Under normal circumstances the performances of Akienne-Tera Reed, Kendell Heremaia, Amiee Book or Tegan Graham would be worthy top billing acts but on Monday morning (NZ time) the Leger-Walker’s, Charlisse and Krystal usurped that quartet to steal the headlines.
Washington State beat No 7 ranked Arizona 71-69 in overtime after trailing by 16 points at one stage. The win boosted their Pac-12 record to 5-1 with the L-W’s playing huge roles.
Charlisse finished with a team high 17 points (plus 5 assists) although it was two critical plays that stood out. A reverse lay-up tied proceedings in regulation with 3 seconds to play before she made a buzzer beating left hander in traffic at the end of the extra five minutes to seal the deal. The fist pump and jig after the play showed what it meant to Charlisse.
“Those who know me, know I don’t get too high or too low but when I made that shot I was so high,” exclaimed the freshman guard.
Krystal was equally prominent as she threatened a double-double finishing with 14 points and 9 assists whilst playing all 45 minutes of an enthralling contest.
Amiee Book carried California State Fullerton on her shoulders as the Titans went searching for their first conference win against Big West leaders Long Beach State.
Book amassed a season high 21 points (8/12FG, 4/5 3PG), 4 rebounds and 3 steals as Fullerton fell to an agonising 66-64 loss. It was the 10th straight game in double figures for Book who is averaging 15.9 points per game, making 46% (17/37) of her shots from beyond the arc.
Akienne-Tera Reed and Virginia Commonwealth University played two overtime games in three days and prevailed in both Atlantic-10 contests. They beat Duquesne 68-63 and Bonaventure 69-67 with Reed totaling 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists a block and a steal against Duquesne followed by 15 points and 7 rebounds.
VCU are 3-0 in the Atlantic-10 Conference with Fordham University Rams 3-2 after a win and a loss at the weekend.
Kendell Heremaia made 4 from 6 threes in tallying 16 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists as the Rams beat Rhode Island 64-58 for a third consecutive Atlantic-10 victory. That run was brought to a halt on Sunday with Fordham going down 61-56 to Massachusetts, Heremaia fouling out in 18 minutes with 8 points and a couple of boards.
Tegan Graham scored a season high 14 points and Kaylee Smiler contributed 9 points as BYU continued their good form with a 71-57 win against Loyola Marymount in West Coast Conference (WCC) play.
The pair knocked down 7 seven of BYU’s 9 threes in the game Graham converting 4 from 5 and Smiler 3 from 4 attempts from beyond the arc.
Also in the West Coast Conference Emme Shearer scored 6 points but Portland were thumped 75-43 by conference leaders Gonzaga.
7 points from Tsubasa Nisbett (2/2FG, 2/2FT) helped Georgia Southern to a massive 87-56 win over Appalachian State in the Sun Belt Conference.
She’s had to wait a while but Dominique Stephens was finally able to make her debut for Rocky Mountain College. The former Waikato and St Peter’s School representative scored 7 points (3/4FG) in her first collegiate game as Rocky went down 79-66 at Montana Eastern in NAIA action.
Also in NAIA Michelle Nicholls scored 9 points for Central Methodist in their 81-62 loss at Benedictine.
LACEY LOWDOWN 