Senior A Round 4 Wrap – Muraahi with 49 points and Campbell 35

May 29, 2023

After the Boy’s Senior A Round 4 action Northcote College and Mt Roskill Grammar remain a perfect 4-0 with their upcoming Round 5 match up one to look forward to. 

The individual performance of the round belonged to Selwyn College guard Ashton Muraahi.

Muraahi scored a stunning 49 points to pace Selwyn College to a 102-78 win at Avondale College. He scored 21 points in the opening quarter as Selwyn eased to a 27-13 lead and he had 33 as the half-time lead stretched to 60-29.

The Selwyn guard had good support from Charlie Barnfield and Alfred Casiple while for Avondale Liam Takenaka-Wesley scored a team high 20 points.

Avondale 78 – Takenaka-Wesley 20, Deul Lelaulu 16, AJ Tsukada 13, Akram Al Wakeel 8, Raymond Korboe 6

Selwyn 102 – Muraahi 49, Barnfield 11, Casiple 10, Zavier Atatoa 9, James MacDonald 8

Northcote won a high scoring affair at home against Liston College 104-82 with Aaron Sievert lighting up proceedings with 45 points.

Liston, led by Rasheed Ieremia’s 30 points, had few issues at the offensive end but couldn’t keep Northcote at bay. The hosts, after opening a 25-19 lead won every quarter as they claimed a fourth straight victory.

Northcote 107 – Sievert 45, Tane Cook 15, Shunta Shinzaki 13, Jake Talaic 9, Ethan Ray 8

Liston 82 – Ieremia 30, Gia Helu 15, Dhon Lao 14, Manuel Tuaere 11, Jeyden Ale 8

Mount Roskill Grammar are also unbeaten after a 68-52 home win against Kelston Boys High School.

Roskill put the defensive clamps on in the first half restricting Kelston to just 19 points to lead by 20 at the interval.

17 points from Sam Tuitupou and 16 from Real Wheaton helped Kelston shade the second half but the damage had been done earlier.

Haisem Osman had a game high 18 points for Roskill with Mitch Greenaway posting 16. 

Mt Roskill 68 – Osman 18, M Greenaway 16, Dan Greenaway 9, Ezra Ogbuze 7, Ngawaka Rakete 6

Kelston 52 – Tuitupou 17, Wheaton 16, Alec Phillips 7, Rodman Fuaivaa 7

The Dilworth v Manurewa High School fixture has been postponed to Thursday June 1

Standings

4-0 Northcote, Mt Roskill

3-1 Selwyn

2-2 Liston

1-3 Manurewa, Kelston

0-3 Dilworth

0-4 Avondale

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In the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Senior A competition Rangitoto College and Manurewa High School sit atop the table with perfect 4-0 records.

Rangitoto won the North Shore derby on the back of a stunning fourth quarter effort. Trailing Carmel College 48-37 at three-quarter time they outscored their opponents 24-7 down the stretch to claim victory. Maddy Skelton was the instigator of the recovery scoring 12 of her 19 points in the closing ten minutes.

Earlier, on the back of 23 points from Ruby Railton and a dozen from Imogen O’Rourke, Carmel had made all the running leading at the end of every quarter except the all-important fourth.

Rangitoto 61 – Skelton 19, Esther Roberts 9, Tamsin McAsey 7, Mela Andrews 7, Kyree Rakena 6

Carmel 55 – Railton 23, O’Rourke 12, Annie Gaylard 9, Zahara Tibbotts 7

Manurewa High School joined Rangitoto at the top of the table after an 85-44 away win at One Tree Hill College.

Manurewa got off to a good start establishing an 18-8 lead at quarter time.

Beautiful Campbell, headed to a game high 35 points, and Bella Manu Moore dominated the middle stages as Manurewa steadily built a match winning lead.

Harriate Heta led the way for One Tree Hill with 16 points. OTH scored almost half their points from beyond the three-point arc – Melaia Tuisuva knocking down a trio of treys!

Despite having just five players Manurewa were able to close out a fourth straight win.

One Tree Hill 44 – Heta 16, Tuisuva 11, Sophia Govind 5

Manurewa 85 – Campbell 35, Moore 22, Shirley Tuilimu 14, Zhendy Li 8, Alyssa Uluheua 5

 

With five players scoring in double figures Auckland Girls Grammar School eased to a comfortable 85-39 win at Avondale College.

AGGS built a 10-point cushion in the opening quarter, gradually increasing their advantage in each period.

Hayley Abbott scored a game high 18 points for Avondale but the balanced AGGS effort, led by Ryn Nikoia (17 points), proved to be the recipe for success.

Avondale 39 – Abbott 18, Shiloh Caffery 10, Zion Mann 4

AGGS 85 – R Nikoia 17, Julia-Rose Fiesher-Martin 16, Faith Hurt 16, Grady Nikoia 12, Harmony Hurt 10, Zara Leavasa-Avauli 6, Geavani Barnes 6

Bree and Nelly Ioane scored all of Mt Roskill Grammar’s first quarter points as they opened up a 17-6 lead over Massey High School.

The pair would go on to dominate proceedings with 20-point games as Roskill went on to win 70-29.

Lucy Ward was a standout for Massey tallying 13 points.

Mt Roskill 70 – N Ioane 22, B Ioane 20, Allie O’Callaghan 8, Tamara Viviani 8, Havana Iaea 8

Massey 29 – Ward 13, Cyntalia Schuster 8, Valentine Tausi 4

Standings

4-0 Rangitoto, Manurewa

3-1 Carmel

2-2 Mt Roskill, AGGS

1-3 One Tree Hill

0-4 Avondale, Massey

Girls Prems Round 4 Wrap – Clarken scores 51 & Flavell 45

May 28

Season bests from Bailey Flavell (45 points) and Anna Dyachenko (19 points) propelled Takapuna Grammar School to a commanding 91-53 away win against Baradene College.

Takapuna scored the first seven points of the contest and after Amy McKenzie, Flavell and Dyachenko made threes Takapuna had raced to a 33-11 quarter-time lead.

Baskets from Ritorya Tamilo, Deyna Topia and Poppy Cavanagh-Briggs reduced the deficit immediately after the restart although it didn’t take long for Takapuna to get back in the scoring groove to close the half with a 48-24 advantage.

Tamilo and Cavanagh-Briggs did some inside damage in the third but another 9 points from Flavell helped Takapuna to a game winning 64-38 lead at the three-quarter mark.

Natalja Burton impressed for Taka in the closing stages with Odile Dolon getting valuable minutes for the hosts.

Ritorya Tamilo will be missing from the Baradene lineup for the next couple of rounds following her selection for the SKY Sport Tall Ferns European Tour – congratulations Ritorya.

Baradene 53 – Topia 17, Cavanagh-Brown 13, Tamilo 12, Amelia Nathan 6

Takapuna 91 – Flavell 45, Dyachenko 19, McKenzie 13, Natalja Burton 6

Mt Albert Grammar School bounced back from their defeat at the hands of Westlake last week in emphatic style pounding St Mary’s College 120-37 with Waimanu Clarken posting a career high 51 points.

The tone was set early on as MAGS carved out a 27-10 first quarter lead which ballooned to 66-22 by half-time.

MAGS enjoyed other double figure contributions from Te Arina Roberts, Gezreyal Maiu’u and Lara-Poppy Cocker-Lemalie while India Nash battled gamely for 10 points for St Mary’s.

Waimanu Clarken in action for New Zealand

MAGS 120 – Clarken 51, Roberts 15, Cocker-Lemalie 13, Gezreyal Maiu’u 10, Jorjia Fiu 8, Peyton Uri 8

St Mary’s 37 – Nash 10, Layla Aholelei 7, Teuila Salesa 6, Tamzin Jakeman 5

Westlake Girls High School made it four wins from four outings with a 77-53 victory at St Kentigern College.

Seven points from Emma Schroeder helped propel Westlake to a 16-10 first quarter lead.

Anamia Rangihaeata landed a triple and Ashleigh Tuumaialu scored 8 points as the hosts went toe to toe with the defending champions in the second frame.

However consistent scoring from Lily Fotu and Brennah Latoalevi-Nosa ensured Westlake headed to the main break with a 36-27 advantage.

The highest scoring period of the match ensued in the third. For the hosts Sophie Jones and Rangihaeata knocked down threes while Tiffany Thompson and Tuumaialu added to their tallies. 

Westlake also had a pair of 3-point makes courtesy of Latoalevi-Nosa and Katie Moors while sister Rebecca had 8 points in the paint – Westlake 55-47 to the good at three-quarter time.

Restricted to just 6 points in the fourth period St Kentigern could only watch as Westlake stretched their lead into the twenties and close out win number four.

St Kent’s 53 – Tuumaialu 17, Rangihaeata 11, Kilani Tuineau 8, Thompson 6 

Westlake 77 – Schroeder 21, R Moors 18/8rebs, Latoalevi-Nosa 13, Fotu 12/6 assists

A big third quarter put the seal on Epsom Girls Grammar’s 67-39 win at Northcote College. 

Although they had the better of the second quarter the visitors lead was only six points (29-23) at the interval with the contest fairly evenly poised.

However 8 points from Leah Patuwarua and 9 from Draun Forbes tilted the balance firmly in favour of Epsom as they pulled away to a 52-30 lead.

11 points in the final quarter from Maya Fowler, on her way to a game high 21 points, put the seal on a third win of the season for EGGS.

DJ Hannah returned to the Northcote lineup to post a team high 19 points – the next best were Nikki Gear with 9 points and Lily Morgan with 8 points

Northcote 39 – Hannah 19, N Gear 9, Morgan 8

Epsom 67 – Fowler 21, Patuwarua 11, Forbes, 11 Talia Vea 11, Kiyara Te Amo 5

Standings

4-0 Westlake

3-1 MAGS, Epsom 

2-2 St Kent’s, Baradene, Takapuna

0-4 St Mary’s, Northcote

Boys Prems Wrap – MAGS and Rosmini remain unbeaten

May 27, 2023

Mt Albert Grammar School and Rosmini College remain unbeaten after Round 4 victories in the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grade competition.

It was gripping in Glendowie as Sacred Heart College saw an opportunity for a notable victory slip through their fingers as they were pipped 66-64 in overtime by Rosmini College.

Heart after keeping Rosmini to just 20 first half points led 43-26 midway through the third quarter before being pegged back and in overtime, after scores by Preston Tuaputa and Tyrell Cocker, were 64-59 in the ascendancy.

At both points of the game a home win looked the most likely outcome but on both occasions Rosmini fought their way back into the contest. With a second overtime period looking likely Rosmini guard Josh Wyllie made the game winner with just 4 seconds left in the overtime period.

Earlier a baseline drive and two handed flush from Noah Johns put Rosmini 11-9 ahead before Heart closed the first quarter with a 12-3 run to lead 24-16, with Tuaputa, Sam Snowdon and Matt Fautuaalii-Taia to the fore.

If the Heart scoring was pedestrian in the second the Rosmini effort was in slumberland as defences dominated – the quarter won 9-4 by the hosts to lead 33-20 at the break.

Tuaputa continued to trouble the Rosmini defence and when Matt Fautuaalii-Taia nailed a triple Heart were 17 points clear (43-26).

Rosmini responded with a strong finish to the third period – a three from Bart Jackowski and 6 points apiece from Josh and Chris Wyllie saw them trail by just 4 points (45-41) with ten minutes to play.

It was neck and neck throughout the fourth – Josh Wyllie’s late score cancelling out Tuaputa’s effort to send the game into an extra period.

Cocker and Tuaputa put Heart in overtime ascendancy before Jameer Reed and Josh Batty tied proceedings – cruelly for Heart the Josh Wyllie winner was the first time Rosmini had led since early in the opening period.  

 

Sacred Heart 64 – Tuaputa 23, Fautuaalii-Taia 16, Snowdon 8, Cocker 7

Rosmini 66 – Reed 21, C Wyllie 14, J Wyllie 12, Batty 9

There was also action aplenty on Alberton Ave as Mt Albert won the “Grammar Grapple” against Auckland 89-76.

With ten minutes to play, and a close finish in prospect, Auckland Grammar held a 57-55 lead after Josh Howes, George Milburn and Mikaere Tait had turned a 4 point half-time deficit into 2 point three-quarter time lead.

Faced with a first defeat of the season MAGS put together a scoring avalanche in the fourth running up 34 points with Dante Matakatea doing most of the damage. 

The 2022 New Zealand U17 representative scored 16 points in the quarter and with Louis Uri, Romani Keith-Peraua and Kade Cartwright lending good support the hosts pulled away for a decisive win.

Early on a low scoring opening period was edged 12-9 by Auckland before MAGS got the better of the second. The two number 5’s led the scoring at the break – Cartwright had 14 points for MAGS with Howes making a dozen for AGS. 

MAGS 89 – Cartwright 23, Matakatea 21, Uri 14/11rebs, Keith-Peraua 13, Harri Coker-Grey 11, Dante Tapulaaia 5/8rebs/6 steals

AGS 76 – Howes 21, Milburn 19, Ryan Hunt 11, Tait 8, Kalid Petzer 6

With Old Boy and new Perth Wildcats signing Dontae Russo-Nance in the house St Kentigern College, and Merrick Rillstone in particular, got off to a flying start against Westlake Boys High School. Rillstone had a couple of triples, and 16 points in total, as the home team forged ahead (26-17) in the opening spell.

St Kent’s continued their dominance in the second period with George Turner and Hunter Te Ratana joining Rillstone in the double figure scoring column.

Hadi Alshami led the Westlake scoring at the main break as the visitors faced a 50-28 deficit.

Lake enjoyed the better of the third quarter cutting the arrears by four to trail 68-50 at three-quarter time – Noah Rasmussan’s 10 points a feature of the frame.

Max Riechelmann and Andre Bautista knocked down threes for Westlake in the fourth but St Kent’s were in fine form from deep themselves – particularly Turner and Rillstone who combined for nine of the team’s thirteen made threes.

St Kentigern 89 – Rillstone 37, Turner 28, Te Ratana 14

Westlake 68 – Rasmussan 17, Alshami 11, Riechelmann 10, Malachi Book 9, Braden Gibb 7

Rangitoto College were boosted by the return of Michael Ropotini, for his first game of the season, and his 24 points were a significant contribution in the 104-74 defeat of St Peter’s College.

Both teams were looking for their first win of the season and it was Rangi that made the better start forging a 29-17 opening quarter advantage. Gus Dallow, on his way to a game high 36 points, had 10 at that stage for St Peter’s – Joel Brown with 8 points and Elyas Taher 6 for the hosts.

Rangi enjoyed another productive quarter to rack up 60 points by the interval and with it a lead of 27. Jackson Mills, Jimmy Kim, Arnold Nam and Ropotini each made multiple scores in the period.

Dallow and Caleb Afeaki upped the scoring tempo for St Peter’s but 9 third quarter points from Ropotini meant Rangi were out of sight at the last break with an 88-58 lead.

Dallow posted his second successive 30-point game but significant support was in short supply for the St Peter’s guard as Rangitoto cruised to the win. 

Rangitoto 104 – Ropotini 24,Taher 18, Nam 13, Max Mudford 11, Brown 10, Mills 9, Kim 7

St Peter’s 74 – Dallow 36, Afeaki 9, Milan Tolich 9, Bryan Curtis 7

Standings

4-0 MAGS, Rosmini

3-1 St Kentigern

2-2 AGS

1-3 Westlake, Sacred Heart, Rangitoto

0-3 St Peter’s

Mt Roskill Grammar defeat Dilworth to conclude Round 3 Senior A action

In a Boys Senior A Round 3 contest played on Monday night Mt Roskill Grammar School joined Northcote College as the only two teams with perfect 3-0 records after a convincing 85-59 home win against Dilworth School.

What shaped to be a tight contest, after just four points separated the two teams at quarter time, turned into a comfortable victory for the home side after they bossed the middle periods.

A triple from Finlay Edwards and 7 points from Kingston Kai’lahi-Aso meant Dilworth entered the second quarter just 18-14 adrift.

That deficit increased in the second with Mitch Greenaway and Josh Wadams inflicting most of the damage as Roskill established a 40-29 half-time advantage.

Despite the efforts of Ezrah Eagle, Ikahui Mahe and Kai’lahi-Aso the Roskill lead continued to climb. A Haisem Osman triple pushed the lead out to 20-points and it was 22 at three-quarter time (66-44).

Both teams gave opportunities to their bench players in the closing minutes – a three from Lincoln Tupa’i Samuel capping off a fine Roskill performance.

Mt Roskill 85 – M Greenaway 19, Wadams 18, Osman 12, Daniel Greenaway 8, Wai Tonga 7

Dilworth 59 – Kai’lahi-Aso 17, Eagle 14, Mahe 14 

The full roundup of Round 3 games can be found here: https://laceylowdown.com/2023/05/22/the-auckland-secondary-schools-senior-a-round-3-wrap/

The Auckland Secondary Schools Senior A – Round 3 Wrap

May 22nd

Carmel College put together a dominant first half display to lead Massey High School 49-14 at the main break.

Hannah Bellett scored 27 points for the visitors with Ruby Railton tallying a massive double-double of 24 points and 24 rebounds. Zahara Tibbotts and Millie Lloyd also posted double-doubles.

Lucy Ward and Cyntalia Schuster, with 17 points apiece, were outstanding for Massey. 

Massey 42 – Ward 17, Schuster 17

Carmel 99 – Hannah Bellett 27, Ruby Railton 24/24rebs, Zahra Tibbotts 18/11assists, Millie Lloyd 18/13rebs, Leighton Esera 8

After trailing 42-24 at half-time Auckland Girls Grammar reduced the deficit to 57-53 with ten minutes to play.

However 9 fourth quarter points from the game’s leading scorer Eva Veale and 6 points from Mela Andrews steered Rangitoto to a third straight win.

Faith Hurt led the way for AGGS with a team high 18 points.

AGGS 61 – Hurt 18, Ryn Nikoia 10, Zara Avauli 10, Grady Nikoia 9, Julia-Rose Fiesher-Martin 7

Rangitoto 74 – Veale 19, Andrews 14, Sienna Maurice 12, Tamsin McAsey 9, Grace Giles 6

Manurewa High School have joined Carmel and Rangitoto at the top of the table, with 3-0 records, after defeating Avondale College 87-34.

Bella Manu-Moore scored 11 first quarter points as Manurewa forged a 23-3 lead.

Daisy Ducloux and Maya Loomes knocked down triples for Avondale but with Shirley Tuilimu joining Manu-Moore in double figures the Manurewa half-time lead was a comfortable 40-14.

