LACEY LOWDOWN

Grace Hunter scored a team high and season best 14 points as Florida International secured a 72-45 win against UTEP to improve to 3-4 in Conference USA play. Hunter also had one each in the rebounds, assists, steals and blocks categories.

After fouling out in the final minute of regular time Charlisse Leger-Walker could only watch on as Washington State edged home 60-56 against rivals Washington – sister Krystal L-W making two critical free throws with 14 seconds to play to seal the win.

Charlisse finished with a team high 18 points, passing 700 career points in the process, to go with 7 rebounds while Krystal was next best for the Cougars with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Amiee Book scored 10 points (3/6FG) as Fresno State eased past Utah State 71-57. Book now just 11 points shy of 900 career points.

Tayla Dalton had 9 points, 3 steals, 3 assists and a pair of rebounds as St Mary’s California were defeated 73-62 at Loyola Marymount.

BYU were far too good for San Francisco winning 99-58. Tegan Graham had 6 assists and 9 points while freshman Arielle Mackey-Williams secured 2 rebounds to go with 4 points.

Kendell Heremaia, with 4 points in Fordham’s 62-54 win over St Bonaventure, went past Ashleigh Karaitiana’s(University of Hawaii, 2012-16) 1167 career points and moves to 7^th on the NZ all-time scoring list in women’s NCAA Division I hoops. Heremaia also had 8 rebounds in the game.

Other Women’s Results:

Wofford 73 (Helen Matthews 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) ETSU 51

Houston Baptist 67 (Lauryn Mapusua 2 points) Nicholls 58)

UC Irvine 64 (Olivia Williams 5 points, 2 blocks, 1 rebound, 1 assist) Cal Poly 52

Tobias Cameron scored 14 points (4/7FG, 5/6FT) to accompany 7 rebounds as Abilene Christian won a tight one against Lamar 85-82. 

Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored 12 points to help South Dakota to a 71-58 win against North Dakota. South Dakota now 6-4 in the Summit League.

8 points and 8 rebounds plus 2 assists and a steal from Sam Mennenga helped Davidson prevail over La Salle 77-69.

Sam Waardenburg scored 8 points and corralled a couple of rebounds as Miami retained top spot on the Atlantic Coast Conference ladder with a 73-62 road won at Georgia Tech.

Callum McRae scored 4 points (he also pulled down 8 rebounds) as UC Riverside defeated California State Fullerton 67 74. In so doing the Manawatu forward becomes only the 8^th New Zealand player to score 700 points in men’s NCAA Division I basketball.

Flynn Cameron made 5 from 8 from the field for 12 points for the victors.

Other Men’s Results:

New Mexico State 72 (Yuat Alok 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block) Stephen F Austin 58

#22 Colorado State 74 (James Moors 4 points, 1 rebound) Nevada Las Vegas 88

South Dakota were beaten 74-62 in overtime by North Dakota State to bring to an end a run of five straight wins. Once again Kruz Perrott-Hunt  was the leading scorer for South Dakota – his  24 points was the fifth time he has passed the 20-point mark this season and also takes him past 500 career points.

Callum McRae was close to a double-double (12 points and 9 rebounds) and Flynn Cameron scored 13 points as UC Riverside were edged 68-62 by Long Beach State.

Sam Waardenburg’s 10 points came courtesy of a perfect 4 from 4 field goals and 2 from 2 from the foul line as Miami beat Virginia Tech, with a game winner on the buzzer, 78-75. Miami improve to 7-2 at the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Those 10 points eased Waardenburg past the 557 points Sean Marks made in his college career (University of California, Berkeley, 1994-98). Both are Rangitoto College alumni but Waardenburg has a way to go before he catches Isaac Fotu (785 points) to claim the outright school record for Division I points.

Other Men’s Results:

Abilene Christian 87 (Tobias Cameron 7 points, 2 assists, 2 steals) UTRGV 85

Davidson 68 (Sam Mennenga 2pts, 4 rebounds, 1 assist) Victoria Commonwealth 70

In women’s action all three kiwis scored as BYU monstered Santa Clara 76-44 to remain top of the West Coast Conference. Tegan Graham scored 16 (6/10FG), Kaylee Smiler 5 and Arielle Mackey-Williams 2 points. Graham now up to 1,099 career points – 10th on the NZ all-time leading scorer list in women’s Div 1 hoops.

