LACEY LOWDOWN

Next week’s clash between the two unbeaten teams in the Girl’s Premier League, Westlake Girls High and Baradene College, should be a cracker.

Both teams came through their Round 6 games unscathed with Westlake defeating Rangitoto College and Baradene beating Massey High School.

Rangitoto made a good start against Westlake with Aroha Riley and Kellie Tawhiao making regular scores for the visitors. However Westlake finished the opening quarter with a 10-0 run to take a decisive 30-16 lead and were never threatened thereafter.

They were paced by Mackenzie Chatfield’s 31 points with other double figure contributions from Amiya Fotu, Jaelah Clayton and Holly Williams.

Westlake 108 – Chatfield 31, Fotu 17, Clayton 15, Williams 14, Boucher 9, Leiataua 9

Rangitoto 50 – Tawhaio 23, Riley 21, Jasmine Zhang 5

A damaging first half, which Baradene College Head Coach Andrew Parke described as, “the best we have played this season,” set the joint league leaders up for a comfortable 95-37 victory at Massey High School.

With Lilly Parke and Summer Faleafa leading from the front Baradene established a massive early lead. Only Erima Tuita could make a basket for Massey as they were outscored 31-2 in the first ten minutes.

The second quarter was a more even contest but Baradene had the two competition points sewn up by half-time leading 50-9 at the interval.

Poppy Cavanagh-Briggs, Deyna Topia and Ritorya Tamilo built on the good work of Parke and Faleafa in the second half – Baradene in good form ahead of the clash with Westlake next Friday night.

Maya Taingahue was at the heart of Massey’s best moments scoring a team high 15 points.

Massey 37 – Taingahue 15, Kortni Waikiki 6, Tuita 5, Zhoey Tilby-Woods 5 

Baradene 95 – Parke 30, Faleafa 16, Cavanagh-Briggs 10, Deyna Topia 10, Ritorya Tamilo 9

An early three from Maya Fowler got Epsom off to a good start as they established a 15-11 lead against Mount Albert Grammar School.

Lead by Breanna Waka and Danae Tait MAGS were well in contention at half-time trailing by single figures (30-21).

A triple from Tait and useful points from Taya Lewis helped MAGS after the break, although 9 points in the third from Flo Dallow meant Epsom increased their advantage marginally to 49-36 at three-quarter time.

Dallow and Draun Forbes ensured there would be no late MAGS comeback – Epsom solidifying their place in the Premier League top four. 

Epsom 70 – Dallow 28, Sarah-Joy Aruwa 19, Fowler 9, Draun Forbes 6

MAGS 50 – Danae Tait 14, Lewis 10, Breanna Waka 9, Tiger-Lily Cocker-Lemalie 8

In a game played last Wednesday night St Mary’s College defeated Carmel College 72-53.

Faith Ualika and Alex Moore got St Mary’s off to a fine start, the home team up 25-12 at the first break and 43-20 by the interval.

Lead by Izzy MacGregor and Jemma Cammell Carmel were much improved after the break, the visitors shading the second half by a point.

Good to see young tyros Imogen O’Rourke (Carmel) and Kodee Sefo (St Mary’s) continuing to make their mark in the Premier League.

St Mary’s 72 – Ualika 18, Moore 12, Sefo 12, Trinity Atiga 8, Layla Aholelei 8

Carmel 56 – Cammell 18, MacGregor 15, Katie Linstrom 11, O’Rourke 7

Premier League Standings 

6-0 Baradene, Westlake

4-2 St Mary’s

3-2 Epsom 

2-4 Rangitoto

1-4 Massey

1-5 MAGS

0-6 Carmel

*Massey v Epsom scheduled for July 5

Rangitoto College used a 17-8 run in the final five minutes to win the battle of the unbeaten Premier teams 98-92 at Westlake Boys.

When Rocco Chang made a brace of free-throws Westlake, in front of a partisan crowd, were 84-81 ahead and looking likely victors.

However Rangitoto scored the next seven points and would not be headed again as Ethan Skelton and Zach Riley took charge of proceedings down the stretch.

Westlake rallied again, as Christian Martin earned a couple of trips to the free-throw line, closing to within three points (92-89) with 42 seconds to play but Riley held his nerve at the foul line to win a hard fought contest for the visitors.

Rangi shot out to an 8-3 start in the opening 90 seconds but Westlake responded positively trailing by the narrowest of margins at the quarter break, 25-24.