Astrid Henricks and Lavinia Liufau helped maintain the Manurewa dominance in the second half – Loomes and Shiloh Caffery the major contributors for Avondale.

Manurewa 87 – Manu-Moore 27, Tuilimu 22, Henricks 13, Liufau 10, Alyssa Uluheua 7

Avondale 34 – Loomes 10, Caffery 9, Zion Mann 7, Daisy Ducloux 5

In the final game of the round One Tree Hill College grabbed their first win of the season defeating Mt Roskill Grammar 93-61. Both teams have a 1-2 record after the first three games.

Unfortunately I don’t have individual scorers from this fixture.

BOYS Senior A Round 3

In the closest game of the round Kelson Boys High and Liston College played out a thriller with Kelston claiming a narrow 75-73 victory.

The opposing number 9’s were prominent in the opening quarter. Rasheed Ieremia scored 9 early points for Liston but Kelston edged the opening period 23-21 with Rodman Fuaivaa tallying 8 points.

Liston had the better of quarters two and three. Jeydin Ale, Zymhon Moreno and Ieremia dominated the scoring in the middle stages as the visitors lead climbed to 61-51 with a quarter to play.

Kelston saved their best to last as both teams had to navigate a heavy foul count that would eventually see five players exit early.

Sam Tutopou (9 points) and Fuaivaa (10 points), with support from Alec Phillips and Sione Filimoehala, wrestled the initiative as Kelston outscored their opponents 24-12 in the fourth quarter and eke out their first win of the season.

Kelston 75 – Fuaivaa 28, Tuitupou 19, Phillips 10, Eyob Hailu 8, Filimoehala 6

Liston 73 – Ieremia 26, Ale 15, Moreno 8, Dhon Lao 8, Manu Tuaere 8

Northcote College won the clash between two of the unbeaten sides prevailing 86-73 at Selwyn College after leading at the end of each quarter.

Nine points from Carlos MacPherson helped Northcote establish a hand 26-19 lead at the conclusion of the first period.

Eleven points from Ashton Muraahi either side of the first quarter break helped the Selwyn cause, as did a triple from Luca Vietri.

14 first half points from Shunta Shinzaki played a major part in Northcote building a 40-32 half-time lead.

The score rattled along in the third quarter as players from both sides found points easier to come by. James MacDonald dropped three triples and with Muraahi adding 13 points Selwyn tallied 29 points in the period. Northcote almost matched that making 27 points with Shinzaki and Aaron Sievert combining for 20 of them – Northcote with a 67-61 advantage ahead of the final period.

The scoring in the fourth became pedestrian in comparison to the previous period as both defences tightened up considerably.

Vietri and Muraahi made a couple of scores apiece for the hosts but a Tyler Aitchison triple and multiple baskets from Ethan Ring, Sievert and Shinzaki meant it was Northcote claiming a third straight victory.

Selwyn 73 – Muraahi 32, Vietri 13, MacDonald 11, Zavier Atatoa 8

Northcote 86 – Shinzaki 26, Sievert 21, MacPherson 9, Ring 8, Jake Talaic 6

Manurewa High School made a great start to the game against Avondale College piling on 27 points to establish a 10-point lead – 9 points for Richard Campbell.

Liam Takenaka-Wesley scored 13 first half points for Avondale but the half belonged to the hosts as they established a 46-32 lead with Jarell Tuhega, Issachar Pati and Campbell to the fore.

Avondale struck back strongly in the third – a triple from AJ Tusukado and more points from Takenaka-Wesley trimmed the Manurewa advantage to four points at the three-quarter break (56-52).

A three from Ray Korboe and half a dozen points from Deul Lelaulu kept Avondale in touch but the exciting contest eventually went the way of Manurewa – 10 points in the fourth from the Campbell brothers sealing Manurewa’s first win of the season

Manurewa 74 – R Campbell 22, Tuhega 12, Pati 11, Gordon Campbell 10

Avondale 69 – Takenaka-Wesley 19, Lelaulu 11, James Tipelu 8, AJ Tusukado 7

Mt Roskill Grammar will entertain Dilworth on Monday night.

Girls Prems Round 3 Wrap – Westlake remain unbeaten

21 May 2023

In a high paced, quality encounter Westlake Girls outlasted visitors Mt Albert Grammar to win 86-80 and register a third straight game.

One of the highlights of the contest was the matchup between 2022 U17 New Zealand internationals Wai Clarken and Amy Pateman. The opposing captains were at the centre of the action with Clarken scoring a career high 40 points for MAGS and Pateman a season best 31 for Westlake.

MAGS made the slightly better start with Jorjia Fiu and Nadia-Rosa Enari prominent as they forged a 14-9 lead. However rookies Katie Moors and Imani Rasmussen had an immediate impact off the bench for Westlake as they took a narrow 25-23 lead into the quarter time break.

The second quarter was tied 22 points apiece with Pateman and Lily Fotu to the fore for Westlake and Clarken getting valuable assistance from Fiu and Te Arina Roberts.

Fiu and Clarken shared all 13 of the MAGS points in the third period but with Emma Schroeder tallying 9 points and Rasmussen and Pateman chipping in with scores the hosts had a 70-58 lead at three-quarter time.

The fourth quarter became a shoot-out between Pateman and Schroeder in the red corner and Clarken and Fiu in the blue corner. The foursome scored 36 of the 38 points scored in the quarter with the reds of Westlake just doing enough to hold off the MAGS challenge. 

Westlake 86 – Pateman 31, Schroeder 21, Fotu 11, Moors 7, Rasmussen 6, Kalei Morgan-Tafea 6

MAGS 80 – Clarken 40, Fiu 20, Enari 10, Roberts 7

For the third straight game Northcote College were extremely competitive but couldn’t quite get the W going down 68-58 at St Kentigern College.

A three from Anamia Rangihaeata and 6 points from Ash Tuumaialu propelled St Kent’s to a 19-7 quarter time lead.

The hosts scored another 19 in the second period but smarting from their slow start Northcote tallied 23 to trail 38-30 at half-time. Lizzy May scored 10 second quarter points for Northcote with Tuumaialu making 9 points for St Kent’s.

The scoring slowed in the third with just 12 points apiece posted. Lily Morgan and Nikki Gear made all of the Northcote points – Tuumaialu and Rangihaeata all the St Kent’s scores.

Morgan and Gear continued to trouble the St Kent’s defence but the hosts enjoyed a greater spread of scorers as Gigi Forster and Sophie Jones complimented the scoring supply provided by Tuumaialu and Rangihaeata to close out the win.

St Kentigern 68 – Tuumaialu 26, Rangihaeata 14, Forster 10, Jones 8

Northcote 58 – N Gear 25, Morgan 14, May 12

Fresh of her time at the Tall Ferns Trial Camp Ritorya Tamilo proved the difference maker, scoring 26 points, as Baradene College pipped Epsom Girls Grammar 57-53.

It was Baradene with the superior start – 7 points from Poppy Cavanagh-Briggs helping them establish as 17-13 quarter time lead.

Epsom trimmed the deficit by a point in the second quarter with Maya Fowler and Savana Feite leading the way.

Despite missing two starters Epsom took charge of proceedings in the third quarter with Fowler and Kiyara Te Amo, deputising at point guard, helping them to a 46-42 three-quarter time lead.

Talia Vea’s three kept Epsom briefly in the ascendancy but Tamilo was the dominant force in the final frame scoring 9 points to secure Baradene a second win of the season and match Epsom’s 2-1 start to the season.

Epsom 53 – Fowler 15, Vea 13, Feite 8, Te Amo 7

Baradene 57 – Tamilo 26, Cavanagh-Briggs 16, Amelia Nathan 6

Beginning the game wearing #31 Amy McKenzie finished the contest matching her singlet number with a season best 31 points to propel Takapuna Grammar School to their first win of the season – a 77-47 victory at St Mary’s College.

The Takapuna guard scored 8 points as the visitors raced to a 22-7 lead at the ten minute mark.

McKenzie and Bailey Flavell landed triples in the second period as Taka established a 37-18 half-time advantage.

St Mary’s improved markedly after the break – 7 third quarter points from India Nash and other scores from Teulila Salesa and Tamzin Jakeman meant the spoils were shared evenly at 18 points apiece in the period.

Takapuna dominated proceedings in the final frame with Anna Dyachenko, Carmen Selby, Natalja Burton and Flavell complimenting the fine work of McKenzie. 

St Mary’s 47 – Nash 17, Salesa 9, Jakeman 7, Christiana Setu 6

Takapuna 77 – McKenzie 31, Flavell 19, Dyachenko 9, Burton 6

Round 3 Boys Prems Wrap – MAGS and Rosmini remain unbeaten

May 20, 2023

Mt Albert Grammar and Rosmini College are the only unbeaten teams in the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier competition. In Round 3 fixtures the pair had contrasting wins with Mt Albert breezing past Westlake Boys while Rosmini won a nail biter at Auckland Grammar.

MAGS enjoyed double figure scoring contributions from all five starters as they carved out a 101-59 victory at Westlake.

Guard Harri Coker-Grey had 5 early points as MAGS scored the opening 7 points of the contest. Hadi Alashami got Westlake on the board but Dante Matakatea scored 8 points as MAGS strode to a 25-13 quarter-time lead.

MAGS took complete control of the contest scoring 14 unanswered points – including threes from Kade Cartwright and Ethan Lay – to open the second frame.

Westlake skipper Malachi Book scored 8 first half-points but his team were in a spot of bother at the interval trailing 46-20.

On his way to a game high 25 points Coker-Grey helped MAGS maintain momentum in the third. With further contributions from deep from Lay and Cartwright, plus one on the three-quarter time buzzer from Romani Keith-Peraua, the margin was out to 41 points (78-37).

Both teams took the opportunity to give extended minutes to their bench players in the closing minutes – Westlake’s Harper Wilson catching the eye with 11 fourth quarter points.

Westlake 59 – Book 13, Alashami 11, Wilson 11, Troy Supple 5, Oscar Neville 5

MAGS 101 – Coker-Grey 25, Matakatea 22/17rebs, Keith-Peraua 14, Louis Uri 13, Cartwright 10, Lay 9

Far less straight forward was Rosmini’s 79-76 win at Auckland Grammar School.

AGS guard Josh Howes had tied the scores at 76 points apiece with just 1.5 seconds remaining in the contest.

After Rosmini advanced the ball to the front court following a timeout a skip pass found Chris Wyllie, who attempting a corner three as time expired, was fouled. The combo guard made no mistake from the free-throw line making all three attempts to clinch the win.

Rosmini had begun the final period with a 63-61 lead but scores from Howes, George Milburn and Roera Tipene gave the hosts a 69-64 advantage.

Josh Batty and Zion Anderson responded for Rosmini but an inside finish from Kalid Petzer enabled AGS to regain the lead (73-71). 

A Batty three was countered by a Ryan Hunt two before Anderson gave Rosmini a 76-75 advantage with 3:30 to play. Both teams had good chances to seal the contest in the ensuing time but failed to capitalise on their opportunities before the Howes drive earned him that trip to the foul line.

His one from two from the charity stripe looked to have forced the game into overtime before Josh Wyllie had the final say.

Earlier Hunt’s 7 points had helped AGS to a 21-19 quarter-time lead before Anderson, Chris Wyllie and Noah Johns took the visitors to 43-39 half-time lead.

It remained tight in the third and fourth before the exciting closing seconds decided the contest. 

AGS 76 – Howes 30, Hunt 13, Milburn 8, Petzer 8, Tipene 8, Roman Ma’afu-Moerua 7

Rosmini 79 – Anderson 19, C Wyllie 19, Johns 10, Jameer Reed 10, J Wyllie 8, Batty 7

Just down the road Sacred Heart College earned their first win of the season with an 87-77 success at St Peter’s College.

Preston Tuaputa scored 10 points as Sacred Heart narrowly won the opening spell 22-19.

A couple of threes from Gus Dallow and 5 points from Bryan Marsters was countered by Matt Fautuaalii-Taia and Jamie Vile as the two teams split 38 points – 41-38 in favour of the visitors at the break.

Sacred Heart made the decisive and ultimately match winning move in the third frame winning it 27-18. Sam Snowdon’s 6 points and Jerome Jakeman’s dozen were the difference makers, the pair instrumental in taking Heart to a 68-56 lead with ten minutes to play.

Montana Ekeroma and Dallow – headed to a career high 30 points – did their best to reduce the deficit but Jakeman and Fautuaalii-Taia paced Sacred Heart through the closing minutes to secure the win.

St Peter’s 77 – Dallow 30, Bailey Smith 12, Ekeroma 7, Marsters 6, Milan Tolich 6

Sacred Heart 87 – Jakeman 24, Fautuaalii-Taia 19, Tuaputa 18, Snowdon 11, Josh Tengblad 6

In a high scoring opening period nine threes were knocked down as St Kentigern College established a 30-25 lead against Rangitoto College. Joel Brown and Cooper Allen were successful for Rangi from beyond the arc with Hunter Te Ratna, George Turner and Merrick Rillstone hitting from deep for the hosts.

St Kent’s dominated the second quarter 25-8 as Rillstone, Cooper Lepou and Turner continued the bombardment from beyond the three-point arc.

Arnold Nam and Elyas Taher led Rangi’s third quarter revival but Rillstone, on his way to a season best 42 points, saw St Kent’s to a 74-48 lead with ten minutes to play.

St Kent’s further extended their advantage in the final period with Max Johnson and Lepou adding the finishing touches to their second win of the season.

St Kentigern 102 – Rillstone 42 (6 x 3-pointers), Turner 15, Lepou 12, Te Ratna 10, Johnson 9

Rangitoto 59 – Nam 21, Taher 13, Brown 11, Jaren Reiri 5

EGGS come from behind to beat Takapuna Grammar

In a game featuring two former Tall Ferns in the head coach roles Epsom Girls Grammar conceded the first 16 points of the game before recovering to post a 64-52 away win at Takapuna Grammar School on Tuesday night.

Katelin Noyer would have been delighted with her team’s start as Takapuna began the contest in hot shooting form making their first seven scoring attempts with scores from Bailey Flavell, Amy McKenzie and MacKenzie MacKereth.

Following a timeout by Jelena Vučinić, Leah Patuwairua and Talia Vea eventually got the scoreboard ticking over for Epsom before McKenzie and Flavell nailed threes to give the hosts a 28-20 quarter time lead.

The torrent of points in the opening period turned into a trickle in the second although Epsom, via a Draun Forbes triple, gained the lead as half time approached (33-30).

Flavell and McKenzie made baskets in the third frame but pickings were slim against a stifling Epsom defence that only conceded 10 points in the middle two periods. A three from Vea and transition baskets from Forbes pushed the EGGS lead out to 46-38 at three-quarter time.

Epsom increased their lead via Forbes, Patuwairua and the play of the game from Vea. The agile forward capitalised on her own steal by absorbing contact to make a tumbling reverse layup whereby pushing the visitors advantage to 53-38.

A MacKereth triple, and further points from Flavell, kept the Takapuna hopes alive but they were quashed by Forbes who scored 14 points in the final term to post a game high 30.

Congratulations to Bailey Flavell who has been named to the New Zealand team to attend the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship in Amman, Jordan from 10-16 July. 

Takapuna 52 – Flavell 21, McKenzie 14, MacKereth 11

EGGS 64 – Forbes 30, Vea 13, Patuwairua 13

If you missed it here is the wrap on the three Girls Prems games played on Friday night:

Senior A Girls – Round 2 Review

There were wins for Mt Roskill Grammar, Carmel College and Manurewa High School in the second round of the Girl’s Senior A competition.

Bella Manu-Moore scored 28 points to pace Manurewa High to a 69-44 home win against Auckland Girls Grammar School.

Six of those points came in the opening spell and with Wai Hetaraka-Brown knocking down a triple Manurewa had an 18-14 quarter time lead. 

Ryn Nikoia responded with a couple of threes for AGGS but points from Hetaraka-Brown and Manu-Moore extended the hosts lead to 40-27 by half-time.

That advantage was extended to 57-37  by three-quarter time with Beautiful Campbell getting in on the scoring action.

Zara Leavasa-Avauli joined Nikoia on 14 points for AGGS but it was Princess Alim with the last say as Manurewa moved to 2-0 in the win-loss columns.

Manurewa 69 – Manu-Moore 28, Campbell 15, Hetaraka-Brown 10, Shirley Tuilimu 6

AGGS 44 – R Nikoia 14, Leavasa-Avauli 14, Grady Nikoia 8

Carmel College also have two wins after a 76-57 home success against One Tree Hill College with Ruby Railton bagging 25 points to follow her 28 in the opening round.

Railton scored 11 points and Hannah Bellett 9 as Carmel poured in 30 first quarter points to lead by 17.

Harriate Heta nailed 11 second quarter points as OTH enjoyed the better of the exchanges in the second spell to cut the deficit to 42-29 at half-time.

The two teams tied the third with 16 points apiece before Railton and Millie Lloyd sealed the deal for Carmel in the closing quarter.

Carmel 76 – Railton 28, Bellett 13, Zahara Tibbotts 11, Imogen O’Rourke 10

One Tree Hill 57 – Heta 26, Amy-Jo Ligaliga 7 Jesse-Lee Upu 5 

Mt Roskill Grammar School secured a valuable away win with a 75-47 victory at Avondale College on the back of 30 points from Nelly Ioane.

It was Bree Ioane who kick started the Roskill effort with half a dozen first quarter points as they opened up an 18-5 lead.

Shiloh Caffery led the Avondale response with 9 points in the second spell but triples from Allie O’Callaghan and Tamara Viviani helped propel the visitors to a 40-18 half-time lead.

Maya Loomes and Caffery scored regularly for Avondale in the second half but Nelly Ioane was in formidable form and along with Bileeana Koonwaiyou and Adra Kaufusi Roskill continued to build their advantage.

Avondale 47 – Caffery 22, Loomes 12, Zion Mann 7 

Mt Roskill 75 – N Ioane 30, Koonwaiyou 10, B Ioane 10, Annelliesse Folaumoetao 10, Kaufusi 7

Unfortunately Massey High School forfeited their game against Rangitoto College.

Boys Senior A Wrap – Sievert scores 53 points!

May 15, 2023

There were wins for Mt Roskill Grammar, Northcote College, Selwyn College and Liston College in the second round of the Boy’s Senior A competition.

The individual performance of the round belonged to Northcote’s Aaron Sievert who dropped a career high 53 points against Kelston Boys. The sharp shooting guard is no stranger to heady scoring performances having scored 51 points against Aorere College last season.

