harbour who are often one of the best teams nationally.

Kamo High School's Kymani Sadler heads up court in their game against Kaikohe Christian School

The U13 girls will play at 12.10pm at Trust Stadium against Counties.

Northern Advocate photographer John Stone went along on Thursday to capture the action.