Boston Caldwell found his range in the second period knocking down a succession of threes but Zeke Priest countered with a deep three and an acrobatic alley-oop.

Rocco Chang had the final say of the first half meaning the game was finely balanced at the interval with the hosts ahead 50-48.

It was 58 apiece at the mid-point of the third frame but a corner three from Caldwell (6 made threes in the game), a couple of inside buckets from Hamza Zahran and And-1 play from Martin gave Westlake a handy 76-71 lead at the three-quarter point.

The two sides exchanged baskets at the outset of the fourth before some Rangi full court pressure resulted in easy baskets for Ethan Skelton and Kaia Dryden meant the visitors trailed by a single point with five minutes to play (82-81).

From there it was all Rangi as Riley and Skelton stamped their authority on proceedings with important scores and smothering defence.

Westlake 92 – Caldwell 31, Martin 20, Chang 15, Zahran 14

Rangitoto 98 – Riley 27, Skelton 26, Priest 25, Dryden 9

Dontae Russo-Nance had a game tying three ruled out as Auckland Grammar School beat St Kentigern College 96-93 in front of a big crowd at Mountain Road.

In a foul riddled contest Toby Caldwell’s triple had given Grammar a 96-93 lead well inside the final minute only for Russo-Nance, having scored a game high 42 points, to connect from deep as time expired.

The shot was deemed to have been released a fraction after the buzzer sounded much to the relief of the home supporters – Grammar’s top-four aspirations gaining momentum.

It was St Kent’s that made the early running, out to a 21-18 first quarter lead with Kazlo Evans and DRN the main protagonists.

The hosts had the better of the second spell with Caleb Landon, Jamal Todd and Luka Vea regularly finding routes to the ring.

Grammar’s three-point half-time lead was extended to 78-72 at three-quarter time – 14 points in the quarter from Landon a mighty contribution.

St Kent’s made a big push for victory but despite Evans and Dontae-Nance scoring all 22 of their fourth quarter points they were denied the chance of overtime by a fraction of a second in a nail-biting finish.

AGS 96 – Landon 31, Vea 20, Todd 19, Caldwell 13, Cody Brown 7

St Kentigern 93 – Dontae-Nance 42, Evans 22, George Turner 7, Merrick Rillstone 7

In another tight contest Mount Albert Grammar School came away with the spoils at St Peter’s College winning 87-79.

MAGS made an enterprising start as Phoenix Sorensen and Aki Luamanuvae-Su’a landed from deep to give them a 23-19 first quarter advantage.

Scott Errey and Dorian Sua kept St Peter’s in the hunt down by just 7 points (49-42) at the half-way mark.

In keeping with a tight contest the two teams split 34 points in the third to set up a tantilising finish.

St Peter’s guard Jack Donnelly, on his way to a game high 42 points, piled on 15 of those in the fourth but Sorensen, Ben Skelton and Hari Coker-Grey steadied the MAGS ship to ensure they sailed away with the hard fought victory.

MAGS 87 – Sorensen 28, Sorensen 18p/11rebs, Luamanuvae-Su’a 11, Will Leger 9, Will Leger 9p/12r, Kuresa Tapulaaia 9, Harri Coker-Grey 8

St Peter’s 79 – Donnelly 40, Errey 17, Owain Leigh 8, Dorian Sua 7

Paced by 31 points from Tom Beattie it was plain sailing for Rosmini College as they cruised past Liston College 113-69.

Beattie, Charlie Dalton and Zion Anderson put their collective hands to the tiller to steer Rosmini out to a 65-31 half-time lead.

Rasheed Tahiru, Sebastian Alan and Taonaishe Chataivon kept Liston buoyant before Matt Drury and Kane Murphy applied the final flourish for Rosmini.

Liston 69 – Tahiru 16, Alan 13, Chataivon 11, Marvellous Michael 9, Dhon Lao 8

Rosmini 113 – Beattie 31, Dalton 20, Murphy 16, Anderson 15, Drury 15

Premier League Standings after 6 Rounds

• Rangitoto

5-1 Westlake 

4-2 St Kentigern, AGS

3-3 Rosmini

2-4 MAGS

0-6 Liston, St Peter’s

Senior A Results

Sacred Heart College 96

Massey 45

Senior A Standings after 5 Rounds

5-0 Mt Roskill, 

4-1 Sacred Heart 

3-2 Aorere

2-2 Northcote 

2-3 Avondale, Macleans

1-4 Long Bay

0-4 Masse

For long spells of the game it appeared that Carmel College would pick up their first win of the season against Rangitoto College in Round 5 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girl’s Premier League competition.