A big night beckoned against Kelston after Sievert scored 16 points in the opening period as Northcote surged to a 38-14 lead.

Kelston found some scoring form in the second with Real Wheaton and Isiah Tulisi knocking down threes.

However Sievert also made a couple from deep and had 35 at half-time with Northcote in full control with a 68-35 lead.

Alec Phillips, headed for his successive 20-point games, scored 7 third quarter points for Kelston – Shunta Shinzake matched that for Northcote, the hosts 91-49 ahead with a quarter to play and a second straight home victory assured.

Aaron Sievert

Northcote 111 – Sievert 53, Shinzake 13, Rico MacPherson 10, Carlos MacPherson 7, Jaden Lula 6

Kelston 65 – Phillips 20, Wheaton 10, Rodman Fuaivaa 8 Eyob Hailu 6

Selwyn College warmed up for next week’s clash with Northcote with a solid 86-60 win against Manurewa High School.

Richard Campbell was impressive for Manurewa with a game high 33 points while Charlie Barnfield and Ashton Muraahi both enjoyed 20-point outings for Selwyn.

Campbell and Issachar Pati shared Manurewa’s 14 first quarter points although Luca Vietri’s 8 points helped the visitors to a 17-14 lead. 

The Manurewa offense stalled badly in the second and Selwyn took full advantage to carve out a 38-18 half-time lead.

Campbell scored 7 third quarter points but 9 from Muraahi meant the Selwyn lead had increased to 60-36 at the three-quarter mark.

A high scoring fourth period ensued with the two teams sharing 50 points.

Manurewa 60 – Campbell 33, Pati 12

Selwyn 86 – Muraahi 28, Barnfield 20, Vietri 14, Jerry Hing 10, James MacDonald 7

At Avondale College a slow scoring opening quarter favoured Mt Roskill (14-8) before the pace quickened in the second period.

Threes from Mitch Greenaway, Ryan Aramoana and Haisem Osman helped Roskill forge a 38-20 lead at the interval.

11 third quarter points from Duel Lelaulu helped Avondale accumulate 19 third quarter points but Roskill increased their advantage by six as their balanced scoring received contributions from nine players in the period.

Lelaulu went on to record a game high 25 points with Greenaway (22 points) and Ngawaka Rakete (16 points) topping the Roskill effort.

Mt Roskill Grammar 90 –  M Greenaway 22, Rakete 16, Aramoana 10, Wai Tonga 9, Alfred Kerr 9, Osman 7, 

Avondale 65 – Lelaulu 25, Nate Muller 11, AJ T 7, Liam Takenaka-Wesley 6

Despite 31 points from Kingston Kai’lahi-Aso Liston College were able to secure a valuable 74-61 victory against Dilworth.

The two teams tied the opening frame 16 points apiece before Liston edged a low scoring second quarter to lead 31-28 at half-time.

The third quarter was even tighter – Liston won it by two to carry a 49-44 lead into the final ten minutes.

Dilworth got great production out of Nepia Moore and Kai’lahi-Aso but, giving up too many turnovers, Dhon Lao, Rasheed Ieremia and Zymhon Moreno were able to capitalise and carry Liston to the win.

Liston 74 – Ieremia 26, Moreno 14, Jeydin Ale 9, Lao 9

Dilworth 61 – Kai’lahi-Aso 13, Ikahui Mahe 13, Moore 9

Girls Prems – Round 2 Wrap

Waimanu Clarken and Emma-Kay Schroeder had 30-point games to lead Mt Albert Grammar and Westlake Girls, the 2022 Grand Finalists, to Auckland Secondary Schools Round 2 Prems victories.

Clarken scored 35 points as Mt Albert Grammar School won an entertaining game at Northcote College 86-73.

Peyton Uri got proceedings underway with a corner three for MAGS who were quickly out to a 15-5 lead. That was pegged back to 21-17 at the quarter time break – a three from Lisa Gear late in the period helping the Northcote cause.

A couple of scores from DJ Hannah cancelled out efforts from Sienna-Rose Tawera and Gezreyal Maiu’u before a brace of threes from Clarken again stretched the MAGS lead – the visitors ahead 41-30 at the interval.

Triples from Hannah and Lizzie May in the third kept Northcote in the hunt but a balanced MAGS scoring effort held them at bay; 71-50 to the visitors at three-quarter-time. 

Hannah and May combined for 16 points in the fourth as Northcote kept the pressure on the MAGS defence but Jorjia Fiu, Clarken and Tawera would have the final say as MAGS closed out a second successive win.

Northcote, having pushed the top two teams from last season in the opening two rounds, can take heart from their performances ahead of a trip to St Kentigern College next week while MAGS will meet Westlake in a blockbuster match up.

Northcote 73 – Hannah 28, May 20, Lily 10, Nikki Gear 9

MAGS 86 – Clarken 35, Fiu 15, Tawera 8, Uri 6, Maiu’u 6

Emma-Kay Schroeder landed 11 first quarter points as Westlake Girls High established a 22-13 quarter-time lead at home to St Mary’s College.

Tamzin Jakeman and India Nash were doing good work for St Mary’s but Schroeder, on her way to a career high 36 points, and Amy Pateman were taking the game away from the visitors as Lake led 47-24 at half-time.

Christiana Setu and Jakeman kept the scoreboard ticking over for St Mary’s but Rebecca Moors and Schroeder were also accelerating the scoring rate for the hosts – Westlake 69-37 to the good at the third break.

Points in the fourth from Imani Rasmussen and Kalei Morgan-Tafea capped off a convincing Westlake victory.

Congratulations to Westlake player Kodee Williams-Sefo who has been named to the New Zealand team to attend the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship in Amman, Jordan from 10-16 July. Kodee is currently sidelined as she recovers from a leg injury.

Westlake 87 – Schroeder 36, Pateman 19, Moors 10, Morgan-Tafea 7 Rasmussen 6

St Mary’s 49 – Jakeman 8, Nash 8, Sefu 6, Olive Maling 6, Felolina To’ua-Kalava

Despite a game high 28 points from St Kentigern College guard Ashleigh Tuumaialu the three pronged scoring threat of Deyna Topia, Ritorya Tamilo and Poppy Cavanagh-Briggs combined for 57 points to propel Baradene College to a 62-53 win.

Tuumaialu scored 7 points in the opening ten minutes but it was Baradene that edged the period 17-14.

That lead evaporated quickly as Tuumaialu and Kilani Tuineau picked holes in the Baradene defence to take the visitors to a 33-25 half-time lead.

St Kent’s kept Baradene to 8 second quarter points but the third saw a complete reversal as it was the visitors turn to be kept to 8. At the offensive end Tamilo scored 8 points on her own while Cavanagh-Briggs tallied 7 as Baradene headed to the final quarter with a narrow 43—41 advantage.

Baradene would again have the better of the quarter with the triple threat of Topia, Tamilo and Cavanagh-Briggs, aided by Daisy Parke, outscoring St Kent’s 19-12 in the period to close out a bounce back win. 

Good luck to Ritorya who is attending the Tall Ferns Trial Camp at Pulman Arena this weekend.

Baradene 62 – Tamilo 22, Topia 18, Cavanagh-Briggs 17

St Kentigern 53 – Tuumaialu 28, Kilani Tuineau 8, Tiffany Thompson 6

The Takapuna Grammar v Epsom Girls Grammar fixture has been postponed until Tuesday.

Boys Prems – Round 2 Roundup

May 13, 2023

The three North Shore schools in Prems hosted opponents from across the Harbour Bridge in Round 2 fixtures with only Rosmini College able protect home court advantage – Mt Albert Grammar and Auckland Grammar securing valuable road victories.

Westlake Boys appeared to be doing likewise at three-quarter time leading Auckland Grammar 66-57.

However the hosts succumbed to a fourth quarter onslaught from Grammar and in particular Ryan Hunt. The AGS skipper, on his way to a game high 34 points, dropped 18 in the fourth quarter as his team piled on 31 points in the period to win 89-78.

Even at the mid-point of the fourth, after a couple of three-point makes from Andre Bautista, Westlake appeared in control as they retained a double figure lead.

However, Roman Ma’afu- Moerua and Lisione Tupou kick started the revival before Hunt took charge of proceedings to propel AGS to a second straight win.

Eight quick points from Max Riechelmann had helped Westlake to a 19-16 quarter time lead before the two teams split 48 points in a free scoring second stanza.

Sharp shooter Bautista added to his tally and Pelu Figotoa scored 6 third quarter-points as Westlake wrestled the initiative to carry a nine point lead into the final ten minutes. 

However it wasn’t enough to hold off Hunt and Co.

Westlake 78 – Bautista 25, Figota 13, Riechelmann 9, Noah Rasmussan 7, Malachi Book 7

AGS 89 – Hunt 34, Josh Howes 15, Ma’afu- Moerua 12, Brigham Hakaraia 8, Tupou 7

Rosmini College got the better of St Peter’s downing last year’s Senior A champions 91-61.

Gus Dallow opened the scoring for the visitors before Zion Anderson and Chris Wyllie quickly pushed Rosmini into a double digit lead – the quarter-time advantage 27-15.

The second quarter began the same as the first with Dallow making the initial points but that was a prelude to a 12-0 Rosmini run – 6 of those to Noah Johns.

Luke Thompson replied with consecutive buckets for St Peter’s before Anderson again went to work inside. Dallow made a tough off balance buzzer beater to take his first half tally to 16 points but Anderson’s 18 helped Rosmini to a significant 44-25 half-time lead.

Milan Tolich started to find his scoring touch for the Saints after the break although Rosmini were taking the game away from them as they progressed their scoring in threes. Josh Batty made three consecutive shots from behind the arc, Matty Dalton netted from deep also, while Liam Bates and Jameer Reed both made And-1 plays.

Rosmini led 71-38 at three-quarter time and although St Peter’s had the best of the later exchanges the result was never in doubt. 

 

Rosmini 91 – Anderson 23, Batty 14, C Wyllie 11, Bates 10, Johns 10, Dalton 9, Reed 9

St Peter’s 61 – Dallow 19, Tolich 17, Thompson 9, Bryan Marsters 7

A couple of triples from Kade Cartwright and 10 points from Louis Uri got Mt Albert Grammar off to a flying start at Rangitoto College.

Up 25-6 at quarter time MAGS posted another couple of dozen points in the second with Uri taking his tally into the twenties and Ethan Lay and Harri Coker-Grey scoring from deep.

Ahead 49-15 at half-time MAGS were in no mood to take their foot off the gas adding  another 31 points in the third – Cartwright and Dante Matakatea sharing 16 of those.

On a night when Rangi struggled to make shots Joel Brown was a shining light with 10 points. 

Rangitoto 33 – Brown 10, Elyas Taher 6, Jimmy Kim 5

MAGS 91 – Uri 25, Cartwright 20, Coker-Grey 15/6 assists, Romani Keith-Peraua 14, Matakatea 13/11 rebounds, Ethan Lay 6, Dante Tapula’aia 11 rebounds

Preston Tuaputa scored a game high 24 points for Sacred Heart College but it was St Kentigern College that won the East Auckland clash 70-63.

It was close throughout with St Kent’s carrying a 50-46 lead into the three-quarter-time break. Tuaputa did his best to get Sacred Heart the W with 8 last quarter points, and Matt Fautuaalii-Taia chimed in with 6, but Merrick Rillstone saved his best until last.

Only having arrived back in the country on Friday morning, after attending the NBA Academy Asia Development Camp in Singapore, Rillstone scored 12 fourth quarter points to steer St Kent’s to the narrow victory.

Earlier Hunter Te Ratana dropped three triples to give the visitors a 17-13 quarter-time advantage.

Sacred Heart edged the second frame by a single point with triples from Jerome Jakeman and Matt Fautuaalii-Taia helping reduce the deficit to 32-29 at the interval.

The third period was also won by a single point although this time it was St Kentigern that shaded it. George Turner and Te Ratana shared 14 points for the visitors with Fautuaalii-Taia, Tyrell Cocker and Tuaputa the go-to men for Heart.

St Kent’s led 50-46 with ten minutes to play and by 13 points inside the last minute. Despite Heart narrowing the deficit to single digits it was Rillstone, shaking off the effects of jet lag, that had the decisive say.

Sacred Heart 63 – Tuaputa 24, Fautuaalii-Taia 16, Cocker 10, Jerome Jakeman 6

St Kentigern 70 – Te Ratana 20, Rillstone 16, Turner 16, Charlie Hughes 8

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Girls Senior A wrap including Monday night’s Avondale v Carmel encounter.

In Girls Senior A action on Monday night Carmel College travelled across town to take on Avondale College and emerged as 94-47 winners. The victory means both teams relegated from Prems had comfortable wins to begin their quest for a quick return to the top flight, with Rangitoto College recording an almost identical scoreline.

Carmel enjoyed double figure contributions from all five starters with three of them (Annie Gaylard, Ruby Railton and Zahara Tibbotts) in double figures by half time when Carmel led 45-30.

Shiloh Caffery scored 9 of Avondale’s first half points. She got good support from Aniva Leala, Maya Loomes and Zion Mann but the second spell was also dominated by Carmel as Imogen O’Rourke and Hannah Bellett made telling contributions in a dominant performance.

Avondale 47 – Caffery 19, Leala 8, Loomes 8, Mann 8

Carmel 94 – Railton 28, Gaylor 20, Tibbotts 16, O’Rourke 12, Bellett 11

In case you missed it here is a roundup of the two games played on Friday:

Rangitoto College comfortably saw off the challenge of visitors One Tree Hill College to open the season with a 92-46 home win.

Syriah Muipu was outstanding for OTHC with a game high 22 points but it was Rangi, with five players with 8 points or more, that claimed the win. Eva Veale, with 20 points, top scored for the hosts.

Rangitoto 92 – Eva Veale 20, Amelia Andrews 17, Tamsin McAsey 15, Maddy Skelton 10, Zaara Sain 8

One Tree Hill 46 – Syriah Muipu 22, Harriate Heta 5, Melaia Tuisuva 5

Manurewa High School were quick out the gate at Mt Roskill Grammar establishing a 16-7 lead.

Shirley Tuilimu scored 14 second quarter points and Beautiful Campbell 6 as the Manurewa lead ballooned to 45-9 at half-time.

Annelliesse Folaumoetao scored 8 second half points for Roskill but it was Manurewa with the comfortable win.

Mt Roskill 31 – Folaumoetao 8, Brooklyn Koonwaiyou 6, Emily Talosaga 6

Manurewa 67 – Tuilimu 23, Bella Manu-Moore 10, Waimihi Hetaraka-Brown 8, Campbell 8, Zhendy Li 6

Massey High School defaulted their game against Auckland Girls Grammar School.

The Lowdown acknowledges the support of Northern Kāhu. The Kāhu season begins in July with memberships and game tickets available shortly at https://www.kahu.basketball

Senior A – Boys and Girls Round 1 Roundup

May 8, 2023

The opening round of Senior A Boys fixtures featured a game between the two promoted teams as Selwyn College took on Kelston Boys High. 

Selwyn emerged clear winners 82-50 on the back of 24 points from Ashton Muraahi and 16 from Luca Vietri. Alec Phillips played the leading hand for Kelston with 22 points.

Selwyn 82  Muraahi 24 Vietri 16, Elijah Vaealiki 9, James MacDonald 8, Robby Turnbull 7

Kelston 50 – Phillips 22, Sam Tuitupou 9, Sione Mapu 6

A young Avondale College team were no match for Liston College going down 90-44. Liston, boasting a number of players with Premier grade experience from last year, led 43-21 at half-time and never looked like giving up the lead.

Dhon Lao (27 points) and Rasheed Ieremia (20 points) led the way for Liston – Liam Takenaka-Wesley the best for Avondale with 13 points.

Avondale 44 – Takenaka-Wesley 13, Deuel Lelaulu 7,  AJ Tsukada  6, Nate Muller 5

Liston 90 – Lao 27, Ieremia 21, Jeydin Ale 15, Manu Tuaere 7, Ronnie Juan 6

Dilworth ventured over The Bridge to take on Northcote College but came away empty handed with Aaron Sievert entertaining the sizeable home crowd with 37 points. Shunta Shinzaki, Jake Talaaic and Rico McPherson were also in double figures for Northcote.

Kingston Kai’lahi-Aso and Ikahui Mahe were the double digit contributors for an under strength Dilworth side.

Northcote 110 – Aaron Sievert 37, Shunta Shinzaki 14, Jake Talaaic 12, Rico McPherson 11, Tzion Manoa 8, Carlos MacPherson 8

Dilworth 63 – Kingston Kai’lahi-Aso 18, Ikahui Mahe 10, PJ Ainoa 9, Nepia Moore 10

Mt Roskill Grammar School protected home court advantage to see off the Manurewa High School challenge with a 97-61 victory.

Mitch Greenaway and Ezra Ogbuze with 27 points and 17 respectively led the Roskill offensive effort. Richard Campbell top scored with 22 points for Manurewa but his time on the bench, after picking up three first quarter fouls, certainly hindered their progress.

Mt Roskill 97 – M Greenaway 27, Ogbuze 17, Ryan Aramoana 10, Daniel Greenaway 10, Ngawaka Rakete 10

Manurewa 61 – R Campbell 22, Gordon Campbell 12, Tana Ihaka 9, Mark Harrison 6

In Girls Senior A action Rangitoto College comfortably saw off the challenge of visitors One Tree Hill College to open the season with a 92-46 home win.

Syriah Muipu was outstanding for OTHC with a game high 22 points but it was Rangi, with five players with 8 points or more, that claimed the win. Eva Veale, with 20 points, top scored for the hosts.

Rangitoto 92 – Eva Veale 20, Amelia Andrews 17, Tamsin McAsey 15, Maddy Skelton 10, Zaara Sain 8

One Tree Hill 46 – Syriah Muipu 22, Harriate Heta 5, Melaia Tuisuva 5

Manurewa High School were quick out the gate at Mt Roskill Grammar establishing a 16-7 lead.

Shirley Tuilimu scored 14 second quarter points and Beautiful Campbell 6 as the Manurewa lead ballooned to 45-9 at half-time.

Annelliesse Folaumoetao scored 8 second half points for Roskill but it was Manurewa with the comfortable win.

Mt Roskill 31 – Folaumoetao 8, Brooklyn Koonwaiyou 6, Emily Talosaga 6

Manurewa 67 – Tuilimu 23, Bella Manu-Moore 10, Waimihi Hetaraka-Brown 8, Campbell 8, Zhendy Li 6

Massey High School defaulted their game against Auckland Girls Grammar School while Avondale College will entertain Carmel College tonight (Monday May 8).

