Charlisse Leger-Walker continued from where she left off at the Commonwealth Games a couple of weeks ago as Waikato Wizards beat Auckland Dream 56-50 on Saturday at Rosehill College.
Leger-Walker you may remember was joint top scorer with 18 points as the Tall Ferns defeated Canada in the bronze medal game on the Gold Coast earlier in the month.
On Saturday she led all scorers with 22 points (8/14FG, 5/7FT) and snared 14 rebounds and 3 steals. Leger-Walker was ably assisted by Alyssa Hirawani who threatened a triple double with 17 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Kelcy Ballantyne and Kasee Leef also chipped in with 6 points apiece for the Wizards.
Auckland were well served by Hailey Moala-Purcell (12 points), Shauna Povey (11 points) and Roana Patterson (6 points). Idaho Purcell and Amanda Buck got through plenty of defensive work nabbing 8 rebounds and 7 rebounds respectively.
The Dream had their most effective scoring spell in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough to overturn the 47-35 deficit they faced at three-quarter-time.
Earlier the Wizards won the first two periods by a single point to lead 25-23 at half-time.
The game was a final hit out for both teams ahead of their Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC) openers in Tauranga on Friday. Auckland will take on cross-city rivals Harbour Breeze in the opening game while Waikato will match up against defending champions Alloyfold Canterbury Wildcats.
LACEY LOWDOWN 