With 5 minutes to play they led 50-49 following a Katie Linstrom three. Kellie Tawhiao gave Rangi the lead before Linstrom tied proceedings from the foul line (51-51).

However only Jemma Cammell could find the net down the stretch whilst at the other end Tawhiao and Aroha Riley combined to give Rangitoto a hard earned 57-53 victory.

Zaara Sain scored a couple of baskets for Rangitoto in the opening quarter but thereafter Tawhiao and Riley combined to score 55 of Rangi’s 59 points.

Imogen O’Rourke and Ruby Railton complimented the work of Linstrom and Cammell but it wasn’t quite enough on the night. 

Carmel 53 – Cammell 21, Linstrom 19, Izzy MacGregor 5

Rangitoto 59 – Tawhiao 29, Riley 26, Sain 4

Westlake’s  unbeaten start to the season was under threat at half-time when they trailed Mt Albert Grammar School 28-26.

Tiger-Lily Coker-Lemalie and Taya Lewis combined nicely to give MAGS the interval lead.

Whatever the Westlake coaching staff said at the break worked a treat as they ran up 24 points in the third quarter courtesy of  Jaelah Clayton, Rebecca Moors and Makenzee Boucher.

Sienna-Rose Tawera and Lewis tried to keep MAGS afloat but Westlake were on a roll going on to win 71-47, Amy Pateman putting the icing on the victory. 

Westlake 71 – Boucher 16, Chatfield 16, R Moors 8, Sarah Moors 8

MAGS 47 – Lewis 11, Coker-Lemalie 9, Valana Pupuke-Robati 9, Tawera 8

Despite going eight minutes in the third quarter without scoring Baradene College prevailed 64-49 at Epsom Girls Grammar School.

Baradene College took command of proceedings racing to a 19-5 lead with Ritorya Tamilo and Summer Faleafa in the thick of the action.

Draun Forbes and Flo Dallow dragged Epsom back into the contest in the second period but they still trailed by 8 points at the half (31-23).

The pair inflicted more damage in the third period but despite that barren eight minutes Baradene still held a 40-37 advantage with 10 minutes to play.

Poppy Cavanagh–Briggs stepped up in the fourth making 10 points, Lily Parke chimed in with 8 and Baradene fans could breathe a little easier in the closing minutes as their team moved to 5-0 for the season.

Epsom 49 – Dallow 15, Forbes 12, Sarah-Joy Aruwa 10, Te Aroha Kukutai-Wirau 6

Baradene 64 – Parke 19, Cavanagh–Briggs 15, Tamilo 13, Deyna Topia 7

Massey High made a great start to the contest against St Mary’s College but came unstuck in the third quarter eventually losing 91-59.

Massey were up 21-17 at quarter time as Maya Taingahue and Shaz Henry combined for 17 points. They were still in the ascendancy at half-time – Tahyla Waikiki getting in on the scoring to make it a 32-31 lead.

The St Mary’s floodgates opened in the third period as they piled on 29 points. Kodee Sefo and Faith Ualika did most the damage making 12 and 9 points respectively in the period with Massey only able to muster 4 points in response.

Massey made a better fist of it in the fourth as Zhoey Tilby-Woods and Taingahue dropped threes but Sefo, Alex Moore and Breanna Schmid were in no mood to surrender the advantage.

St Mary’s 91 – Sefo 25, Ualika 22, Moore 14, Schmid 12, Layla Aholelei 9

Massey 59 – Taingahue 23, Henry 16, Waikiki 11, Tilby-Woods 6

Premier League Standings after 5 rounds

5-0 Baradene, Westlake

3-2 St Mary’s

• Epsom 
  • Rangitoto

1-3 Massey

1-4 MAGS

0-5 Carmel

Senior A Results

Northcote 74 – Lizzie May 26, Brianna Hadley 21, Lucy Shepherd 15

AGGS 64 – Mapuna Kohunui 27, Leah Patuwairua 17, Grady Nikoia 16

Saint Kentigern 81 – Sharmaine Tapling 14, Emma Halliday 14, Masha Pavlenko 13, Maia Mealamu 9

Pukekohe 41 – Abby Crane 20 (6 made 3’s), Elena Hotai 5

One Tree Hill 63 – Savannah Cook 37 (7 made 3’s), Angelica Vahai 15, Jada Tairea 5

Pakuranga 52 – Jordan Koteka 21, Puaolena Fausia 8, Eden Vaka 7

Mt Roskill 58

Avondale 39

Senior A Standings

5-0 St Kentigern, One Tree Hill

3-2 Mt Roskill, Northcote 

1-3 Pukekohe

1-4 Pakuranga, Avondale 

0-4 AGGS

Round 5 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Boy’s League contained no real surprises as the top four teams each registered a win.