There were also three New Zealanders on the scoresheet for St Mary’s in the Bay Area local derby against San Francisco – lost 70-56.

Tayla Dalton scored 9 points, Jade Kirisome 2, while Amy West also scored a couple of points before being forced from the game in the first half with a shoulder injury.

Grace Hunter scored 12 points, making both 3-point attempts in the process, as Florida International won 81-53 at San Antonio.

After a Covid induced 10-day break Washington State Cougars overcame northwest rivals Oregon State 58-51 to improve to 3-3 in Pac-12 fixtures.

Krystal Leger-Walker was prominent for the Cougars making 3 from 6 triples on her way to 11 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds and a steal. Sister Charlisse backed her up with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals an assist and a block. 

Helen Matthews did a bit of everything as Wofford beat Tennessee Chattanooga 76-53. The Cantabrian guard had 4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block – for Chattanooga, Rotorua’s Pareunora Pene made 1 from 2 free throws.

Other Women’s Results:

Portland 68 (Emme Shearer 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) San Diego 55

UC Irvine 81 (Olivia Williams 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist) CSU Bakersfield 73

Houston Baptist 58 (Lauryn Mapusua 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal) New Orleans 49

Fordham 55 (Kendell Heremaia 2pts, 3 steals, 1 assist, 3 rebounds) Saint Joseph’s 35

Samantha Jenkins was back in high scoring mode as Dawson improved to 12-7 with a 67-49 win over Dakota. Samantha scored a game high 25 points (9/16FG) and demonstrated her all court game by adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block – she now has 258 points this season at 14.3ppg.

Keeley Tini scored a game high 16 points, and also secured 8 rebounds as Williston State defeated Miles 60-50. Six points shy of 300 points for the season Keeley ranks 27^th on the Junior College Division I scoring list.

For Miles Molly Cockburn scored 6 points while Ella Paleaae-Cook was all hustle with 4 steals and 9 rebounds to go with a couple of points.

The pair were in action again in the 76-62 loss against Bismarck. Molly had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while Ella scored a team high 15 points to go with 7 rebounds, a steal and a block.

Kay-Hauata Phillips and Te Araroa Sopoaga are performing consistently well for Cloud County. In the 92-82 loss to Independence Kay-Hauata produced 15 points and 7 rebounds while Te Araroa had a busy 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Te Oriwa Tuipolotu produced a couple of rebounds in this one.

Averaging 2.8 steals per game Te Araroa is 17^th on the national list in this category.

Despite 12 points and 5 rebounds from Ella Bradley and 9 points and 7 rebounds from Maclani Michael Utah State Eastern were frozen out by Snow College 57-51.

Southern Idaho (20-1) also faced Snow and came up with a 73-66 win. Kyra Paniora scored 9 points while Ashlee Strawbridge filled the stats line with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal – Southern Idaho up to number five in the national rankings.

Central Maine Mustangs are now 16-2 after a comfortable 81-49 win against Rhode Island. Leata Te Nana-Williams hit three second half threes on her way to 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Safena Te Nana-Williams had 5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists while Harata Coleman scored 2 points.

Jordyn Maddix scored 10 points and  Parehuia Delamere 9 points for Western Texas in their 82-60 los to South Plains.

Another former Harbour player Rashaan Smith also scored 10 points as  6^th ranked Western Nebraska Cougars mauled Lamar 84-48. The former Birkenhead College standout also came up with 3 blocks and 4 boards. Izzy Cook came up with 8 rebounds and 2 points in the win.

#20 Casper College are tracking nicely with a 17-4 record. Waikato’s Dejaan Schuler contributed 9 points, 4 rebounds an assist and a steal in the Thunderbirds 81-47 victory over Northwest.

Dodge City dodged a bullet in overcoming Cowley 86-85 as it took an overtime period to secure the win. Jenna Rose Mafua played her part with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. 

Yzabelle Tevao had a double of 6 points and 6 rebounds as McCook defeated Hastings 86-43.

Rosie Campbell produced a game high 7 assists to accompany 6 rebounds and 3 points as Southeast defeated Graceland 67-33.

