The Whai are not letting the weekend's loss to the Queens stop them from moving forward in this year's basketball season.

The Tauranga team went head-to-head on Sunday with the Queens to try and regain their second spot on the table, but lost the game.

The Queens beat the previously undefeated Kahu last week to pass The Whai and take second place on the table but are carrying injuries.

The atmosphere in the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre in Tauranga was electric and the nervous energy from everyone present was almost tangible for Sunday's game.

Despite fully supporting The Whai, co-owner and co-founder John Miller is quick to give credit where it's due.

'Firstly, congratulations to the Queens, they finally gave Kahu their first loss of the season last night. Everyone's been waiting to have a go at them and they did that on Saturday night, so congratulations to them.”

John says they had played the Queens twice before meeting for a third time on the weekend.

The night started with rapper King Kapisi getting the crowd vocal and moving, and reminding both teams that they're in The Whai's house.

King Kapisi getting the crowd revved up.

Jori Davis, a new import from Louisiana, had only landed in New Zealand three days prior and made her debut for The Whai on Sunday.

Tiarna Clarke was a welcome return to The Whai, having returned from the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The first five minutes were full throttle from both sides with exceptional defence and rebounding- The Whai lead 8-7.

Davis made her presence known in opening her New Zealand account with a composed and effortless three-pointer, with three minutes left in the first quarter.

The Whai looked a different team, backing themselves to take shots - they looked mentally present and in the zone.

With the first quarter ending 16-16, it's clear we were witnessing a battle.

A tentative start is an apt way to describe how the second quarter began with two minutes passing before anything was added to the scoreboard.

Queens'' guard-forward Jaime Nared was deadly, shooting three-pointers with ease given the smallest amount of space and time - she's quickly became a problem for the Whai.

The same can be said for Sheniqua Greene who is an imposing figure for the Whai - both defensively and offensively.

Sheniqua Greene shooting for two points.

After a time-out and just under two minutes left in the first half, Whai captain Kyra Lambert dived across the court and intercepted a pass and the Whai racked up two consecutive two-pointers.

At half time, the Queens lead the Whai, 35-29.

The third quarter ebbed and flowed, with The Whai playing catch up for the most part.

The third quarter ended with the Queens leading, 46-44.

The fourth quarter was a fight with both teams trying to grab the second spot on the table.

The writing was on the wall however, when the Queens stretched their lead to six points with only 20 second left on the clock.

At full time, the Queens won by six points, 65-59.

Although disappointed, Whai captain Kyra Lambert is ready to get back to the drawing board and tackle the remainder of the season.

'We just gotta move on and take the things that we did well. We turned the ball over like crazy- when you do that you're not going to win a lot of games. We just need to tighten up the things that we can control. I'm going to go back watch the film and see what all of us can do better.”

Jori Davis enjoyed her first outing with the home team.

'It felt good, I'm surprised the jet lag hasn't kept me down too much. I'm still adjusting but we would've love to have had a win but I feel with the next ten days we have I'll be able to adjust with the team and prepare to help us actually go forward in the playoffs,” Jori says.

Queens' guard forward Jaime Nared is quick to credit the entire team for a well-rounded performance.

'I thought our bench played very well for us, obviously you can't control a lot of stuff that happens in the game, but the bench had to come in and stepped up. I think it's just a testament to how good our team is all around,” says Jaime.