Callum McRae and Kendell Heremaia stole the headlines on Black Friday in the States where no fewer than 16 New Zealander’s were in action in NCAA Division I games.
Heremaia was in double-double territory as Fordham University beat Houston 67-53 at the Cancum Challenge in Mexico. She tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in her 123rd game (96th start) for the Rams. That number ties the mark set by Stella Beck (St Mary’s) and Tessa Boagni (CSU Northridge) and places her equal 7th on the NZ Women’s All-Time Div I Appearances list.
McRae dominated the glass with a career high 16 rebounds to go with 10 points, 2 assists, a block and a steal as UC Riverside beat Florida A&M 60-49.
The performance earned the Palmerston North Boys High alum a spot on the All-Tournament trio at the Cerebro Sports Golden Classic.
McRae also reached another milestone becoming the 12th Kiwi to score 600 points in Men’s NCAA Division I basketball.
In scoring 8 points Sam Waardenburg moved past 450 career points in Miami’s 69-63 victory against North Texas.
Other Results:
St Mary’s 68 (Jade Kirisome 11pts, 3rebs, 4a/ Amy West 9pts, 4rebs, 2a, 1 steal/ Tayla Dalton 2pts, 1 assist) Texas Christian 72 (Tara Manumaleuga 1a, 1 block)
Florida International 64 (Grace Hunter 10p, 1reb, 2 blocks) Chicago State 46
UC Irvine 67 (Olivia Williams 9pts, 2 steals) Illinois State 57
Virginia 70 (McKenna Dale (6pts, 1reb, 1a) Rhode Island 80
Boise State 57 (Kaitlin Burgess 5pts, 1reb, 1 steal) Louisiana Tech 60
Georgia Southern 72 (Tsubasa Nisbett 5rebs) South Carolina 57
Fresno State 64 (Amiee Book 2rebs, 1a, 1 block) San Diego 68
Houston Baptist 56 (Lauryn Mapusua 2rebs) Montana 59 AOT
LACEY LOWDOWN 