Girls Prems – Week 1 Review

The Girls 2023 Premier season tipped-off on Friday with Mt Albert Grammar, Epsom Girls Grammar, St Kentigern College and Westlake Girls High recording wins although Northcote College came very close to causing an upset.

In a game where 200 points were scored newcomers Northcote College gave defending champions Westlake Girls High all they could handle before going down 105-95.

In a game with extreme changes in momentum the opening swing favoured Westlake. After Lily Fotu opened the scoring Amy Pateman ran up 14 points to propel the visitors to a 31-21 lead. However in a sign of things to come Westlake were pinged for 11 first quarter fouls.

Pateman continued on her merry way in the second quarter before Northcote Head Coach Gareth Teahan called a halt to proceedings with his team trailing 50-34.

Whatever was said in the timeout worked a treat as his team scored 19 of the next 23 points. Lily Morgan and Nikki Gear were in the thick of the action and with Lizzy May and Lisa Gear dropping threes the Westlake lead was whittled down to just one point at half-time (54-53).

On the resumption Nikki Gear and DJ Hannah continued to ride the home team’s momentum propelling Northcote to a 64-54 lead. This time it was Westlake Head Coach Bronwen Davidson (named 2022 Women’s Coach of the Year at the BBNZ Awards ceremony on Saturday) that needed the timeout.

Her words steadied the Lake ship – an Emma Schroeder triple and 6 points from Fotu set up a likely tight finish with Westlake trailing 77-76 with a quarter to play.

That tight finish didn’t eventuate as Westlake opened the fourth period with 17 unanswered points as Rebecca Moors, Elin Vincent, Schroeder and Fotu bossed proceedings.

Hannah and May provided the necessary spark for Northcote but it was too big a deficit to claw back in the closing minutes.

It was Northcote’s first game in Prems since 2007 and they can take great heart from the performance despite the defeat.

Northcote 95 – N Gear 27, Hannah 22, Morgan 18, May 14, L Gear 11

Westlake 105 – Pateman 29, Moors 24, Fotu 20, Schroeder 13, Vincent 11

Fellow newcomers Takapuna Grammar, Senior A champions in 2022, also suffered defeat going down 72-57 at St Kentigern College.

Ash Tuumaialu scored the first 10 points for the hosts and had 18 of St Kent’s 24 as they led by 15 at the first break.

Kilani Tuineau became the second St Kent’s player in double figures as the hosts stretched out to a 38-19 half-time lead.

Takapuna improved after the break as they found their Premier League legs – a triple from Bailey Flavell and other scores from Amy Mckenzie and Manaia Watson got the scoreboard moving.

However St Kent’s weren’t going to give up their advantage – Sophie Jones and Tuumaialu knocked down threes to increase the margin to 24 points (57-33) at three-quarter time.

Takapuna had the better of the final frame to reduce the deficit but it remained a comfortable victory for St Kent’s.

St Kentigern 72 – Tuumaialu 22, Tuineau 18, Jones 11, Anamaia Rangihaeata 7

Takapuna 57 – Flavell 20, Watson 12, McKenzie 12, Mackenzie MacKereth 6

Mt Albert Grammar, Premier Girls beaten finalists in 2022, won every quarter in defeating visitors Baradene College 84-46.

Deyna Topia and Ritorya Tamilo scored all 15 of Baradene’s first quarter points but that was trumped by 23 points from MAGS with 12 of those courtesy of Waimanu Clarken.

Clarken added another 10 points in the second and with Jorjia Fiu and Te Arina Roberts chiming in with scores the home team’s advantage was 48-31 at half-time. 

Tamilo added to her tally in the third but more points from Clarken and Fiu sealed the deal for MAGS who led 62-42 at the last break.

The fourth period was all MAGS with Gezreyal Maiu‘u producing a nice 7-point cameo.

Waimanu Clarken

MAGS 84 – Clarken 28, Fiu 19, Maiulu 7, Roberts 7, Emina Tiatia 6

Baradene 46 – Tamilo 20, Topia 12, Amelia Nathen 6, Poppy Cavanagh 5

Epsom College made the short trip over to College Hill to face St Mary’s College and completely dominated proceedings winning 84-33. 

Epsom rattled in 23 first quarter points to lead by 14 points with Talia Vea in fine scoring touch. The advantage was a healthy 36-13 at half-time.

India Nash played a strong hand for St Mary’s with 12 points but Draun Forbes and Leah Patuwairua bossed proceedings in the second half as Epsom cruised to victory.

Epsom 84 – Forbes 24, Patuwairua 23, Vea 14, Ivy Tino 7

St Mary’s 33 – Nash 12, Felolina To’ua-Kalava 6, Olive Maling 4

The Lowdown acknowledges the support of Northern Kāhu. The Kāhu season begins in July with memberships and game tickets available shortly at https://www.kahu.basketball

Boys Prems – week 1 review

May 6

The Boys 2023 Premier season tipped-off on Friday with Auckland Grammar, Mt Albert Grammar, Rosmini College and Westlake Boys recording wins.

Defending champions Rosmini College got their season off to a winning start with an 80-65 win at St Kentigern College.

Merrick Rillstone scored 7 points in the opening quarter but the hosts trailed 18-14 after 10 minutes.

Triples from Josh and Chris Wyllie helped Rosmini extend their advantage in the second – 38-31 the half-time score.

Cooper Lepou and Hunter Te Ratana made scores for St Kent’s after the interval but Noah Johns and the Wyllie’s combined for all 22 of Rosmini’s third quarter points as they stretched out to a 60-49 lead ahead of the fourth period.

Rillstone took his tally into the twenties but Zion Anderson did likewise – a Rosmini win confirmed after a couple of Josh Batty threes. 

St Kentigern 65 – Rillstone 22, Lepou 14, Te Ratana 11, George Turner 9  

Rosmini College 80 – Anderson 23, C Wyllie 20 (4/9 3PG), J Wyllie 14, Batty 11, Johns 9

The first North Shore derby of the season saw Westlake Boys High win a one sided contest against Rangitoto College 102-53. Both teams have a new head coach – Karl Noyer has taken the reigns at Westlake while Chanel Pompallier has taken charge at Rangitoto and it was Pompallier with the furrowed brow at quarter time as Westlake established a 32-10 lead thanks largely to 16 points from Malachi Book.

Andre Bautista knocked down three triples in the second – Westlake with 10 made triples in the half led 52-26 at interval. Joel Brown was the best for Rangi with 8 first half points.

Lake continued to dominate the contest in the third piling on 28 points with Noah Rasmussen, Book and Max Riechelmann doing most the damage.

Despite Rangitoto putting together a stronger showing in the fourth – with Cooper Allen, Elyas Taher and Arnold Nam making contributions – Westlake were untroubled as they strolled to victory.

Rangitoto 53 – Brown 13, Taher 13, Nam 10, Max Mudford 8, Allen 6

Westlake 102 – Book 27, Rasmussen 19, Riechelmann 17, Bautista 15, Oscar Neville 13

The Mountain Rad rumble was won 105-83 by Auckland Grammar as they saw off the challenge of newly promoted St Peter’s College. The first half was a tail of contrasting fortunes. Grammar scored 27 first quarter points to lead by 10 at the quarter mark with St Peter’s reversing momentum in the second period to lead 43-42 at half-time.

Josh Howes, Ryan Hunt and Lachlan Kennedy were in good scoring touch for Grammar in the early stages before St Peter’s hit back through Milan Tolich, Bryan Curtis-Marsters and Caleb Afeaki.

The third stanza was something of an arm wrestle with neither side able to gain full control. Tolich and Bailey Smith shared 20 points for Saints in the spell but the more balanced scoring from Grammar saw them edge ahead 75-71 at the third break. In that period Mikaere Tait, George Milburn, Hunt, and Howes each knocked down threes.

Despite 7 points from Smith it was Grammar that held all the cards in the fourth. Milburn scored 10 points and Hunt 8 as Grammar reeled off 30 points to ease to a 22 point win. 

AGS 105 – Hunt 23, Howes 21, Milburn 19, Tait 13

St Peter’s 83 – Smith 26, Tolich 18, Curtis 10, Afeaki 9

Against Sacred Heart College it was host Mt Albert Grammar that prevailed winning 91-59 with Dante Matakatea, Harri Coker-Grey and Kade Cartwright amassing a combined 68 points.

Tyrell Cocker scored six early points for Sacred Heart but a couple of threes from Dante Matakatea and incisions from Harri Coker-Gray helped MAGS forge a 19-13 first quarter lead.

Matt Fautuaalii-Taia and Sam Snowdon carried the scoring load for Heart in the second however Kade Cartwright delivered four triples in the period and Stepan Kosenko and Coker-Gray half a dozen points apiece as MAGS ran up 34 points to lead 53-31 at the interval.

The third period was a much more even affair (15-17). Fautuaalii-Taia and Preston Tuaputa produced scores for the hosts although those were cancelled out by Matakatea and Coker-Grey as MAGS headed to the fourth with an unassailable 70-46 lead.

MAGS put on another 21 points in the fourth to run out easy winners ahead of a trip to Rangitoto College next Friday. Sacred Heart will lick their wounds before hosting St Kentigern College in Round 2.

Sacred Heart 59  Fautuaalii-Taia 20,  Cocker 11, Snowdon 10

MAGS 91 – Matakatea 29, Coker-Grey 20/13rebs, Cartwright 19 (5/9 3PG), Uri 10/13rebs

Top quality sports clothing and products are available for purchase 24/7 from our supporter Dynamic Sport New Zealand. Click on this link to view their superb range https://dynamicsport.co.nz

Prems and Senior A basketball seasons underway

The 2023 Premier and Senior A seasons tip-off on Friday with some juicy match-ups in prospect in both the Girl’s and Boy’s competitions.

Once again the high school reports on Lacey Lowdown will be brought to you in conjunction with our two major supporters. Thank you to Dynamic Sport New Zealand for their coverage of the Boys competitions and Northern Kāhu for their support of the Girls games.

In Premier Boys action the two 2022 trophy winners square off at St Kentigern College. Visitors Rosmini College were the Prems champs last year while St Kent’s were the Zone 1 Tournament winners.

The first North Shore derby of the season sees Rangitoto College entertain Westlake Boy’s High. Both teams have a new head coach – Karl Noyer has taken the reigns at Westlake while Chanel Pompallier has taken charge at Rangitoto.

Newly promoted St Peter’s College take the short trip along Mountain Road to face off against Auckland Grammar School. St Peter’s went unbeaten in 2022 as they dominated the Senior A competition – they would love to start 2023 in winning fashion against their near neighbours.

Sacred Heart College will host Mt Albert Grammar in the other game. Heart won just two games in 2022 but will be hoping the top flight experience gained last year will stand them in good stead for a stronger showing this season.

The Premier Girls competition boasts two new teams in 2023 with both promoted teams facing tough first-up assignments.

Northcote College face the daunting prospect of hosting Westlake Girls High, the 2022 National Champions. Westlake have a much changed lineup with six seniors having moved on so Northcote will relish the early opportunity to cause an upset.

Takapuna Grammar dominated proceedings in Senior A last year and head to St Kentigern College in an attempt to open their campaign with a victory.

Mt Albert Grammar, beaten finalists in 2022, have an away trip to take on Baradene College in a contest that is expected to be extremely close while Epsom College will head over to College Hill to face St Mary’s College.

The opening round of Senior A Boys fixtures features a game between the two promoted teams as Selwyn College take on Kelston Boys High.  

Avondale College, runners-up to St Peter’s last year, will visit Liston College while Dilworth School and Manurewa High School are also on the road. Dilworth head over The Bridge to take on Northcote College while Manurewa will visit Mt Roskill Grammar School.

The Mt Roskill and Manurewa match up is a double header as the respective girls teams will also face off in Girl’s Senior A action.

Carmel College and Rangitoto College begin life in Senior A with challenging fixtures. Both teams recently lost their play-off games to remain in Prems and will be hoping to begin their season with victories. Rangitoto entertain One Tree Hill College while Carmel are away against Avondale College.

Auckland Girls Grammar School entertain Massey High School in the remaining fixture. 

The Northern Kāhu season begins in July with memberships and game tickets available shortly at https://www.kahu.basketball

Top quality sports clothing and products are available for purchase 24/7 from Dynamic Sport New Zealand. Click on this link to view their superb range https://dynamicsport.co.nz

Sacred Heart and St Peter’s secure Prems berths

April 6

The Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade Play-off games were completed this week with the results determined in contrasting styles.

St Peter’s earned promotion in a narrow tense encounter while Sacred Heart College were runaway winners as they protected home court and the much coveted spot in the top grade.

In a tense intriguing contest St Peter’s College won a nail-biter in the Auckland Schools Premier Grade Play-off Game defeating Liston College 65-61.

St Peter’s, the 2022 Senior A champions, made a terrific start taking the first quarter 23-14 with Gus Dallow, Bailey Smith and Montana Ekeroma each knocking down triples.

Any suggestion that the first quarter was a sign of things to come were quickly dispelled by the hosts as they made it a three-point game at the half (37-34). A late triple from Zyhmon Moreno and 5 points from Rasheed Ieremia brought Liston back into the game.

The third quarter mirrored the second with Liston having the better of the exchanges – a brace of scores from Marvellous Michael, Dhon Lao and Ieremia helped Liston forge a 53-50 three-quarter time lead.

Both sides struggled to make baskets in the fourth as the tension ramped up, in fact there was only a combined eight field baskets made in the period.

Jeydin Ale made a couple of those for Liston but it was the combination of Dallow (nine final quarter points), Bryan Masters and Mario Nola that got St Peter’s over the line.

Dallow, a 2022 New Zealand U15 international, finished with a game high 17 points while Masters and Nola each made critical threes as Saint Peter’s edged the final period 15-8 to clinch the win and promotion.

St Peter’s 65 – Dallow 17, Ekeroma 13, Smith 9, Manio 6, Masters 5

Liston 61 – Ieremia 12, Ale 11, Moreno 6, Michael 6, Juan 6, Lao 5

In the second play-off game Sacred Heart College overpowered Avondale College to win 120-66 but in the early stages that margin of victory appeared highly unlikely.

In fact it was Avondale that made the early running with Deuel Lelaulu, Jaycob Holmes and, in particular, Liam Takenaka-Wesley causing the hosts defence a few problems. 

Avondale led 25-18 at quarter time and when Takenaka-Wesley scored immediately after the break Avondale had put together a 9-0 run.

Nate Muller kept Avondale in the ascendancy but the tide began to turn in favour of Sacred Heart after back-to-back scores from Tyrell Cocker.

Matt Schuler reduced the deficit further before Jerome Jakeman levelled the tie at 34 points apiece with a basket in transition.

Takenaka-Wesley kept Avondale in the hunt with a pair of threes but after a couple of transition dunks from Cocker (he had 14 points in the second period) and a triple from Jamie Vile it was Heart that were pumping at the half-time break – ahead 56-41.

Lelaulu scored on the resumption but soon after centre James Tipelu picked up his fifth foul. The Avondale centre’s absence was sorely missed as Heart ran in 28 points in the third – Preston Tuaputa, Josh Tengblad and Matt Fautuaalii-Taia the beneficiaries of some sloppy Avondale defence.

With the three-quarter time score 84-51 in Heart’s favour, and the result determined, both teams were able to give extended minutes to their bench players.

In the closing stages the large contingent of home supporters were treated to some fine shooting from Vile and Snowdon while Muller and Raymond Korboe showcased their range from deep for the visitors.

Avondale remain in Senior A for the 2023 season while Sacred Heart will be keen to build on their Prems experience from last season which culminated in a prized first ever appearance at the 2022 Secondary Schools National Championship.

Sacred Heart 120 – Cocker 23, Fautuaalii-Taia 18, Tuaputu 17, Snowdon 14, Jakeman 13, Vile 13, Tengblad 9

Avondale 66 – Takenaka-Wesley 21, Muller 16, Lelaulu 16, Holmes 8

The bottom two Senior A teams in 2022 have both been relegated and replaced by the top two teams from Open Grade.

Selwyn College defeated Aorere College 86-79 while Kelston Boys High School return to Senior A after beating Macleans College 69-56.

Northcote College win promotion to Premier Grade

Northcote College, after a long hiatus, are back in the Auckland Schools Girls Premier Grade after a commanding 78-48 win against Rangitoto College in the promotion/relegation play-off game on Tuesday.

Games are not won and lost in the opening quarter but Northcote certainly opened the contest with a statement of intent.

Nikki Gear nailed a corner three on the first possession to initiate a 10-0 opening salvo prompting Rangitoto coach Justine Reed to call a timeout.

Zaara Sain’s scooped layup got Rangi on the board but the first quarter belonged to the visitors who led 24-10 after ten minutes.

The large crowd were treated to an exciting second quarter as fortunes ebbed and flowed.

Ester Roberts knocked down a triple and with Maddison Skelton and Mela Andrews making shots the Northcote lead was shaved to 29-21.

Northcote would regain the initiative via Lily Morgan and DJ Hannah only for Roberts and Eva Veale to counter – Northcote ahead 40-28 after a fast paced first half.

The second half couldn’t have started worse for Rangi as Gear stole the restart inbounds pass before converting an uncontested layup while Lizzie May dropped her fourth triple (of five) to stretch the lead to 45-28.

Skelton got the scoreboard moving again for the hosts but it would be a quarter dominated by Northcote, and DJ Hannah in particular. 

The livewire guard was responsible for a couple of steals and 8 points as the Northcote lead stretched to an unassailable 62-34 by the three-quarter mark.

With the result not in doubt both teams gave opportunities to their bench players in the closing minutes – Lisa Gear and Grace Giles taking the opportunity to impress.

After a long absence Northcote – the national champions back in 2006 – will return to the top tier of schools basketball in Auckland for the 2023 season. Rangi will set about their rebuilding in Senior A.

Northcote 78 – Hannah 24, May 15, Morgan 14, N Gear 13, L Gear 6

Rangitoto 38 – Roberts 17, Skelton 9, Andrews 9, Giles 3

Takapuna Grammar headed to Prems

April 4

Takapuna Grammar School, on the back of 40 points from Bailey Flavell, won 71-64 at Carmel College in the play-off for a Premier Grade spot for the 2023 season.

Takapuna, the Senior A champions last season, appeared to be cruising to victory midway through the third period when the led by 17 points, 46-29. However Carmel weren’t going down without a fight and roared back into the contest with a 16-4 run to trail by just 5 points at the three-quarter mark (50-45).

With Ruby Railton dominant in the low post and guards Imogen O’Rourke and Hannah Bellett forcing turnovers Carmel made it a single point game at 57-56 with a shade under five minutes to play to set up a tense finish.

