Auckland Girls Grammar School lived up to its top billing by defeating Massey High School 79-38 in the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier competition at North Shore Events Centre on Friday night.
Despite triples from Massey guards Shauna Povey and Terina Aratangi Grammar went to the quarter time break with a 20-8 lead with Karma Skilton-Roberts the main contributor in the period.
Kataleena Leslie dropped a couple of treys for Massey as they closed to 31-21 at the mid point of the second term however Mele Latu and Laetitia Tuaiti closed out the scoring in the half with Grammar ahead 38-21.
Latu knocked down her second triple of the game and Zhaney Hettig made a couple of inside baskets as Grammar dominated the third frame to carry a 54-28 lead into the final quarter.
With seven players scoring eight points or more Grammar cruised through the final stanza and now look forward to a match up with archrivals Mt Albert Grammar in the final next Friday in what promises to be a much closer game.
Grammar 79 –Latu 18, Skilton-Roberts 14, M Ropati 11, Papa 9
Massey 38 – Povey 12, Aratangi 11, Leslie 8
In the other semi-final Westlake Girls made a disastrous start against Mt Albert Grammar falling behind 25-8 at quarter time. Sharne Pupuke-Robati and Jada Manase shared 17 points as the MAGS ball movement created plenty of easy scoring opportunities.
If it was ugly for Westlake at quarter time it was soon a horror show as Tessa Talo-Tomokino converted from beyond the arc to extend the MAGS lead to 35-8.
Mareta Davidson did eventually move Lake into double figures. Keeley Tini scored three baskets in quick succession but points were generally proving hard to come by for Westlake as MAGS upped the defensive effort.
That effort produced transition baskets by the plenty for Riana Rangi-Brown and Trinity Paeu – the game over as a contest at half-time with MAGS ahead 57-27.
Pupuke-Robati demonstrated her scoring ability with baskets from long range and inside – as did Talo-Tomokino – 84-38 at three-quarter time.
Jess Moors, Emme Shearer and Jordyn Maddix prevented the scoreline blowing out any further in the fourth quarter but on a night when they were blown away by a dominant MAGS display it was too little too late.
MAGS 106 – Rangi-Brown 18, Pupuke-Robati 16, Paeu 16, Talo Tomokino 16, Manase 15
Westlake 61 – Maddix 13, Moors 8, Shearer 8, R Dil 7
LACEY LOWDOWN 