In Men’s action Nico Hill scored a 12 points and had quadruples in rebounds and blocked shots as Missouri State-West Plains beat St Louis 60-54. That was 48 hours after posting a double-double of 19 points (5/11 3PG) and 10 rebounds despite Missouri State going under against Three Rivers (72-57).

Midland College fell 70-66 to New Mexico Military Institute but not before Ollie Hayward posted 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Nate Wilson came away with 5 points and 6 rebounds as South Georgia Tech completed a high scoring 106-88 win against Georgia Highlands.

Despite Neosho County suffering two defeats last week Ezrah Vaigafa still managed to put up good numbers across the two contests averaging 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. 

Yesterday was a huge day of college basketball when no fewer than 20 NCAA Division I games, involving 25 New Zealand players, took place.

Below are the highlights, with pride of place going to Sam Waardenburg who played his 100^th game for the University of Miami Hurricanes. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes, although making a comeback from 26-points down, fell 61-60 in a top of the table Atlantic Coast Conference clash with Florida State.

Waardenburg scored 8 points and also added a pair of rebounds and a career high-tying 3 blocks.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt was again amongst the points as South Dakota recorded a fourth straight win defeating St Thomas 90-79. The former Rosmini College standout scored 22 points. Averaging 15 points per game Perrott-Hunt has totaled 81 points across those four victories.

Davidson’s visit to Fordham was notable on two counts. Sam Mennenga constructed a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds for Davidson while another former Harbour representative Zach Riley made his debut for Fordham playing just under 4 minutes.

Mennenga’s career high rebound count included 5 offensive boards – Davidson top of the Atlantic 10 Conference with six consecutive wins. 

Flynn Cameron scored 11 points and Callum McRae sunk 6 points as UC Riverside defeated California State Northridge 77-67. Cameron added 5 rebounds and 2 steals while McRae, who also pulled down 5 boards, also had 4 assists 2 blocks and a steal. Riverside now 3-1 in the Big West.

Dan Fotu enjoyed his most productive outing in recent times as St Mary’s Gaels beat Loyola Marymount 83-51. Fotu finished with 8 points (3/5FG), 6 rebounds and a pair of assists.

Other Men’s Results:

Colorado State 73 (James Moors 5pts, 3 rebounds, 1 block) Air Force 53

Abilene Christian 77 (Tobias Cameron 6 points, 6 rebounds) California Baptist 68

Kendell Heremaia was a rebound shy of a double-double as Fordham beat Davidson 63-51. The former Waikato standout compiled 18 points (4/8 3PG), 9 boards, an assist and a steal.

In women’s Division I action Tera Reed put in a big shift in Southern California’s 68-58 loss to UCLA. Tera scored 13 points (5/8FG) and added 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds in 34 minutes.

Grace Hunter top scored for Florida International in their 87-66 loss at Western Kentucky. The Wellingtonian scored 11 points and dished a pair of assists. 

Tegan Graham had a handy stats line of 4 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals as BYU (5-0) remained unbeaten in West Coast Conference play with a 74-63 win in San Diego.

Other Women’s Results:

Houston Baptist 44 (Lauryn Mapusua 7 points, 2 rebs, 2 assists) A&M Corpus Christie 57

Virginia 48 (McKenna Dale 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist) Duke 57

Wofford 53 (Helen Matthews 2 points, 1 rebound) Mercer 67

St Mary’s 53 (Tayla Dalton 6pts, 2rebs, 2 assists, Amy West 2pts, Jade Kirisone 3rebs, 3 steals, 3 assists) Gonzaga 66

Fresno State 74 (Amiee Book 3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist) New Mexico 80 

UC Irvine 50 (Olivia Williams 3pts, 3 steals, 1 rebound) Long Beach 62

Portland 76 (Emme Shearer 2pts, 2rebs, 2 assists, 1 steal) Santa Clara 71 AOT

Helen Matthews enjoyed an excellent shooting night as Wofford defeated Samford 80-69. The Cantabrian scored 16 points on a highly efficient 6 from 8 from the field, sinking both 3-point attempts. It was a season best for the Kaiapoi native who has now scored exactly 100 points this season.

