McKenna Dale’s Basketball Career Comes Full Circle in Return to New Zealand
When McKenna Dale steps on the basketball court, opposing teams are aware of the challenge that they’re saddled with for the upcoming 40 minutes. Take one look at game footage and you’ll see that the six-foot guard has a hand in most plays that happen during games. Offensively, she can’t be unmarked for too long as she’ll likely launch a three point shot within seconds of gaining possession of the ball. On the defensive end, she’s the first to fight for rebounds so she can help contribute to her team’s next opportunity. On top of that, even during the most tedious of games, her focus and grit never seem to have an off switch.
Dale’s 2023 highlight reel keeps growing month by the month. Since July alone she’s accumulated the following accolades: 2023 Tauihi Aotearoa Performance of the Year. Multiple 30 point performances. A Tauihi Aotearoa Final Four appearance. 3x3 Cup All Star 4. Selected for the 2degrees Tall Ferns Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament roster. Development Player for the WNBL Bendigo Spirit in Australia.
On paper, Dale’s accolades might make her journey seem straightforward: a decorated basketball career whilst simultaneously earning degrees at two prestigious institutions is an impressive feat. But in and amongst the successes sat the unseen hours of training, traveling, a pandemic, and other highs and lows that come with being a high level athlete. It was only nine months ago that Dale was unsure if professional basketball was her calling. After six years of dedication to playing the sport that she fell in love with over a decade ago, other opportunities also presented themselves.
But thanks to an offer from Whai Basketball and the chance to return to a country that holds personal significance to herself and her family, Dale not only had a fairy tale start to her professional basketball career, she’s also having fun while doing it.
“I had my ups and downs but I don’t think I ever lost my love for the game. Everyone goes through obstacles and challenges but through it all I had so many positive experiences. I’ve made so many great friendships and got to interact with so many cool people and have the opportunity to come to cool places. In the end it’s all worth it, being in a place like this. Playing in front of my family for the first time since I was 10 years old helps remind myself why I love the game so much.”
As the game of basketball continues to grow in New Zealand, there are high hopes that fandom will grow alongside it. There’s plenty to be excited about and the five franchises have a hand in ensuring fans follow along. When it comes to marketing their team and women’s basketball as a product, Whai Basketball take pride in their approach, which includes marketing not only the organisation but also its players so girls can see the role models in their backyard. This was one of the aspects that Dale appreciated when she joined the team.
“I loved it and the Whai organisation did such a good job of promoting our team and getting fans to come. They did a great job of promoting a positive atmosphere and culture at our games, it was a fun time for all the fans. There are so many young girls who can look up to us because I remember being that young girl looking up to so many players. I absolutely love that part of basketball, seeing girls come to get our autograph and being so excited about it,” Dale said.
The support team behind an athlete is arguably just as important as the athlete’s performance. In Dale’s case, she has a backbone of advocates from around the world who believe in her ability to impact a team’s ability to win. In New Zealand, the list includes the whole of Whai Basketball, including Director of Coaching Alex Stojkovic. Having worked with the Whai since the organisation’s inception, Stojkovic takes a hands on approach in recruiting key pieces of the foundational core that they’re continuing to build at their Tauranga base. An essential part of this process is creating, and recruiting, a list of traits that the organisation’s ideal prospect would embody. Dale fit the mold perfectly.
She’s embodies the qualities of what the organisation calls a ‘prototypical Whai player’ : a great person with a competitive attitude, an excellent shooting ability, is a tough defender, and is physically fit.
“McKenna is a pro — someone I personally find very easy to get along with. She is also highly competitive. After 20 plus years of coaching you know when you are working with quality players and that’s actually pretty rare,” Stojkovic said. “Obviously you don’t see all that from film or even a couple of zoom interviews. So often it is a bit of hit and miss with players coming in from overseas. I am glad that in her case she was the real deal.”
The trajectory of Dale’s journey includes a map, passport and a few airline tickets for good measure. Her story began in Arizona, where she was born to New Zealand-born father and American mother, both of whom attended university there. Then at the age of 10, her family made the move halfway across the world to her father’s hometown of Ōtuatahi Christchurch, where they would set up as home base for the following few years.
Like many kiwi kids, Dale jumped in the melting pot of sports. In fact, she remembers picking up her first basketball in the renowned Cowles Stadium. Despite not recalling all the details, she still remembers the day as a whole and the environment that made her fall in love with the game.
