Current Standings and Predictions in Women’s Korisliiga

Before the thoughts on the Top 4 / League – here’s Nordic Hoops thoughts on the race for the MVP of the league on the 27th of January 2026. Players are in no particular order.

• Sara Puckett (ViVe) : Really can’t bypass her on this list, average points about 10 points per game better than the next player. No matter which stats you look, or how you view the games. Puckett is definitely on the list.
• Lauren Heard (PeKa) : Back in PeKa and Korisliiga (W), Heard is almost the ‘heart’ of PeKa’s game – versatility, experience and skill. Heard has performed great so far, but you just know there is an extra gear for the playoffs.
• Nicole Ogun (EBT) : The stats and performances are there for Ogun. She is kind of a player that you ‘do not see’ on the court, you KNOW she is there, you KNOW she gets the boards and the points – but sometimes you think that she hasn’t performed in the first half.. but look at the stats 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks.. etc. Definitely in with a shout!
• Annika Aarrejoki (Pyrintö) : She really had a breakthrough season last year, and has not stopped. Unlike Ogun, Aarrejoki is a player you do notice on the court, and you KNOW and SEE the stats piling up. Just a little into her 20’s – Aarrejoki could be a name to mark down, and if she wants to – she can definitely head abroad for next season.

“This season in Korisliiga (W) has been thrilling. It is great, that the Top 4 is so close and evenly matched – now we can already taste the excitement as the teams battle for positions ahead of the playoffs. Especially as the other four teams that will make up the eight playoff teams – are also talented and can definitely challenge the Top 4 in the playoffs.

Before the season Lever predicted that EBT would be the eventual Champions of the 2025-26 season, and they are currently fourth in the table. ( My note – EBT have played two games less than Pyrintö and one less than ViVe and PeKa !). We still stand behind the prediction, and even more so after we saw EBT take a big win over PeKa last weekend. Although, the injury to Erika Mace is a blow for them, and all of us are crossing our fingers that she will get to play this season.

The surprise package of the season has been ViVe, and you could say their season has been the ‘Cinderella story’ of the season. When you take into consideration that their home gym burned just before the season, and they now play their games at Lapua. With Sara Puckett this team will surely get a medal this season – and a huge shout out from us at Lever to Silja Viita – who is having a stellar season. Great defence !!

That leaves, on our thoughts, two of the other Top 4 teams of the moment. PeKa and Pyrintö to stay and battle it out for the medals. In this, we put weight on experience to prevail, even if Pyrintö are playing super-bright until now this season. And hey, we get to see this match up on Saturday – just like we will see EBT vs ViVe.”

Huge thanks to the team at Lever for taking time to share their thoughts !!

At the moment – we have between 9 and 7 games to play for the teams. As I look at the table, I see ViVe just having the momentum at the moment to carry them to the top of the Regular Season table – and having the ‘home court’ advantage until the Finals.

Then, PeKa – EBT – Pyrintö. I see strengths and weaknesses in all three teams, EBT probably have the toughest schedule, PeKa are looking to find that ‘something’ in their game, Pyrintö can beat anyone on their day, but can also have an off-day.

Nordic Hoops will go : #2 Peli-Karhut – #3 EBT – #4 Pyrintö

Then on fifth place we have HBA, who are sort of just there.. they pretty much are guaranteed to enter playoffs as the #5 seed.

Four teams, Three places up for grabs : Honka, BC Nokia, Kouvottaret and ToPo. With Magdalene Agyei coming to ToPo, I can see them rising upwards. BC Nokia got Cierra Walker to their roster. Honka and Kouvottaret .. both are at the moment a slight enigma to me.

But, my prediction is : #6 ToPo – #7 BC Nokia … AARRGH!! Which way will Honka and Kouvottaret go?? It’s a flip of a coin decision – and I go #8 Honka and #9 Kouvottaret.

• #1 – ViVe
• #2 – PeKa
• #3 – EBT
• #4 – Pyrintö
• #5 – HBA
• #6 – ToPo
• #7 – BC Nokia
• #8 – Honka
• #9 – Kouvottaret

That is my prediction for the regular season – but hey, what do I know??