Amy McKenzie eased the Taka nerves with a nice finish and soon after Flavell nailed a corner three to give her team some much needed breathing space.

Railton replied with another inside bucket but Flavell scored six straight to take the Taka lead out to double digits with two minutes to play (69-59).

Mackereth cancelled out another Railton score and although Carmel scored the last four points of the game Takapuna had done enough to secure the win.

Earlier in an understandably nervy start it was Carmel, with Zahara Tibbotts to the fore, that made the better start scoring the first six points of the game.

It took Taka over six minutes to score their first field goal, courtesy of Mackereth and her free throw tied the scores at 13 all at quarter time.

The early stages of the second period were tight before Taka put together a 15-8 run to go into the half-time break with a 35-23 advantage.

Flavell and Mackenzie further increased the lead in the early stages of the third before Carmel embarked on their stirring comeback.

Unfortunately for the hosts it wasn’t quite enough and it’s Takapuna that will play Premier basketball next term with Carmel slotting into Senior A.  

Takapuna 71 – Flavell 40, McKenzie 11, Mackereth 10

Carmel 64 – Railton 23, Bellett 14, O’Rourke 11, Tibbotts 7

The weekend wrap from March Madness

March 20

Ella Bradley at Elite Eight of NCAA Division II Tournament, Charlotte Whittaker our remaining hope in Division I, Junior College Nationals about to begin. It’s fun to follow and record.

All this and more:

Wrapping up the major Breakers numbers from the season

That record Game 4 crowd was something special.

Following the Game 5 Grand Final defeat in Sydney the curtain has come down on a hugely entertaining and successful Sky Sport Breakers season. Whilst the ultimate prize eventually eluded them the club can take immense pride in turning the disaster that was the 2021-22 wooden spoon into an almost successful march to the championship in 2022-23.

There were many memorable games during the season but for those present Grand Final Game 4 played in front of 9,742 fans at Spark Arena took the biscuit. Not only was it a record crowd for a basketball game in New Zealand but the atmosphere and passion of the supporters was spine tingling – it will live long in the memory.

Here are the key numbers from the season:

Jarrell Brantley and Derek Pardon were the only two players to play all 36 games, rookie coach Mody Maor guiding the club to an overall record of 22-14.

Brantley, the Breakers Most Valuable Player of the Year Award winner, led the scoring amassing 581 points with Barry Brown Jnr not far behind with 544 points.

The other main scoring contributors were Derek Pardon (424 points), Will McDowell-White (366) and Izayah Le’afa (359).

Tom Abercrombie’s defensive masterclass in Grand Final Game 4 in which he garnered 6 steals set a new career mark for the Breakers skipper. It also equaled the record held by another Breaker’s great Mika Vukona for the most steals by a Breaker in a play-off game.

Abbo has extended his Breakers all-time appearance record to 399 games. He has also further extended the club’s all-time records in the following categories:

Points to 4,319

Blocks to 215

Wins to 226

In addition he is second all time in rebounding behind Mika Vukona and steals behind Dillon Boucher.

Surely Tom will be back in 2023-24 to play his 400th game and take those records to greater heights!

Will McDowell-White’s emergence as an elite point guard was a joy to behold. In addition to his 366 points he dished 200 assists and pulled down 175 rebounds.

He now has 390 career assists in 78 games at exactly 5 per game. That moves the Aussie into heady company as only Cedric Jackson, with 6.4 dimes per game, has a better Breakers career average. 

Those 390 assists already place him 8th on the Breakers all-time list which is led by Paul Henare (901).

Derek Pardon led the team in blocked shots (38) and rebounds (290). His 38 blocks in a single season have only been bettered by Ben Pepper, Ekene Ibekwe and Shawn Long.

Rob Loe has moved up the Breakers all-time list on a number of statistical categories during the season:

66 blocks – 7th all-time

145 appearances – 10th all-time

68 wins – 11th all-time

542 rebounds – 12th all-time

Roll on the 2023-24 season only seven months to wait!

Ella Bradley headlines March Madness wrap

March 16

March Madness is set to get hectic over the coming days as over 20 Kiwis take the court in different tournaments.

Check the fixture list in the attached story.

A belated congratulations to former Waikato and St Peter’s School standout Ella Bradley. She and her University of Texas at Tyler team emerged victorious from a titanic struggle against Lubbock Christian to reach the Elite Eight at the NCAA Division II National Championships.

Full story here: https://nz.basketball/march-madness-minimum-20-kiwis-involved-in-championships/

Breakers on the receiving end of rough treatment?

March 10

There is all to play for this weekend as the Sky Sport Breakers take on the Sydney Kings in Games 3 and 4 of the NBL Grand Final with the five games series locked at 1-1.

The Breakers coaching staff and hierarchy have said nothing publicly but behind closed doors there must be some furrowed brows when they look at the box scores from the five NBL play-off games played to date involving the New Zealand team.

After all there are a couple of statistical categories in which the Breakers trail alarmingly. Over the three semi-final games against Tasmania Jack Jumpers and Games I and 2 against the Kings they trail the foul count 119-94. By that I mean the Breakers have been called for 25 more fouls than their opponents – an average of 5 per game.

Perhaps not surprisingly the trips to the foul line see the Breakers beaten up badly – 137 free throws taken by their opponents to 107 by the Breakers. A differential of 30 opportunities or 6 per game or almost a third more for the opposition.

It was equally lop sided overall in the regular season against the Kings. In game 1 back in November the count was almost even with Sydney called for one more foul (23 to 22) and the Breakers visiting the charity stripe on one more occasion (30-29).

Games two and three were a different matter entirely with the Breakers called for a total of 46 fouls compared with the Sydney-siders 27. As a result trips to the foul line were massively in favour of the Kings (55-32).

Michaela Aylen and Vaughan Mayberry are the best two NBL referees, of that there is no doubt, and one or both have officiated the Breakers play-off games thus far. But even they might be surprised by the discrepancies that have occurred on their watch!

Let’s hope the scales are more evenly balanced in the remaining games of this captivating Grand Final series.

It would be nice to put to one side the impression the NBL (and referees) favour the big market clubs in Melbourne and Sydney. 

Go Breakers!

March Madness Update #3

March 5

The Washington State Cougars dream run at the Pac 12 Conference Tournament has carried them all the way to the Grand Final.

Having seen off second seed, and number three ranked team in the nation, Utah in the quarter-finals they powered away from third seed Colorado (that included Charlotte Whittaker) in the fourth quarter to win 61-49. Charlisse Leger-Walker led the WSU scoring with 15 points to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. 

The reward for Washington State is a first ever championship game which will see them match up with UCLA on Monday after they ousted number one seed Stanford in the other semi-final.

Also headed for a first ever grand final are Wofford College. Helen Matthews had 5 points, 5 rebounds and a couple of assists as regular season champions Wofford beat UNC Greensboro to advance to the Southern Conference tournament championship game. Wofford will meet the number two ranked Chattanooga in the final on Sunday, the winner of course advancing to the NCAA Tournament beginning March 15.

Tayla Dalton scored 11 points, claimed 6 rebounds and dished 4 assists while Jade Kirisome, playing her 108th Division I game, made both her 3-point attempts for 6 points as St Mary’s College were beaten 82-77 by Pacific. The second round defeat eliminated St Mary’s from the West Coast Conference Tournament (WCCT).

There was better news from the WCCT with BYU working their way to the semi-finals with a 66-56 win against San Francisco. Arielle Mackey-Williams and Kaylee Smiler combined to make 6 from 7 threes. Mackey-Williams finished with 14 points while Smiler, playing her 101st game for BYU, scored 6 points.

University of California Irvine clinched a share of the Big West Conference regular season title with a 52-44 victory over CSU Bakersfield.

Freshman Akiva McBirney-Griffin, an NBL championship winner with Otago Nuggets in 2021, has enjoyed a solid freshman year earning 8 starts in his 28 appearances.

Flynn Cameron had 16 points and 5 assists as UC Riverside clinched third seed at the Big West Conference Tournament after a 73-72 overtime win at Cal Poly. The 5 assists pushed Cameron up to fifth spot on UCR’s single season record for assists made – he has 108 in 32 games in this campaign.

Older brother Tobias Cameron scored 10 points as Abilene Christian wrapped up Western Athletic Conference regular season play with a 72-54 defeat at the hands of Sam Houston.

Colorado State completed Mountain West regular season fixtures with a 92-84 victory over New Mexico. James Moors with 8 points, on 4 from 5 shooting, plus 5 rebounds in the win.

March Madness Update #2

March 2

Washington State have seen off second seed, and number three ranked team in the nation, Utah 66-58. Charlisse Leger-Walker finished with 15 points making 4 from 7 threes including a clutch effort with 8 seconds to play when WSU’s lead had been trimmed to just three-points.

The reward for Washington State is a semi-final match up with Charlotte Whittaker and the University of Colorado. Whittaker scored 4 points in their 62-54 defeat of Oregon State.

Those 4 points brought up 300 career points for the Cantabrian forward.

Helen Matthews filled the stats line as Southern Conference regular season champions Wofford College beat Western Carolina 71-56. Matthews finished with 11 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, a block and a steal in the Southern Conference tournament opening round.

Tayla Dalton scored 12 points and Jade Kirisome 5 points as St Mary’s eased to a 74-43 win against Loyola Marymount in the first round of the West Coast Conference Tournament.

Ashlee Strawbridge scored 8 points as New Mexico State (10-8) rounded out the regular season with a 70-64 win against Sam Houston.

In her 50th NCAA Division I game Grace Hunter scored 7 points as Cal State Bakersfield were defeated 52-46 by Long Beach State.

In NCAA Division II play Ella Bradley claimed 7 rebounds to accompany 11 points as the University of Texas at Tyler beat West Texas A&M 75-54 to reach the semi-finals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament.

Eckerd College bowed out at the semi-final stage of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament. Hannah Wentworth scored 6 points as #2 Eckerd went down 60-52 to #3 Lynn. 

Making a vital free-throw with just 4 seconds left on the clock Marvin Williams-Dunn (3 points) and Ouachita Baptist ousted top seed Southern Nazarene from the Great American Conference Tournament winning 70-67. Nazarene had won 15 games on the bounce and were ranked 11th nationally.

March Madness begins with Leger-Walker on song

March 1

Having been named to the 2023 All-Pac 12 team by both the Pac-12 coaches and the League’s media earlier in the week Charlisse-Leger Walker scored 23 points to ensure Washington State University made a winning start at the Pac 12 Tournament.

WSU beat Cal Berkeley 61-49 and will now match up against second seeds Utah. Leger-Walker’s 16th point in the game carried her past 1,400 career points – becoming the fifth Kiwi after Stella Beck (1,439), Megan Compain (1,497), Akiene-Tera Reed (1,624) and Erin Rooney (1,647) to have reached 1,400 points in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.

In other Pac 12 news Charlotte Whittaker and Colorado, seeded #3, will play the winner of the Oregon State and Southern California first round tie.

Emme Shearer scored 9 points as Portland University Pilots rounded out the regular season with a 61-49 win at BYU. The win was the 15th West Coast Conference victory of the season for Portland – a programme record.

As second seeds at the conference tournament Portland will enjoy a bye straight to the semi-finals.

McKenna Dale scored 4 points and claimed 6 rebounds as Virginia’s season came to an end. The Cavaliers were beaten 68-57 by Wake Forest in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Dale played in all 30 games as Virginia finished with a 15-15 record.

Sam Mennenga was once again the leading scorer for Davidson College (7-9) as they fell 75-70 to George Washington. Mennenga finished with 23 points (7/11FG, 6/6FT) to go with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Mennenga now in striking distance of a 500-points season – currently with 460 points to his name.  

In NCAA Division II action Eckerd College are through to the semi-finals of the Sunshine State Conference tournament after dismantling Embry-Riddle 74-51. Hannah Wentworth was a major contributor with 17 points making 5 from 10 threes.

In case you missed the news from earlier in the week:

Wofford College Terriers (10-4) claimed a first ever Southern Conference regular season title with an 82-76 victory over Mercer. Helen Matthews put together an all-action display with 16 points (3/6 3PG), 9 rebounds and a career high 4 blocks in the win.

It’s not just the first title for the Terriers but the first by any women’s team sport at Wofford.

Ben Gold scored 4 points on 2 from 2 shooting as Marquette University Blue Demons pulled away for a 72-56 victory at Butler University. The win clinched Marquette’s first ever outright Big East Conference regular season title.

Given Marquette were picked ninth in the preseason poll it’s a remarkable result for the Blue Demons. Only in his freshman season Gold, a 2022 Tall Black, has been a contributor off the bench in every game. 

In NAIA Division 1 play Nico Hill and Missouri Baptist University clinched back to back American Mid-West Conference titles with a 12-4 record (16-12 overall).

The Taranaki native played all 28 games for the Spartans averaging 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Corey Le’aupepe and Menlo College failed to reach the Golden State Conference play-offs after finishing with a 7-11 record. However the former St Pat’s and Wellington forward had the satisfaction of bringing up 1,000 career points and Menlo in the final month of his collegiate career. He is only the 10th player in the programme’s history to reach the notable milestone.

Gold for Gold and Matthews

There were 9 points, 4 rebounds and a couple of blocks for Ben Gold as Marquette University Blue Demons (15-3) defeated De Paul 90-84. With two games left in the Big East Conference Marquette are guaranteed at least a share of the regular season title – one more victory and they will be outright champions.

It’s Marquette’s second Big East title since joining the conference in 1989 and the first since 2011-12.

Wofford College Terriers (10-4) claimed a first ever Southern Conference regular season title with an 82-76 victory over Mercer. Helen Matthews put together an all-action display with 16 points (3/6 3PG), 9 rebounds and a career high 4 blocks in the win.

It’s not just the first title for the Terriers but the first by any women’s team sport at Wofford.

Back to the men and James Moors made 4 from 8 from the field and 8 out of 9 free-throws in his 16 points as Colorado State (5-11) beat Wyoming 84-71. Moors has a season high 24 points with the 16 points his highest tally in Mountain West Conference play this season.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt and South Dakota enjoyed a monster win to conclude the Summit League regular season. Making 4 from 8 threes KP-H finished with 21 points to pass the 400 points mark for the season.

Sam Mennenga recorded his sixth double-double of the season – adding 11 rebounds to 14 points – as Davidson (7-9) gained a 71-67 win over Duquesne.

Callum McRae scored 13 points and snared 8 rebounds as Sacramento State (6-11) lost a close one at Montana going down 74-72.

Tobias Cameron had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals as Abilene Christian (5-10) were beaten 66-62 by Utah Valley.

————

A double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds from Charlisse Leger-Walker wasn’t quite enough to get Washington State (9-9) the win against USC with WSU pipped 68-65 in overtime.

McKenna Dale continued her recent strong form with 14 points, on 6 from 8 shooting, 5 rebounds and 3 assists as Virginia were defeated 85-74 by Miami in its ACC regular season finale.

Emme Shearer scored a baker’s dozen – her 13 points came on 5 from 10 shooting, as  Portland (14-3) fell 74-58 at San Diego. Portland will face BYU in a rearranged fixture to conclude West Coast Conference (WCC) play on Tuesday (NZT).

Arielle Mackey-Williams scored 11 points as BYU (9-8) were defeated 58-51 by WCC leaders Gonzaga.

Also with 11 points (5/8FG) was Grace Hunter as Cal State Bakersfield (3-15) lost 57-44 to Cal State Fullerton.

Tayla Dalton contributed 9 points as St Mary’s College Gaels concluded the West Coast Conference regular season with a 68-53 loss to Pacific.

Amiee Book tallied 7 points as Fresno State fell 73-66 at San Jose State.

Dale dials up a ton & Mennenga a couple of dozen

Playing her 100th NCAA Division I game McKenna Dale scored 12 points as Virginia (4-13) fell 79-69 at Clemson. Prior to Virginia the former Junior Tall Fern played 45 games at Brown in the Ivy League. She has become the 24th Kiwi woman to make 100 Division I appearances.

For the first time in programme history Washington State (9-8) scored a win in Pauley Pavilion, the home of UCLA Bruins. Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 12 points and added 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a couple of blocks as Washington State won 62-55. 

Helen Matthews had a very similar stats line as Wofford (9-4) beat Samford 86-60. The Cantabrian finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Grace Hunter scored 11 points as California State Bakersfield (3-13) were beaten 65-52 by Hawaii. It was the seventh double figure outing of the season from the Wellingtonian guard.

Tara Manumaleuga tallied 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists as Texas Christian went down to Baylor 67-57.

Dani Bayes produced 8 points and a team high 6 assists as Boise State (11-6) defeated San Jose State 78-70.

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Sam Mennenga scored 24 points (9/13FG, 3/4 3PG) as Davidson (6-9) eased past St Bonaventure for a 74-61 win. It was the seventh 20+ score of the season for the former Westlake Boys big man.

Flynn Cameron’s good 3-point shooting form was on display once again as UC Riverside (13-5) easily accounted for California State Northridge with a 96-76 win. Cameron made all four of his three point attempts in his 14 points – that’s 71 from 166 threes on the season at an impressive 42.8%.

Callum McRae scored 14 points on 7 from 10 shooting as Sacramento State (6-10) went down 60-56 to Montana State.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored 14 points as South Dakota went down to Summit League leaders Oral Roberts 82-70. 

Milestones for McRae, Mennenga and Cameron

19 February 2023

Another double-double from Callum McRae, his ninth of the season, helped  Sacramento State (6-9) inflict a 70-65 defeat on Idaho State. McRae tallied an impressive 21 points and 15 rebounds and is now just 2 points shy of 1200 career points.

Flynn Cameron dished 5 assists, grabbed 5 rebounds and scored 21 points as UC Riverside Highlanders (11-5) beat UC Santa Barbara 74-63. The 2022 Tall Black took his career tally to 918 points becoming the ninth Kiwi male to reach the 900 NCAA Division I points milestone. In addition he became just the seventh Highlander to log 100 assists in a season.

Sam Mennenga also reached a notable milestone. He scored a team equal best 17 points as Davidson College (5-9) won 76-75 against St Joseph’s. Mennenga was an efficient 5 from 7 from the field and 6 from 8 free throws including the all-important go-ahead freebie with just one second left on the clock.

Mennenga now has 810 career points and up to 10th on the all-time list of New Zealand scorers in Men’s NCAA Division I hoops.

Tafara Gapare scored 11 points and secured 7 rebounds as Massachusetts (4-10) defeated Rhode island 69-45. It was freshman Gapare’s third double figure outing of the season.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt made 4 assists to go with 8 points as South Dakota (6-8) slipped to an 86-68 defeat at Denver.