Rangitoto College, welcoming Auckland Huskies guard Zach Riley into their ranks for the first time this season, had five players in double figures as they eased past Rosmini College 94-61.

Rangitoto made the perfect start with the hard working Kaia Dryden posting up inside and finishing comfortably. 

Tom Beattie and Kane Murphy got the scoreboard moving for Rosmini but Lucas Payne and Riley were instrumental in pushing Rangi to a 23-14 quarter time lead.

Playmaker Ethan Skelton began to pick holes in the Rosmini defence and with Zeke Priest adding some flamboyant finishes Rangi extended their advantage despite Charlie Dalton’s best efforts. Dryden’s buzzer beating three gave Rangi a 42-26 half-time lead.

Matt Drury scored 9 points for Rosmini in the third but that was punctuated by triples from Priest, Dryden, Riley and Skelton as the Rangi lead stretched beyond twenty points.

Both coaches gave extended minutes to the bench crews in the final period – Rangi cruising to a fifth straight win.

Rosmini 61 – Dalton 15, Beattie 14, Murphy 9, Drury 9

Rangitoto 94 – Skelton 18p/7assists, Priest 15, Riley 15, Dryden 14, Payne 12

Westlake Boys High are also on a five game winning start to the season, their latest performance a 108-66 home win against Mt Albert Grammar School with Boston Caldwell (32 points) and Christian Martin (23 points) doing most of the damage. 

Westlake posted a 26-16 first quarter advantage and blew the lead out to 30 points by half-time (57-27).

Phoenix Sorensen and Aki Luamanuvae-Su’a helped turn the tide in an even third quarter but it was only a temporary reprieve as Wade Mackenzie and Rocco Chang took the game further away from MAGS in the final ten minutes.

Westlake 109 – Caldwell 32, Martin 23, Chang 15, Wade Mackenzie 13, Daniel Ottenhoff 8

MAGS 66 – Sorensen 18p/11rebs, Luamanuvae-Su’a 11, Will Leger 9, Kade Cartwright 9

St Kentigern College bounced back from their narrow loss to Rangitoto 72 hours earlier with an 81-67 victory against St Peters.

However the combined efforts of Jack Donnelly, Dorian Sula and Scott Errey made it far from straight forward.

Errey scored 8 points in the opening frame to keep his team in touch at 21-16 in arrears. 

Dontae-Russo Nance dropped a couple of threes in the second period but Donnelly replied with three from deep to keep St Peter’s in touch at the interval – down 39-32.

A couple more from deep from Donnelly were more than cancelled out by Merrick Rillstone and Kazlo Evans as the hosts stretched out to a 64-46 three-quarter time advantage.

Dorian Sula made his highest points tally of the season but it wasn’t enough to threaten an upset win.

St Kentigern 81 – Russo-Nance 28, Evans 21, Rillstone 11, George Turner 9, Caleb Mattison 8

St Peter’s 67 – Donnelly 28, Sula 18, Errey 15

Paced by Caleb Landon’s 28 points Auckland Boys Grammar were too strong for Liston College winning 113-39.

Taonaishe Chataira top scored for Liston but it was largely one-way traffic as skipper Luka Vea, Cody Brown and Blake Manning joined Landon in double figures.

AGS 113 – Landon 28, Vea 19, Brown 17, Manning 14, Will Shortt 9, Toby Caldwell 9

Liston 39 – Chataira 9, Landon Smith 7, Rasheed Tahiru 7

Premier League Standings after 5 Rounds

• Rangitoto, Westlake

4-1 St Kentigern

3-2 AGS

2-3 Rosmini

1-4 MAGS

0-5 Liston, St Peter’s

Senior A Results

Maclean 97 Long Bay 55

Sacred Heart 100 Aorere 68

Mt Roskill 98 Avondale 67

Massey v Northcote TBC

Senior A Standings after 5 Rounds 

5-0 Mt Roskill, 

4-1 Sacred Heart 

3-2 Aorere

2-2 Northcote 

2-3 Avondale, Macleans

1-4 Long Bay

0-4 Massey