After a few years in Christchurch, Dale and family relocated to Storrs, Connecticut. Although the location changed, her love of basketball never waned. For one, Storrs is a mecca for women’s basketball, with the University of Connecticut serving as a flagship landmark for the village of just over 16,000 people. The Huskies programme has a storied history of basketball excellence and is associated with names such as Napheesa Collier, Maya Moore, among others who remain stalwarts of the WNBA and other leagues around the world. Living down the road from Gampel Pavilion came with its perks — Dale remembers attending games and watching the strength of Breanna Stewart, Maya Moore and Caroline Dody, all of whom have gone on to have successful careers around the world, right before her eyes. During the summer, she also attended the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun games.
Basketball wasn’t Dale’s only interest. In addition to draining three pointers, she made her mark as a competitive swimmer. Aside from gyms, the pool became a second home for her since she took up the sport at the age of six-years-old. She, too, flourished in the water and it wasn’t long before she was collecting accolades from her aquatic ability: state title winners in the 50 free and 100 free in 2016 and 2017, setting a state record in the 50 free, use to name a few.
While she enjoyed swimming, the team spirit of basketball ultimately pulled her back to the hardwood full time.
“I always loved swimming but I liked the team atmosphere of basketball. Swimming is a team sport but it’s very individual. I liked being part of a team, playing as a team, winning as a team,” she said.
Similar to her basketball idols, Dale went on to pave a remarkable high school basketball career that would also end up in the Connecticut news. Her high school career alone spoke for itself: Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year. Hartford Courant Player of the Year. New Haven Register Player of the Year. She finished her time in high school as Edwin O. Smith’s all-time leading scorer — male or female — with 1,792 career points. It didn’t take long for the Junior Tall Ferns to notice her, either as she made her international debut at the 2016 FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championships in Fiji.
“McKenna just plays hard and never complaints and just keeps on going. She had to guard pretty much out of position most of the season, but never said a word about it. Rarely have I coached someone with that attitude.” — Whai Director of Coaching Alex Stojkovic
Among the awards, it became clear that college basketball was calling. Dale committed to Brown University, a prestigious Ivy League institution in Rhode Island that’s well renowned for world-class academics, straight out of high school. The following four years in Providence came with a mixed bag of high and low moments that included a string of injuries. Dale emphasised that she loved Brown as a school and when healthy, she made impactful contributions for the Bears. Just one season after sitting on the sideline due to injury, she played in all 27 games and made 19 starts in her junior year. Things were finally pointing in the right direction until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shook the world to its core. The Ivy League conference was one of the conferences that made a difficult decision to withdraw from NCAA competitions during the pandemic season due to health and safety concerns. Just like that, Dale’s senior season was cancelled, putting an temporary end to her college basketball career.
Resilience is a core trait that runs though Dale’s blood just like her ability to shoot a basketball. Following the cancelled senior season, Dale decided that she wanted to continue playing, but this time at a different school. Her move landed her a transfer spot at the University of Virginia, where for the next two years she would play and work toward her Masters degree in the Curry School of Education.
Virginia’s basketball programme was touched by her impact to score and defend the ball. She played in all 27 games her first season and then continued to appear in all 30 games in her final year, starting 12 of them. When the final buzzer sounded earlier this year, the stat books reflected a valiant effort of a total of 677 points and 357 combined at Brown and UVA, with 102 games and 33 starts to her name. Her academics flourished, too as she was named to the All-ACC Academic Team and ACC Academic Honor Roll. On top of that, she was awarded the 2021–22 Coach’s Award for Excellence at the Hoos Choice Awards at the end of her first season.
Upon reflecting on her basketball journey to date, Dale’s proud of how she adapted to the increased demands that the sport has brought thus far. Even though college basketball can be tough at times, she was always confident in her ability to contribute and be a team player. Although the jump from high school to college was a step up in competition, she looks back with pride knowing she made the transition smoothly. In the end, she knew she would walk away with confidence and preparation for a budding professional career should she choose to pursue it.
While she was busy in the States, there were people in New Zealand following her progress. Notably, Mike Lacey, who many know as the stalwart that does the remarkable job of writing weekly recaps of games for kiwis overseas for the Lacey Lowdown, had followed Dale’s movements in the college system. The timing of the conclusion of the NCAA season opens a window of opportunity for players to be recruited for the Tauihi League, and a unique chance for both domestic and international players to experience the second season of the professional league in New Zealand. Lacey called Stojkovic with the suggestion that Dale might be a good fit for the Whai.