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Tara Manumaleuga made 4 from 8 threes on her way to 16 points as Texas Christian defeated Kansas State 75-62. Manumaleuga had a fine all-court game with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a block and a steal.

Washington State (8-8) defeated Oregon State 67-57 – Charlisse Leger-Walker with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. That’s 400 points this season at 18.3ppg for CL-W.

McKenna Dale had a nice stats line of 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals and an assist as Virginia were pipped 56-52 by Duke.

Emme Shearer scored a team equal best 12 points, and added 3 assists as Portland got the better of Pacific 57-46 to remain second on the West Coast Conference ladder.

Tayla Dalton scored 6 points as West Coast Conference leaders Gonzaga pulled away in the second half to beat St Mary’s 65-51.

Also undone in the West Coast Conference were BYU (9-7) beaten 72-59 by San Francisco. Arielle Mackey-Williams top scored for BYU with 14 points, while Kaylee Smiles tabbed 8 points and 6 rebounds. 

Ashlee Strawbridge scored 7 points as New Mexico State (8-7) slipped to a 73-65 loss to California Baptist.

Brown leads Breakers back to the Grand Final

The Sky Sport Breakers are headed to the NBL Grand Final for the first time since 2016.

In front of a raucous crowd of close to 7,000 at Spark Arena on Sunday the Breakers won the third and deciding semi-final series fixture 92-77. It sounds a comfortable scoreline but the Breakers were only five points ahead (77-72) with five minutes to play and the home supporters were on edge.

However, led by import Barry Brown Jr, the Breakers closed out the game with a 15-5 run -Brown scoring 11 of those points to finish with a game high 32 points.

It was a fabulous performance from the ‘NBL’s Sixth Man of the Year’ and those 32 points have only been bettered once by a Breaker in play-off basketball – Kirk Penney scored a memorable 38 points in Perth against the Wildcats back in 2011.

Brown finished on 10 from 16 shooting from the field and a perfect 10 from 10 at the free throw line. He got great support from Derek Pardon (15 points and 13 rebounds), Jarrell Brantley (14 points and 7 rebounds), Rob Loe (11 points and 8 rebounds) and Izayah Le’afa (10 points and 3 steals).

The Breakers will now enjoy a few days off before looking to win a fifth NBL championship with the best of five Grand Final series beginning in Sydney on March 3rd.

Here are the major numbers from the three semi-final games:

Game 1 at Spark Arena

Barry Browne Jr passed 400 points for the season and Will McDowell White 600 points for the Breakers in his 71stappearance.

With his 8 points Tom Abercrombie moved to 4,301 career points – the fourth highest cumulative total amongst active players in the NBL.

Game 2 in Tasmania

Izayah Le’afa scored his 300th point of the season 

Game 3 at Spark Arena

The Breakers made a collective 24 from 24 free throws, a best performance in club history. The previous best 100% shooting effort was 14 from 14.

Derek Pardon posted his tenth double-double of the season. He becomes only the 8th Breaker to have posted ten or more double-doubles.

Upcoming

Jarrell Brantley is one point shy of 500 points for the season.

Will McDowell-White is 2 points short of 300 points this season. 

NCAA Weekend Wrap – Milestones for Book and Matthews

13 February 2023

Amiee Book with 13 points was one of two Fresno State (1-13) players in double figures in a 61-54 loss to Colorado State. Book now has 1,202 career points – 8th all time on the Kiwi list of Division I scorers.

Helen Matthews tallied 9 points (4/7FG) as Wofford (7-3) defeated Western Carolina 83-62. The junior guard now has 500 career points, the seventh Kiwi amongst active players to reach the milestone.

Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points as Washington State were beaten 73-57 at #7 Utah.

Ashlee Strawbridge scored a team high equaling 11 points for New Mexico State (7-6) but it was in a 90-57 thumping at the hands of Utah Tech.

Tayla Dalton scored 9 points and Jade Kirisome 7 as St Mary’s (6-9) overcame Santa Clara for an 89-79 win. Hats off to the St Mary’s administration in recognizing the game as a Waitangi Day celebration.

Next up for St Mary’s is a clash with former Harbour team mate Emme Shearer and Portland.

Grace Hunter, passing 400 NCAA career points in the process, scored 9 points as Cal State Bakersfield (3-12) slipped to a 66-55 loss at the hands of Long Beach State.

BYU snapped a three game losing streak in defeating Loyola Marymount 67-42. There were 9 points for Arielle Mackey-Williams and 6 for Kaylee Smiler in the win.

Dani Bayes scored 8 points as Boise State fell 76-63 to Mountain West Conference leaders UNLV.

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Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored 15 points (3/6 3PG) but couldn’t prevent South Dakota (6-8) losing 72-67 to South Dakota State.

A big double-double from Callum McRae, his eighth d-d of the season, helped Sacramento State (6-8) to a convincing 70-54 win against Northern Colorado. McRae finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

In a game featuring Kiwis on opposing sides UC Riverside’s Flynn Cameron scored 11 points but UC Irvine’s (9-3) Akiva McBirney-Griffin left with the smile, 4 points (2/2FG) and an 83-64 victory from the Big West Conference clash.

In another game featuring two Kiwis Sam Mennenga scored 9 points for Davidson (4-8) in a narrow 73-71 loss to Fordham (8-4) – Zach Riley with an assist for the victors.

Tobias Cameron tallied 7 points and 4 each in assists and rebounds as Abilene Christian (5-7) slipped to a 77-62 loss to Sam Houston.

No 10 ranked Marquette (12-3) enjoyed an 89-75 win against Georgetown with Ben Gold scoring 7 points on 3 from 5 shooting.

Latest NCAA News: Leger-Walker reaches another milestone

11 February

Former Junior Tall Ferns team mates Charlisse Leger-Walker and Charlotte Whittaker were in opposition as Washington State (6-7) visited #25 Colorado (10-3) in Pac 12 play. Leger-Walker posted a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds as Washington State came up just short going down 71-68. Whittaker had 2 points, 2 rebounds and a block for Colorado.

CL-W has taken her career points tally to 1,312 – just the fifth Kiwi after Erin Rooney, Stella Beck, Megan Compain and Akiene Tea-Reed to reach 1300 points in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.

Fresno State struggling at 1-12 almost pulled off one of the upsets of the season against unbeaten Mountain West Conference leaders Nevada Las Vegas. Fresno, with Amiee Book scoring 10 points (3/5FG) were pipped 64-63.

Arielle Mackey-Williams also scored 10 points in a one-point loss as BYU (7-6) were edged 64-63 by Pepperdine.

Also in West Coast Conference play Tayla Dalton scored 6 points in the 69-66 defeat St Mary’s (5-9) suffered at the hands of San Francisco.

Eight points from Dani Bayes helped Boise State register a 69-62 win against New Mexico.

Another freshman, Ella Brow, added 5 assists to 8 points as Southern Methodist (6-4) eased aside Tulsa 81-58.

Tara Manumaleuga  scored 8 points as Texas Christian went down 69-50 to Kansas.

Ashlee Strawbridge claimed 5 rebounds to accompany 7 points as New Mexico State (7-5) were beaten 63-56 by Western Athletic Conference leaders Southern Utah.

Virginia (3-11) were beaten 63-53 by Louisville with McKenna Dale scoring 5 points and grabbing 3 boards. 

Rochelle Fourie had a quadruple in points and rebounds as Cal State Northridge (4-9) got one over on Grace Hunter (3 points) Cal State Bakersfield (3-10) in a 69-60 win.

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Freshman Ben Gold posted 12 points (4/5FG, 2/3 3PG) in Marquette’s (11-3) somewhat surprising 87-72 loss to Connecticut. It was a collegiate career high for the 2022 Tall Black

Flynn Cameron also scored a dozen points as UC Riverside (9-4) beat UC Davis 72-65.

Callum McRae tallied 11 points and 8 rebounds as Sacramento State (5-7) were beaten 77-55 by Northern Arizona – that’s 300 points this season for the former Palmerston North Boys High standout.

Ahmed Essahaty scored 8 points as Long Island came within a couple of points of recording their second Northeast Conference win of the season – eventually going down 80-79 to Fairleigh Dickinson.

There were 7 points and 7 rebounds for James Moors as Colorado State (3-9) soared past Air Force 69-53.

Weekend NCAA D1 Wrap – Leger-Walker and Perrott-Hunt on the move

February 6

A game high 25 points from Charlisse Leger-Walker – 4 from 9 from beyond the arc – catapulted Washington State (6-6) to a 70-60 home win against California Berkeley. The Tall Ferns guard has edged past her former Waikato and St Peter’s School teammate Kendell Heremaia on the all-time list of kiwi scorers in Women’s NCAA Division I basketball.

Heremaia (Fordham University 2017-22) scored 1,291 career points with CL-W now up to 1,295 points.

Tara Manumaleuga put together a fine shooting display despite Texas Christian (0-11) losing 77-65 to Oklahoma State. Manumaleuga finished with a career high 19 points shooting 7 from 11 from the field, 3 of 4 threes and 2 out of 3 freebies.

Grace Hunter, with 10 points, was the only Cal State Bakersfield (3-9) player in double figures in the 56-42 loss to UC San Diego.

Kaylee Smiler scored 9 points and Arielle Mackey-Williams 7 as BYU (7-5) were beaten 52-49 by San Diego.

McKenna Dale was close to a double-double totaling 9 points and 9 rebounds as Virginia (3-10) fell 60-51 to Pitt. Dale also had a brace of steals and blocks.

Emme Shearer’s 8 points (and 5 assists) in Portland’s (12-1) 80-68 win at Santa Clara has carried her beyond 600 career points.

Dani Bayes also scored 8 points – adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists – as Boise State (7-5) defeated Fresno State (1-11) 66-61. Amiee Book scored 5 points for Fresno State.

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Tobias Cameron was a perfect 5 from 5 from the field, totaling 15 points, as Abilene Christian got the better of California Baptist to win 87-71.

A couple of Kiwis were in opposition as Davidson College grabbed a much needed 93-78 win against Massachusetts. Tafara Gapare scored 4 points for UMass but that was trumped by Davidson starter Sam Mennenga who posted 14 points on 6 from 9 shooting.

Callum McRae also scored 14 points – and added 8 rebounds and 4 assists – as Sacramento State suffered an agonizing 82-76 overtime loss at Idaho.

James Moors was in good form for Colorado State (2-9) despite an 88-79 loss at Utah State. Moors finished with 13 points making 5 from 8 shots whilst also tallying a team high 7 rebounds and a couple of blocks.

Flynn Cameron scored 8 points as UC Riverside (8-4) slipped to a 64-58 loss against Cal State Fullerton.

Recapping that Kruz Perrott-Hunt has moved into elite company after scoring a team high 18 points in South Dakota’s 86-72 loss to North Dakota.

His fourth point in the game brought up the senior guard’s 1,000th career point – only the fifth Kiwi to reach that mark in Men’s NCAA Division I basketball. 

He joins fellow Tall Blacks Kirk Penney, Tai Webster and Craig Bradshaw, plus current collegiate player Callum McRae, in the 1,000 points club.

Top 10 scorers (NZ Men) in NCAA Division 1 Basketball:

1,454 in 127 games, Kirk Penney (University of Wisconsin Badgers, 1999-2003)

1,146 in 116 games, Callum McRae (UC Riverside 2018-22 & Sacramento State 2022-present)

1,116 in 127 games, Tai Webster (University of Nebraska Huskers, 2013-17)

1,114 in 123 games, Craig Bradshaw (Winthrop University Eagles, 2003-7)

1,014 in 102 games, Kruz Perrott-Hunt (University of South Dakota (2019-present)

973 in 133 games, Rob Loe (University of St Louis Billikens, 2010-14)

945 in 125 games, Mark Dickel (UNLV, 1996-2000)

941 in 117 games, Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa (Sacramento State University, 2016-20)

850 in 115 games, Flynn Cameron (DePaul Univ, 2018-20 & UC Riverside 2018-present)

785 in 63 games, Isaac Fotu (University of Hawaii, 2012-14)

Breakers cap off tremendous regular season with overtime win – semi-finals bound

The Sky Sport Breakers began the season with an overtime loss at Melbourne United and finished their regular season campaign with an 80-75 extra time win in Brisbane against the Bullets.

The 26 games in between saw the Breakers carve out a further 17 victories, 11 of those away from New Zealand – an 11-3 road record the best in NBL’23.

It’s also matches the road record of the all-conquering 2012-13 team that only lost four games all season in its championship winning run.

The Breakers final two regular season games were at Illawarra Hawks on Thursday and at the Brisbane Bullets 48 hours later.

At Illawarra the Breakers had to overcome a 16-point (50-34) half-time deficit to defeat a spirited Hawks outfit and lock in a top three finish. With Cairns Taipans winning in Perth the following evening the Breakers faced a trip to Queensland to secure the coveted second spot on the ladder and with it an automatic semi-final berth.

It wasn’t pretty last night, neither was it at Illawarra for long stretches, but this Breakers team has some inner steal and it was on display in abundance in the final two games.

It was perhaps fitting that the Breakers longest serving player, Tom Abercrombie (playing his 391st game for the club) produced the game winning play. His fourth steal of the night, with 14 seconds to play in the overtime period, meant the Breakers were able to extend their lead from three points to five, secure the win, and return home for a first semi-final series since being swept 2-0 by Melbourne United in 2018.

Abercrombie finished with a season high 14 points with other notable contributions coming from the club’s leading scorer Jarrell Brantley (19 points), Will McDowell-White (15 points, 9 assists and 8 rebounds), Izayah Le’afa (12 points) and Tom Vodanovich (10 points).

The Breakers can now rest up for a couple of days as they await the outcome of the third versus fourth play-off game between Cairns Taipans and Tasmania Jack Jumpers. The Breakers will face the winner of that contest in a three game series – dates to be announced in the coming days.

Some other numbers from Round 18:

At Illawarra on Thursday:

Rob Loe, with his first rebound of the game, claimed his 500th for the club – the 13th Breaker to reach that mark.

Tom Vodanovich scored 2 points bringing up 100 points for the season.

At Brisbane on Saturday:

For Rob Loe it was his 64th win for the Breakers moving him ahead of Daryl Corletto (63 wins) as the 11th “winningest” Breaker of all-time.

Will McDowell-White, with 15 points in the game, passed 600 career points (589 for the Breakers).

The regular season record of 18-10 has only been bettered in the four championship winning campaigns.

22-6 (2010-11 first championship year)

21-7 (2011-12 second championship year)

24-4 (2012-13 third championship year)

19-9 (2014-15 fourth championship year)

NCAA wrap – Leger-Walker, Shearer & Cameron catch the eye

February 4

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the women’s Basketball Coaches Association have named Charlisse Leger-Walker as a mid-season finalist for the 2023 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the second season running.

The Award goes to the top shooting guard in NCAA Women’s basketball. KL-W is averaging 19.2 points and 4.9 assists per game for the Washington State Cougars.

The Cougars (5-6) found the going too tough against the #2 ranked team in the nation losing 71-38 to Stanford. KL-W had the satisfaction of top scoring and leading the rebounding for the Cougs but it was just 8 and 6 against the Pac 12 Conference leaders.

Also in the Pac 12 Charlotte Whittaker scored 4 points as third placed Colorado (8-3) claimed a 63-53 win against Oregon.

Emme Shearer, one of the leading 3-point shooters in the West Coast Conference made 5 from 7 from deep for a career high equaling 21 points – and grabbed 8 rebounds – as Portland (11-1) overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat San Francisco 83-80 in overtime.

Amiee Book top scored for Fresno State (1-10) in their 74-59 loss to Air Force. Book scored 14 points (4/7FG) taking her career total to 1,174 and up to 9th on the all-time list of NZ Women’s Division I scorers. 22 more points will take Book past the 1,195 scored by Micaela Cocks (University of Oregon Ducks, 2006-10).

Passing 100 points for the season Ashlee Strawbridge scored 13 points (6/11FG) as New Mexico State (7-3) edged past California Baptist 62-61, the winning basket made with just 7 seconds to play.

McKenna Dale was one rebound shy of a double-double tallying 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in Virginia’s (3-9) loss to North Carolina. 

Dani Bayes passed the 200 points mark for the season in scoring 11 points as Boise State (5-5) defeated San Diego State 62-57. The freshman guard made all three of her 3-point attempts and overall was 4 from 6 from the field.

Jade Kirisome scored 8 points, Tayla Dalton 6 and Amy West a couple as St Mary’s (5-7) won 62-55 at Pepperdine.

Grace Hunter totaled 7 points and 4 rebounds as Cal State Bakersfield (3-8) won a very low scoring contest against UC Riverside 43-39.

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Flynn Cameron knocked down 5 of 7 threes on his way to 19 points as UC Riverside (8-3) lost an overtime thriller to CS Bakersfield 82-76.

Callum McRae’s 16 points (6/8FG) and 8 rebounds were not enough to grab Sacramento State (5-5) a win – Eastern Washington the victors 82-63.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt, after scoring 15 points, is just 4 points short of 1000 career points. Those points came in South Dakota’s (6-6) 71-62 win over North Dakota State.

Tobias Cameron played a big part in Abilene Christian (4-6) defeating Seattle 83-68. The senior guard mustered 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a brace of steals.

In just his third game for Long Island Ahmed Essahaty was thrust into the starting line-up and didn’t disappoint scoring 10 points, on 5 from 9 shooting. The Wellingtonian guard helped Long Island to their first North East Conference win of the season as they defeated Sacred Heart 74-70.

Akiva McBirney-Griffin had 10 points and 6 rebounds as UC Irvine defeated UC San Diego 76-60.

Tafara Gapare scored 5 points as Massachusetts slipped to a 70-59 defeat at the hands of George Mason.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt the latest Kiwi Centurion

January 31

Kruz Perrott-Hunt has moved into an exclusive century club after playing game number 100 for the University of South Dakota today.

Perrott-Hunt is just the 17th Kiwi male to bring up a century of NCAA Division I appearances joining a distinguished list that includes fellow Tall Blacks Kirk Penney, Tai Webster, Rob Loe, Mark Dickel, Jack Salt and Sam Timmins.

KP-H scored 10 points in his ton up game but it was a contest in which South Dakota suffered its biggest loss of the season going down 103-53 at Summit League leaders Oral Roberts.

The senior guard is enjoying an outstanding senior season – he leads the Coyotes scoring with 305 points at 14 per game making 40% (40/100) of his 3-point shots and 84% (43/51) from the foul line. In addition he is second on the team for assists with 2.0 per game.