Stojkovic got in touch with Dale right away via direct message. The two eventually connected in the spring of 2023 and he asked Dale if she would be interested in playing for the Whai. After what she calls “a really good first meeting”, she decided to return to New Zealand and join the Whai for their second season.
“When I finished my season at Virginia I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do afterwards. I wasn’t set on playing basketball because it was a journey for me. Coach Alex DM’d me sometime in the spring and asked if I had ever heard of the Tauihi League and if I would be interested in playing on the Whai team. I had a really good first meeting with him and decided if it’s perfect and I love it then great, or if not then it’s only two months we can find other ways to go,” she said.
It turned out that the Whai’s playbook and fundamentals set the stage for Dale’s storybook introduction to the professional ranks. Her game fit like a glove within their system, which made for a seemingly seamless transition into the team.
“Coach Alex, the way he loves to play is to shoot a lot and run the floor, which are my favourite aspects of the game. I think I play really well with his system,” she said.
It became clearer that for the Whai, having Dale in their arsenal of a roster proved to be game changing during crucial moments. Signs of success began to appear as early as the Whai’s first round game against the Mainland Pouakai. Dale tallied 32 points and eight three pointers in her return to New Zealand and the gym that taught her to fall in love with the game. The “full circle moment” as she calls it, set the tone for the rest of the season.
As things progressed, coaches noticed an improvement in her confidence levels, which can be traced back to her style of play.
“I hope that she would say that we helped her develop her basketball decision making and built her confidence. We made it clear from day 1 that we expect her to shoot when she is open and I feel like she never looked back. Our system gives players a fair bit of freedom and I think that may have been a welcome change from college,” Stojkovic added.
In addition to her on court abilities, the way Dale carried herself as a person set an example for her teammates and those watching. Stojkovic in particular was impressed with Dale’s attitude to new challenges:
“McKenna just plays hard and never complaints and just keeps on going. She had to guard pretty much out of position most of the season, but never said a word about it. Rarely have I coached someone with that attitude.”
The talented cast of talent around her in Tauranga also helped push her game to the next level. Last season she was surrounded by the likes of players with global basketball experience in Mikayla Cowling and Aaliyah Wilson, along with the arsenal of young talent the Whai are looking to develop. The mix of experiences provided an ideal training environment to prepare for the competition they faced each week.
“We had a lot of younger players and they’re so talented. It’s really cool to see all their talent and them being so young seeing what they’re able to do,” she said. “We have a lot of young players on our team — Anika [Hyland], Honey [Cooney], Pahlyss [Hoikanga], Sophie [Rogers], Emma [Rogers], and Liv [Lassey]. It worked well; our practices were super competitive everyone was able to showcase their talent so we meshed really well together.”
It’s been a few months since the conclusion of the season, and Dale’s first season in Tauranga is still being talked about with enthusiasm. She’s loved throughout the organisation, who are excited for her movements in the upcoming months.
“I am just glad that she had a good experience playing for Whai. I would have her back here in a heartbeat. And I am glad that her great year has been recognised by others as well,” Stojkovic said. “ I think she will do really well over in Bendigo as a Development Player playing for Kennedy Kereama and I love that Guy Malloy invited her to the Tall Ferns trial. I would be super proud if McKenna ends up making the Tall Ferns for the Olympic Qualifying tournament in February. In my mind she has what it takes to play at that level.”
And Dale herself? She continues to remain in her element. After the conclusion of the Whai season, she traveled with the team again, this time to the 3x3 Cup in Invercargill that was held in October. Although it was her first time playing in the 3x3 format, she shined as made evident by her incredible plays and All-Star Four selection. She’s now in Bendigo training as a Development Player with the Bendigo Spirit of the WNBL after a trial with the 2degrees Tall Ferns last month. While her professional athletic career is just beginning, she shared some advice about the importance in finding balance in life:
“Try to find identity for yourself outside of being a basketball player. Often times when you play at such a high level that becomes your entire identity, your emotions and life is based on how basketball is going so early on try to find who you are outside of being an athlete, recognise that and prioritise that in your life alongside being a basketball player.”
It’s evident that the Whai have made an impression on Dale, just as much as she has on them. When asked to sum up how she felt about her first professional season, her reply was concise but delivered with a genuine smile:
“I loved my time with the Whai.”