Another milestone beckons – he is currently just 19 points shy of 1,000 career points.

Women’s NCAA weekend review – Matthews with a season high

January 30

Helen Matthews takes the spotlight as we review the weekends Women’s NCAA Division I action. Matthews played a significant part in Wofford College Terriers securing a pair of Southern Conference away wins. The brace of victories takes Wofford to equal first on the conference standings with a 5-2 record.

Matthews top scored as Wofford recorded their first ever success at Mercer winning 76-71. The Cantabrian guard made 3 from 6 threes on her way to 21 points.

Matthews followed that with a valuable 8 points and 8 rebounds, playing all 40 minutes for the first time in her career, in Wofford’s 79-75 road win at Samford – the former Junior Tall Fern is now just 6 points shy of 500 career points.

Portland (10-1) maintained second place on the West Coast Conference ladder comprehensively beating Loyola Marymount 58-39. Emme Shearer top scored for Portland with 12 points and in claiming 10 rebounds recorded her first collegiate double-double.

Lauryn Mapusua earned 10 free throws and converted 8 on her way to 14 points as Houston Christian (3-5) lost 59-48 to Northwestern State.

McKenna Dale tallied 11 points in Virginia’s (3-6) 90-72 loss to Syracuse.

Ella Brow scored 8 points as Southern Methodist (5-3) got the better of Tulsa winning 61-54.

Five Kiwis were on show as BYU (7-4) got the better of Saint Mary’s 74-59. For BYU Kaylee Smiler scored 9 points (plus 4 blocks) and Arielle Mackey-Williams 7. St Mary’s forward Amy West contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds while Jade Kirisome, in her 100th NCAA game, made 5 points and Tayla Dalton 4 points.

Saint Mary’s followed that with a 67-54 home defeat at the hands of San Diego – 7 points for Dalton in that one.

Seven points and 5 assists for Grace Hunter in the 79-57 defeat California State Bakersfield suffered at the hands of UC Davis.

Dani Bayes, last week named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Week, scored 6 points as Boise State (4-5) flew past Air Force 60-55.

Charlisse Leger-Walker had a rare scoring off-night as Washington State overcame #19 Arizona 70-59, Leger-Walker made 5 from 6 free throws but was 0 of 13 from the field. The Tall Fern still found other ways of impacting the contest as she gave 7 assists and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Amiee Book also scored 5 points, bringing up 200 points for the season, as Fresno State went down 75-56 to San Diego State.

Ashlee Strawbridge added 6 rebounds to 4 points as New Mexico State (6-3) edged Abilene Christian 69-61.

Tobias Cameron surpasses Rob Loe’s all-time Men’s NCAA record

Over the last few days Callum McRae, Sam Mennenga and Tom Webley have set new career marks but it is the record set by Tobias Cameron that headlines the latest Men’s NCAA Division I roundup.

Playing his 134th game for Abilene Christian University Cameron has set a new New Zealand record for the number of games played by a Kiwi in NCAA Division I Men’s basketball. Cameron celebrated the milestone with a win – tallying 8 points and 5 rebounds as Abilene pipped Utah Tech 81-76.

Rob Loe, who played 133 games for the University of St Louis Billikens (2010-14), had previously held the all-time high appearance record. The Tall Blacks centre still holds the record for most starts – 121.

It should be noted that Loe played the standard four years at St Louis while Cameron has taken advantage of the additional ‘covid year’ to play a fifth year at Abilene.

Callum McRae pulled down 9 rebounds to accompany 15 points as Sacramento State (5-4) were  beaten 72-65 by Montana State. McRae has pulled alongside Tai Webster (University of Nebraska Huskers, 2013-17) as the second highest Kiwi points scorer in Men’s NCAA Division I basketball. Kirk Penney is the all-time leader with 1,454 points for the Wisconsin Badgers.

In collegiate game number 99 Kruz Perrott-Hunt made 3 from 4 threes on his way to 13 points as South Dakota (5-5) secured an 81-67 road win at St Thomas. With 971 career points the Tall Black is closing in on the double of 100 appearances and 1,000 NCAA Division I points – only achieved previously by four Kiwi men. 

Davidson College snapped a four game losing streak with a 64-57 win at La Salle. Sam Mennenga was once again to the fore leading Davidson in points and rebounds with a double-double of 27 points (10/16FG, 3/4 3PG) and 11 rebounds. Those 27 points were a career high and it was the third double-double in the last five games for the 2022 Tall Black.

Mennenga followed that with a team high 16 points against Rob Loe’s alma mater St Louis but Davidson (3-6) came up short against the Atlantic 10 Conference co-leaders losing 74-70.

Despite Hartford falling 76-52 to Pennsylvania Tom Webley produced a career high 16 points shooting a highly efficient 8 from 10.

Flynn Cameron totalled 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists as UC Riverside (8-2) beat UC San Diego 72-65.

Tafara Gapare came up with 6 points and 4 rebounds as Massachusetts (4-5) got past Duquesne 87-79.

Akiva McBirney-Griffin tallied 5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks as UC Irvine (7-2) outclassed Cal State Northridge winning 81-56.

James Moors also scored 5 points in Colorado State’s (2-7) 80-59 loss to Boise State.

In other news Wellingtonian guard Ahmed Essahaty made his debut, playing a couple of minutes, for Long Island University in their 73-66 loss to Stonehill. 

Breakers play-offs bound

The Sky Sport Breakers pulled off an impressive pair of wins in Round 17 of the NBL thrashing the Bullets in Brisbane 99-71 on Thursday before seeing off Melbourne United at Spark Arena on Sunday.

Victories number 15 and 16 for the season have secured the Breakers a first play-off spot since 2017-18 and the first under the ownership of Matt Walsh.

The 80-74 defeat of Melbourne, which keeps the Breakers in the hunt for a second place finish, was meritorious on a number of counts.

Melbourne had won five games on the bounce and had also won the last nine encounters against the Breakers stretching back over the last three seasons – however it should be noted that all but one of those games were played in Australia.

Jarrell Brantley’s 18 points led the way for the Breakers with pivotal contributions also from Rob Loe (15 points & 6 rebounds), Rayon Rupert (12 points) and Derek Pardon (11 points & 8 rebounds).

However it was the Breakers fourth quarter defence that stood out forcing the 2021 NBL champions into a rash of turnovers while holding them scoreless for almost four minutes of that final stanza.

Cairns (17-9) and the Breakers (16-10) each have two games to play to decide the top three makeup. Sydney Kings (18-7) appear certain to win the regular season while fourth place  Perth Wildcats (14-11) could make the top three but a number of results would have to go their way.

The numbers from the two Round 17 games:

Home v Melbourne:

The Breakers completed their regular season home programme with a 7-7 record (4-5 at Spark Arena).

It was Rob Loe’s 62nd win in Breakers colours – he draws level with Reuben Te Rangi in equal 12th spot as the winningest Breaker.

In his 83rd NBL game Izayah Le’afa brought up 700 career points – 425 of the points scored during his two seasons with South East Melbourne Phoenix.

Tom Abercrombie’s 2 points in the game means he has 100 points chalked up this season.

at Brisbane Bullets:

Brantley became the first Breaker to score 400 points this season – the power forward averaging 16.1 points per game for the season, 22.2 over the past five outings.

Derek Pardon pulled down his 200th rebound this season.

In other news former Breaker Corey Webster brought up 3,000 NBL points in Perth Wildcats recent win. He joins Tom Abercrombie (4,268 points), Kirk Penney (3,773) and Mika Vukona (3,218) in the distinguished Kiwi 3,000 points club.

Upcoming:

The Breakers final two regular season games are at Illawarra on Thursday February 2nd and at the Brisbane Bullets 48 hours later.

Road Warriors – the latest Breakers numbers

Who could have predicted that in Round 16 of the NBL the Sky Sport Breakers would lose at home to the bottom placed team on the ladder and win on the road against the team at the top of the table?

In front of a crowd of over 14,000 the Sky Sport Breakers pulled off one of their more impressive wins of the season defeating the table topping Kings in Sydney 93-88 on Sunday.

Jarrell Brantley was immense piling on 30 points to accompany 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and a steal – his banked three with 15 seconds to play the game clincher.

Will McDowell-White was equally impressive reeling off a double-double of 20 points and 10 assists, a performance even more meritorious given he had to carry added back court responsibilities given the absence of the injured Izayah Le’afa and Barry Brown Jr.

Earlier in Round 16 the Breakers had gone down 78-76 to cellar dwellers Illawarra Hawks 78-76, the Breakers undone by a dramatic Tyler Harvey long range three as time expired.

With one home game to come, against Melbourne United on Thursday at Spark Arena, the Breakers record is 6-7 in New Zealand and 8-3 on the road. This means the Breakers, for the first time in the club’s history, will have a superior regular season away record than home record.

Perhaps those 57 games played in Australia in the previous two years have provided the foundation for the successes on the road!!

Here are the numbers:

Thursday v Illawarra Hawks at Spark Arena:

Derek Pardon made his 8th double-double of the season producing a season high 17 rebounds (10 of those offensive) to accompany 19 points.

2 points from French Next Star Rayon Rupert took him to 100 points for the season.

Sunday in Sydney against the Kings:

Derek Pardon, with 11 points in the contest, became the third Breaker (all the three imports) to score 300 points this season.

Brantley’s 30 points was a season best for the power forward and within a point of the individual high for the club in 2022-23 – Barry Brown Jr scored 31 against South East Melbourne back in December in Christchurch.

McDowell-White’s double-double was his fourth of the season.

Rob Loe and Cam Gliddon both passed the 100 points mark for the season, Loe also now with 901 points for the club – the 20th Breaker to reach the milestone.

NCAA DI midweek wrap – Mennenga, Cameron, McBirney-Griffin, Mackey-Williams the standouts

21 January

Cameron was just one point shy of his season best in scoring 25 points (10/20FG) as UC Riverside (7-1) took care of business against Cal Poly winning 83-78. 

The Tall Black guard followed that with a team high 19 points and added 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals for the Big West Conference leaders as they edged a tight one against UC Davis winning 74-72.

Cameron has passed 200 points for the season and is also closing in on 800 career points – a mark reached in NCAA Division I Men’s basketball by just eight Kiwis including current players Callum McRae and Kruz Perrott-Hunt.

Sam Mennenga remains in good form but Davidson College (2-5) slipped to a fourth straight Atlantic 10 defeat going down 68-61 at Dayton. Mennenga completed his fourth double-double of the season amassing 15 points and 13 rebounds whilst moving his career points tally to 704.

Second in the Big West are UC Irvine (6-1). in their latest game freshman Akiva McBirney-Griffin enjoyed his first double digit outing as Irvine beat Hawaii 76-68. The Waikato native finished with 11 points (4/7FG) and 3 rebounds plus one each in blocks, steals and assists.

Doing well in the Big Sky Conference are Callum McRae and Sacramento State (4-2) although they did drop their latest game, defeated 69-65 at Idaho State. McRae was held to 8 points and 4 rebounds in this one.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored 10 points as South Dakota (3-4) fell 82-64 to South Dakota State.

Tobias Cameron, passing 200 points this season, scored 7 points as Abilene Christian (1-4) fell to a heavy 84-54 defeat against Utah Valley.

Tom Webley posted 6 points on 3 from 4 shooting in Hartford’s 87-62 loss to Maryland Baltimore. The Cantabrian forward also reeled in 3 rebounds along with 3 assists and a block.

Colorado State (2-5) were defeated 82-76 in overtime by San Diego State. James Moors scored just the one point but did snag 8 rebounds and a career high 4 blocks.

In other news former Onslow College and Scots College guard Ahmed Essahaty has been added to the Long Island University roster for the remainder of this season.

—————

BYU (6-2) made it seven wins on the bounce defeating San Francisco 78-59 with Arielle Mackey-Williams posting 13 points (5/8FG) and Kaylee Smiler 6 points. Sophomore  guard AM-W also distributed a career high 6 assists and passed 200 points for the season at 9.2ppg.

Helen Matthews scored 11 points and claimed 3 rebounds as Wofford (3-1) accounted for Chattanooga 64-51.

Joy for Yzabelle Tevao and Chicago State as the Cougars won their first game of the season pounding Olivet 108-50. Tevao finished with 11 points (5/9FG) and 8 rebounds – both season highs for the West Aucklander.

Dani Bayes and Boise State entertained Amiee Book and the Fresno State Bulldogs and it was Boise that protected home court winning 60-53. Bayes scored 10 points – Book 3 points and a couple of steals for Fresno.

Grace Hunter scored 8 points and added a pair of assists and steals as Cal State Bakersfield (2-5) defeated Cal State Fullerton 64-58.

Olivia Williams scored 7 points, snared a couple of rebounds and had a single, assist, steal and block as UC Irvine, 7-0 in Big West Conference play beat UC Santa Barbara 70-60.

McKenna Dale produced 7 points, 6 rebounds and a couple of assists as Virginia (3-5) went down 77-68 to Florida State in the ACC.

In a game featuring a bunch of Kiwis, St Mary’s (4-4) were given a hammering by Portland (7-1) going down 64-41. Emme Shearer (7pts, 4rebs) and Melika Samia (4rebs, 1 block) wore the smiles of victors while Tayla Dalton (6pts), Jade Kirisome (5pts) and Amy West (2pts, 2 assists) will be rueing a poor home performance.

Lauryn Mapusua’s 6 points helped Houston Christian (3-3) to a 71-52 success against Incarnate Word.

Other Women’s Scores:

Cal State Northridge (3-5) 60 (Rochelle Fourie 3 points, 2 rebounds) Hawaii 76

Southern Methodist (3-3) 65 (Ella Brow 2 points, 1reb, 3 assists, 2 steals) Wichita State 73

Texas Christian (0-6) 66 (Tara Manumaleuga 3 points) Oklahoma 93

New Mexico State (4-3) 62 (Ashlee Strawbridge 2pts, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) Grand Canyon 69

Numbers from Breakers Round 15 losses

It was a disappointing Round 15 of the NBL for the Sky Sport Breakers with three straight losses – two by a single possession scoreline!

Here are the numbers:

Tuesday @ Perth Wildcats Lost 93-90

Derek Pardon added 12 rebounds to a season high 28 points. His seventh double-double of the season moves him to 10th all-time on the Breakers Double-D list alongside Rich Melzer.

Thursday v Melbourne United in Christchurch Lost 77-65

Without the injured Barry Brown Jr the Breakers slipped to a ninth straight defeat to United and registered their lowest score of the season in losing 77-65. Not surprisingly the shooting percentage of 33% (21/63) was also the lowest of the campaign.

Jarrell Brantley, in scoring a team high 17 points, became the second Breaker after Brown Jr to score 300 points this season (average 14.7ppg).

With 7 assists Will McDowell-White became the 9th Breaker to dish 300 assists.

Sunday v Cairns Taipans at Spark Arena Lost 85-83

Jarrell Brantley had a massive double- double of 25 points and a season high 14 rebounds, whilst also claiming 5 steals. Glad I had him in my NBL Fantasy Team this week!

Will McDowell-White scored a career high 29 points (made 7 from 10 three-pointers), passing 500 points for the Breakers in the process. He’s the 27th player to score in excess of 500 points for the club.

Rob Loe played his 131st game for the club – now 10th all-time moving past Cedric Jackson and Aaron Olson who each played 130 games (Olson 130 consecutive games).

Tom Abercrombie pulled down his 440th offensive rebound to draw level with Dillon Boucher in that statistical category. The pair are now in joint third spot all-time for the Breakers behind Mika Vukona (933) and Alex Pledger (534).

Upcoming

The Breakers are back at Spark Arena on Thursday to take on Illawarra Hawks.

NCAA DI Weekend Wrap – 8 Kiwis in double figures

16 January

In NCAA Division I weekend action eighty Kiwis scored in double figures with Charlisse Leger-Walker, Olivia Williams and Helen Matthews leading the way.

Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points to help secure Washington State (3-3) an 85-84 overtime win at Oregon. L-W, who added 7 rebounds, 6 assists and a block, moved past the 300 points mark for the season – 310 to be exact at 20.7ppg.

Olivia Williams top scored with 15 points (3/6 3PG) as Big West Conference leaders UC Irvine (4-0) defeated Rochelle Fourie’s California State Northridge 69-62.

Wofford (2-1) eked out a 55-51 win against UNC Greensboro with Helen Matthews scoring a team high equaling 15 points (6/9FG) to accompany 5 rebounds.

Ella Brow made 3 from 5 triples on her way to 14 points as Southern Methodist (3-2) won an overtime contest with East Carolina 68-66. The freshman also had a career high 8 assists to go with 6 rebounds a block and a steal.

Grace Hunter also scored 14 points in California State Bakersfield’s (1-5) 62-50 loss to UC San Diego.

Jade Kirisome scored 10 points as St Mary’s Gaels (3-3) pinched a 67-63 away win at neighbours San Francisco.

There were 9 points apiece for Kaylee Smiler and Arielle Mackey-Williams as BYU (5-2) defeated Pepperdine 63-52 for a fifth straight win.

Dani Bayes added 5 rebounds to 5 points as Boise State (2-2) went down 55-42 to San Diego State.

Unbeaten teams Portland (now 6-1) and Gonzaga met in a West Coast Conference heavyweight clash with the Zags getting the win 73-66. Emme Shearer scored 5 points for Portland.

Other Women’s Scores:

Fresno State (1-5) 71 (Amiee Book 4 points) Air Force 68

Virginia (3-4) 66 (McKenna Dale 2pts, 2rebs, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) Boston College 50

Texas Christian (0-5) 70 (Tara Manumaleuga 2pts, 1 steal, 1 rebound) Oklahoma State 80

In Men’s NCAA Division I play Sam Mennenga’s 13 points – his 17th double digit outing in 18 games – couldn’t prevent Davidson (2-3) slipping to a third straight Atlantic 10 defeat going down 67-65 to George Mason.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt tallied 10 points but South Dakota (3-3) were well beaten by South Dakota State 

Nine of each – points and rebounds – for James Moors as Colorado State (2-4) won a thriller against Nevada, Las Vegas 82-81.

Tobias Cameron had 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists as Abilene Christian (1-4) slipped up against Tarleton State going down 72-63.

Younger brother Flynn Cameron also tallied 9 points as UC Riverside (5-1) won 65-64 for a first win in 25 attempts at UC Santa Barbara. The young Tall Black flirted with a double-double as he also had 9 assists.

Eight points, 10 rebounds and a block for Callum McRae as Sacramento State (5-1) edged Northern Arizona 59-56.

Tafara Gapare scored 6 points and added a block, a steal and 4 rebounds as Massachusetts (2-3) beat Rhode Island 75-65.

NCAA DI mid-week roundup including career high’s for Smiler and Mennenga

January 13 

NB Bracketed figures are conference records (wins-losses)

In this NCAA Division I wrap we feature career high’s from Kaylee Smiler and Sam Mennenga plus a number of other strong performances most notably from Callum McRae, Grace Hunter and Dani Bayes.

Callum McRae was once again in double-double mode as Sacramento State (3-1) defeated Norther Colorado 72-64 with the senior centre tallying 15 points and 11 rebounds as well as dishing 7 assists. That’s 7 double-D’s already this season for McRae with four of them coming in the last five games.

Sam Mennenga pulled down a career high 16 rebounds as Davidson (2-3) slipped to a 61-57 home defeat at the hands of Richmond. Also scoring 11 points it was Mennenga’s third double-double of the season.

Abilene Christian (1-3) were defeated 103-86 by Texas Rio Grande despite 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals from Tobias Cameron.

Flynn Cameron had 6 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal as UC Riverside (4-1) eased past UC San Diego 74-68 in Big West Conference action.

Making his first start of the season Tom Webley scored 9 points and also accumulated 5 rebounds, an assists and a steal in Hartford’s narrow 78-73 loss to St Francis Brooklyn.

Other Men’s Scores:

Colorado State (1-4) 74 (James Moors 4pts, 3rebs, 1 assist) Air Force 85 AOT

Fordham 58 (1-3) Zach Riley (3pts, 2 steals, 1 assist) Dayton 82

Marquette 82 (6-1) Ben Gold 3 points) v #6 Connecticut 76

Massachusetts (1-3) 77 (Tafara Gapare 2 points, 2 rebounds) La Salle 78 

In women’s Division I play Grace Hunter was a single point shy of her career best as Cal State Bakersfield (1-4) suffered an agonizing 63-62 defeat at UC Santa Barbara. The Wellingtonian guard scored 22 points (also tallying 6 assists and 5 rebounds) as Bakersfield gave up four points in the final 6 seconds to lose 63-62.

Dani Bayes top scored for Boise State with 16 points, making 4 from 6 3-pointers, but the Broncos (2-1) were beaten 71-50 by Colorado State. It was the eighth double figure outing for the freshman guard in her first 16 collegiate games.

New Mexico State (4-1), with Ashlee Strawbridge making a season best 13 points, comfortably beat Sam Houston 69-48. Strawbridge shot a very efficient 6 from 8 and also added a steal and 2 rebounds.

Kaylee Smiler and Arielle Mackey-Williams shared 20 points as BYU (4-2) comfortably defeated Loyola Marymount 63-46. Mackey-W scored 12 points while Smiler was beaming after a career high 8 assists and 8 points.

Tayla Dalton scored 10 points as St Mary’s (3-3) won 78-64 at Santa Clara. Playing a team high 34 minutes Dalton also had deuces in rebounds, assists and steals. Jade Kirisome had a trio each of points, rebounds and assists in the win.

Helen Matthews grabbed 5 rebounds to compliment 7 points as Wofford (1-1) came off second best against West Carolina going down 53-49.

Freshman starter Ella Brow caught the eye with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal as Southern Methodist (2-2) clawed the Cincinnati Bearcats 55-44.

Fresno State (1-4) went down 49-43 to San Diego State with Amiee Book making 5 points and 5 rebounds in the loss.

Other Women’s Scores

Texas Christian (0-4) 45 (Tara Manumaleuga 3pts, 2rebs, 1 assist, 1 steal) West Virginia 77

UC Irvine (4-0) 57 (Olivia Williams 2 points, 2rebs, 2 assists, 1 steal) Cal State Fullerton 39

Breakers two from two in Round 14

The Sky Sport Breakers maintained second spot on the ladder with a pair of hard earned victories in Round 14 of the NBL.

A 97-94 victory in New Plymouth on Wednesday night over the Perth Wildcats was followed by an equally tight 85-83 win in Adelaide – their third win of the season against the 36ers bolstering their overall record to 13-6.

The Breakers took the lead in the first quarter in Adelaide and led for the majority of the game thereafter but did have to withstand a late charge from the 36ers, who scored the last seven points of  the contest.

After missing the last two games with a broken finger the Breakers welcomed back Will McDowell-White to the line-up and he was his typical influential self with 10 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds.

Also in double figures were Barry Brown Jr (16 points), Jarrell Brantley (15 points), Izayah Le’afa (13 points) and Derek Pardon (10 points).

McD-W’s return meant the Breakers had all 12 full roster players available for the first time this season at the 19thattempt.  

The win against Perth broke a sequence of five straight losses to the old enemy from out west. Once again the Breakers had to withstand another strong performance from former clubman Corey Webster who scored 19 points – he, Bryce Cotton and Brady Manek combined for 71 points.

Tai Webster, signed by the Wildcats a couple of day prior to the game, was suited up on the Wildcats bench but didn’t take the court. Unofficial reports indicating his release from the Breakers, who held his NBL playing rights, precluded him from playing against his former club.

The Breakers were once again paced by Brown Jr who scored 23 points.

Next Star Rayon Rupert made an eye catching return after missing the previous eight games with a wrist injury. The young Frenchman came off the bench to score 14 points in just 18 minutes of action.

Other notable performances came from Pardon (13 points), Brantley (11 points and 7 rebounds) and Le’afa 18 points (7/11FG).

But it was Brown that was the star turn for the hosts adding 6 rebounds and 6 assists to the 23 points that came on 10 from 18 shooting.

Brown Jr brought up his 300th point in 15 appearances. He’s the 49th Breaker to score 300 points for the club with only Carlos Powell (11 games), Kirk Penney and Mike Chappell (both 14 games) passing the mark quicker.

Other Numbers:

V Perth Wildcats

Tom Abercrombie’s blocked shot in the game against Perth was the 254th of his career drawing him level with Alex Pledger as the Breakers all-time leading “Blockers”.

There’s a slight difference in number of games played though – Pledge 238, Tom 381 !

V Adelaide 36ers

Will McDowell-White’s 7 assists sees him reach the 100 assists mark for the season at 5.9 per game. He now has 291 dimes for the Breakers in total – shortly to become just the 9th Breaker to dish 300 assists.

The victory in Adelaide was Rob Loe’s 59th in Breakers colours drawing him level with Gary Wilkinson as the 14thwinningest Breaker of all-time. 

Upcoming

The Breakers have a short turn around as they are in action again on Tuesday night, this time in Perth against the Wildcats. 

NCAA Weekend Wrap – Big performances aplenty

January 7

NB Bracketed figures are conference play records (wins-losses)

Following a two game absence Charlisse Leger-Walker returned to the Washington State (1-3) lineup and propelled the Cougars to their first Pac 12 victory defeating Washington 66-52.

Leger-Walker scored a game high 26 points (11/17FG) and also came up with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a pair of steals.

Now with 1,214 career points CL-W moved up two places to 7th on the all-time list of New Zealand scorers in Women’s NCAA Division I basketball passing Micaela Cocks (1,195 points for University of Oregon, 2006-10) and Tegan Graham (1,209 points for Colgate University 2016-20 & BYU 2020-22).

Portland (6-0) guard Emme Shearer has extended her career high points scoring mark twice in consecutive games. After totaling 20 points against Santa Clara on Thursday she got 21 in the 77-46 win against San Francisco 48 hours later.

Shearer sits second on the West Coast Conference 3-point shooting percentage list and made 3 from 4 against San Francisco giving her 23/45 at 51.1% on the season.

Melika Samia scored 8 points, that included a pair of threes, in the win against San Francisco. 

Amiee Book scored 11 points as Fresno State (3-1) eased to a first Mountain West Conference win defeating San Jose State 65-51.

Olivia Williams added 7 rebounds to 10 points as UC Irvine (3-0) edged Long Beach State 60-57

BYU (3-2) accounted for San Diego 63-49 with Arielle Mackey-Williams making 9 points and Kaylee Smiler 5 points. The Kiwi guards also dished 3 assists apiece.

St Mary’s California.(2-3) defeated Pepperdine 68-58 with Amy West grabbing a team high 7 rebounds to accompany 4 points. Tayla Dalton also scored 4 points in the win.

Other Women’s Scores:

Boise State (2-0) 73 (Danni Bayes 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist) Utah State 56

Cal State Northridge (3-1) 52 (Rochelle Fourie 2 points, 2 rebounds) UC Riverside 53 

Cal State Bakersfield (1-3) 43 (Grace Hunter 3 points, 1 rebound,1 assists) UC  Davis 60

New Mexico State (3-1) 61 (Ashlee Strawbridge 2pts, 3rebs, 1 assist, 1 block) Tarleton St 43

Despite South Dakota (3-2) going down 73-61 at North Dakota State the rich vein of scoring continued for Kruz Perrott-Hunt. The senior guard, who dropped 26 points on 10 from 22 shooting that included 3 from 3 from beyond the arc, has averaged 21.6 points per game in his last five outings. 

Sam Mennenga followed up with another 20 -point outing (20 points exactly on 8 from 12 shooting) as Davidson (2-2) were defeated 89-72 at Virginia Commonwealth.

Flynn Cameron top scored with 18 points (8/12FG) as UC Riverside (3-1) comfortably beat Cal State Northridge 68-45. The Tall Blacks guard also tallied 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.

Tobias Cameron claimed 11 points, 3 rebounds and a couple of steals in Abilene Christian’s (1-2) narrow 74-72 home loss to Southern Utah.

Ben Gold produced 8 points, 3 rebounds and a brace of blocks as Marquette gained a big 95-73 win against Georgetown.

Tom Webley also tallied 8 points (4/7FG), plus a season high 6 rebounds, as Hartford Hawks suffered a 78-71 loss to Sacred Heart.

Zach Riley scored all of his 7 points in the first half as Fordham (1-2) downed Saint Joseph’s 66-54.

Colorado State secured its first Mountain West Conference win with a 79-57 defeat of Fresno State. James Moors had 6 points, 4 rebounds a block and a steal in the win. 

Callum McRae had 5 points and 4 rebounds as Sacramento State (2-1)  went down 78-75 at unbeaten Eastern Washington.

Mid week wrap – career high for Emme Shearer

January 7

NB Bracketed figures are conference play records (wins-losses)

Making her 50th start for the Pilots Emme Shearer made 4 from 7 threes and all 6 free throws on her way to a career high 20 points as Portland (5-0) beat Santa Clara 81-71 for a fifth straight West Coast Conference win.

Also in the West Coast Conference Tayla Dalton top scored for St Mary’s (1-3) as the Gaels went down narrowly to Loyola Marymount 66-64. Dalton finished with 17 points while Jade Kirisome added 4 points.  

Amiee Book scored 10 points as Fresno State (0-3)went down 64-49 to UNLV 64-49.

9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists for Helen Matthews as Wofford opened Southern Conference play with a convincing 79-55 victory over Furman. 

Grace Hunter also scored 9 points as Cal State Bakersfield (1-2) lost a low scoring affair against Cal Poly 50-37.

Olivia Williams stroked home 6 from 7 free throws on her way to 8 points as UC Irvine (2-0) easily beat UC Davis 67-38.

Ella Brow helped Southern Methodist (1-1) to a 61-51 win against Central Florida. The freshman guard finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Lauryn Mapusua had an entry in every stats column with 2 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal as Houston Christian (1-1) fell 63-58 to South East Louisiana.

Tara Manumaleuga scored 5 points and snatched a career high 5 steals as Texas Christian (0-2) were beaten 81-69 by Texas.

New Mexico State (2-1) 63 (Ashlee Strawbridge 2 points, 3rebs, 1 block) Utah Valley 57 AOT

Perrott-Hunt hits game winner plus career high from McRae

January 7

NB Bracketed figures are conference play records (wins-losses)

Callum McRae put together a massive double-double of 27 points (13/19FG) and 17 rebounds as Sacramento State (2-0) edged an overtime road win at Idaho 85-83. The rebounds tally was a career high while the points total was a season best from the former Junior Tall Black out of Palmerston North.

McRae currently ranks 10th amongsts all NCAA Division I Men’s players for rebounding average with 10.3 boards per game.

Sam Mennenga again led the Davidson (2-1) scoring as the Wildcats beat Loyola Chicago in Atlantic 10 play. Mennenga shot a very efficient 8 from 11 from the field pus 5 out of 6 from the charity stripe for his 22 points in an 80-57 win. The Tall Blacks forward, who also swept up 7 boards and snatched a pair of steals, has scored in double figures in all but one of Davidson’s 15 games this season.

15 points, including a game winning jump shot with 1.4 seconds left on the clock from Kruz Perrott-Hunt carried South Dakota (3-1) to a 62-60 win against North Dakota. The senior guard also added 4 rebounds and 4 assists. That’s 82 points in the last four games for the Tall Blacks guard.

Flynn Cameron tallied 11 points but UC Riverside (2-1) slipped up 77-62 at home to Cal State Fullerton 77-62. Cameron also had quadruples in rebounds and assists.

Tafara Gapare had a monster 5 blocks, whilst also contributing 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists, as Massachusetts defeated St Louis 90-81.

Other Men’s Scores:

Marquette (3-1) 96 (Ben Gold 2 points) St John 85

Colorado State (0-3) 69 (James Moors 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block) Nevada 80

College Half Term Report Part 4 – The Sharpshooters

January 3

Our fourth and final collegiate half term report highlights the players with the best shooting percentages from the field and from beyond the three-point arc.

Former Waikato and St Peter’s School forward Ella Bradley heads the women’s shooting numbers while ex Rotorua Boys High School standout Nabil Kone tops the men’s list.

The three-point shooting percentages are headed, as probably expected, by guards. Former Harbour and Westlake Girls player Emme Shearer is enjoying a standout season with the University of Portland Pilots.

The same can be said of Tobias Cameron. Younger brother Cameron has grabbed most the headlines in the last few months after his elevation to the Tall Blacks roster but Tobias is going about his work in a very efficient manner for Abilene Christian University.

Special mention to the freshmen who make the lists – Waiata Jennings, Sydney Neale, Dani Bayes, Boston Caldwell and 2022 Auckland Tuatara teammate Brayden Iuli.

Field Goal % – WomenMin 15 Shots%Shots
Ella BradleySophomoreTexas at TylerNCAA D249.024/49
Sydney NealeFreshmanDyersburg State CCJUCO48.944/90
Emme ShearerJuniorPortlandNCAA D148.343/89
Amy WestSeniorSt Mary’s CaliforniaNCAA D148.314/29
Charlisse Leger-WalkerJuniorWashington StateNCAA D147.885/178
Arielle Mackey-WilliamsSophomoreBYUNCAA D147.832/67
Kaylee SmilerSeniorBYUNCAA D147.529/61
Hannah WentworthSophomoreEckerd CollegeNCAA D247.148/102
Jenna Rose MafuaSophomoreDodge City CCJUCO46.452/112
Waiata JenningsFreshmanCollin County CCJUCO46.272/156
Ashlee StrawbridgeSophomoreNew Mexico StateNCAA D145.827/59
Briarley RogersSophomoreWeatherfordJUCO44.935/78
Dominique StephensSophomoreRocky MountainNAIA44.746/103
Rashaan SmithSophomoreWestern Nebraska JUCO44.0 11/25
Tessa Talo-TomokinoJuniorNortheastern StateNCAA D243.326/60
Field Goal % – MenMin 15 shots%Shots
Nabil KoneSophTrinity InternationalNAIA60.015/25
Tobias Cameron 5th YrAbilene ChristianNCAA D158.051/88
Dallas ClaytonSophMissouri State West PlainsJUCO57.523/40
James MoorsJuniorColorado StateNCAA D156.738/67
Kiani SaxonSophLouisiana State EuniceJUCO56.327/48
Corey Le’aupepe SeniorMenloNAIA55.066/120
Brayden IuliFreshmanMenloNAIA53.736/67
Tom WebleyJuniorHartfordNCAA D153.523/43
Isaac Miller-JoseSeniorManitobaCanada53.523/43
Matt BrienSeniorNebraska at KearneyNCAA D253.316/30
Sam MennengaJuniorDavidson College NCAA D152.972/136
Josh LoweSeniorLee UniversityNCAA D252.620/38
Maxim StephensJuniorRocky MountainNAIA52.026/50
Sam GoldSophMilliganNAIA50.955/108
Callum McRaeSeniorSacramento StateNCAA D150.861/120
Aniwaniwa Tait-JonesJuniorHawaii at HiloNCAA D247.251/108
Nate WilsonSophSouth Georgia TechJUCO46.837/79
Boston CaldwellFreshCentral Maine CCJUCO46.249/106
Sean MurphySophNebraska at KearneyNCAA D244.416/36
3-point % – WomenMin 10 Shots%Shots
Emme ShearerJuniorPortlandNCAA D148.313/28
Kaylee SmilerSeniorBYUNCAA D147.116/34
Arielle Mackey-WilliamsSophomoreBYUNCAA D146.714/30
Charlisse Leger-WalkerJuniorWashington StateNCAA D142.436/85
Hannah WentworthSophomoreEckerd CollegeNCAA D241.735/84
Jenna Rose MafuaSophomoreDodge City CCJUCO41.032/78
Ashlee StrawbridgeSophomoreNew Mexico StateNCAA D138.5 5/13
Sydney NealeFreshmanDyersburg State CCJUCO36.814/38
Grace HunterJuniorCSU BakersfieldNCAA D136.8 7/19
Tara ManumaleugaSeniorTexas ChristianNCAA D136.7 11/30
Dani BayesFreshmanBoise StateNCAA D135.923/64
Amiee BookGrad SnrFresno StateNCAA D135.127/77
Jordyn MaddixJuniorAuburn at MontgomeryNCAA D235.3 12/36
3-point % – MenMin 10 Shots%Shots
Tobias Cameron Grad SnrAbilene ChristianNCAA D148.719/39
Zach RileySophFordhamNCAA D146.7 7/15
Maxim StephensJuniorRocky MountainNAIA46.2 6/13
Kiani SaxonSophLouisiana State EuniceJUCO42.9 9/21
Sam MennengaJuniorDavidson College NCAA D139.1 9/23
Boston CaldwellFreshCentral Maine CCJUCO39.118/46
James MoorsJuniorColorado StateNCAA D138.3 5/13
Flynn CameronGrad SnrUC RiversideNCAA D137.925/66
Aniwaniwa Tait-JonesJuniorHawaii at HiloNCAA D235.3 6/17

*records as at 28.12.2022

NB 53 New Zealand men are currently on basketball scholarships in America and Canada.