Playing her first game in over a month former Queen Margaret College standout Grace Hunter top scored for Florida International University as they came up just short against Marshall to slip to 1-3 in Conference USA. The Porirua guard scored 12 points and also added a pair of rebounds and an assist.

The three Kiwis in the St Mary’s Gaels lineup all made valuable contributions in their 78-71 away win at San Diego, with three being the common denominator amongst the stats.

Tayla Dalton made 14 points (5/8FG, 3/3 3PG) – she also had three’s in rebounds, assists and steals. Amy Westcontributed 3 points, 3 rebounds, a block and a steal while Jade Kirisome added 3 rebounds and 3 assists to 4 points.

12 points (4/6 3PG), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block from Kendell Heremaia helped Fordham move to 3-1 in Atalntic-10 play with a 61-53 home win against George Washington.

Also filling the stats line was Olivia Williams as UC Irvine beat Cal State Fullerton 75-67 to move to 4-1 in the Big West Conference. Williams finished with 8 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block).

Other Women’s Results:

Portland 59 (Emme Shearer 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal) Gonzaga 68

Fresno State 57 (Amiee Book 5 points) Air Force 66

Southern California 43 (Tera Reed 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 assist) UCLA 66

Saint Peter’s 74 (Victoria Ikenasio 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist) Canisius 55

Virginia 52 (McKenna Dale 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist) North Carolina 61

Men’s Results:

Abilene Christian 62 (Tobias Cameron 2 points, 1 assist)  Seattle 72

St Mary’s Gaels 73 (Dan Fotu 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist)  Santa Clara 65

New Mexico State 46 (Yuat Alok 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist) Sam Houston 71

Playing his 99^th game for the University of Miami Sam Waardenburg enjoyed a career night as the Hurricanes improved to 6-1 in the ACC with a thumping 85-57 win over North Carolina. The former Junior Tall Blacks forward scored 21 points on an impressive shooting night making 7 from 9 from the field including 5 from 6 three-pointers. 

If all goes to plan Waardenburg will play his 100^th game on Saturday against Florida State.

Another former Harbour representative Sam Mennenga tallied 2 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists as Davidson eked out a 63-61 win at Virginia Commonwealth. Davidson off to a 5-0 start in the Atlantic 10 Conference 

Charlisse Leger-Walker was within a rebound of a double-double as she amassed 24 points, 9 rebounds and an assist in Washington State’s 71-58 defeat by UCLA. It was a quieter performance from Krystal L-W with 4 assists and a pair of rebounds.

Tera Reed is more facilitator than scorer these days and delivered a game high 7 assists as USC defeated Washington 73-66. Once again she played all 40 minutes accumulating 5 rebounds, 2 points a block and a steal.

Tera has now drawn level with Micaela Cocks in terms of number of NCAA Division I games played, that’s 125 appearances and equal seventh on the NZ women’s all-time list.

Victoria Ikenasio corralled a career high 9 rebounds in St Peter’s 75-53 defeat by Quinnipiac.

Keeley Tini had a massive double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds as Williston State sank Bismarck State 70-65. Keeley is sitting 11^th on the National Junior College rebounding list with 179 boards and 27^th on the scoring list with 267 points.

Ella Bradley scored 22 points for the third time this season (she also totalled 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal) as Utah State Eastern beat Community Christian College (92-51) – Ella now has 201 points this season. In the same game  Brooklyn Pouwhare scored 2 points and  Maclani Michael tallied 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.

Ashlee Strawbridge racked up 20 points (4/5 3PG) as #6 Southern Idaho moved to an imposing 19-1 with a crushing 129-41 win against Colorado Northwestern. 

Jordyn Maddix was one point short of a season high, scoring 19 points (5/10 3PG) as Western Texas went under, 83-67 at Midland College. Parehuia Delamere was also in double figures with 10 points.

Cloud County slipped to 9-8 after defeat at Colby (69-60). Kay-Hauata Phillips top scored for Cloud with 16 points (7/11FG) and also grabbed 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Te Araroa Sopoaga once again filled the box score with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a block.

With 15 points (6/11FG) LeataTe Nana-Williams top scored for Central Maine as they stormed Fort Kent 88-31. Twin sister Safena had an excellent all court game with 7 assists, 6 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals.

Jenna Rose Mafua scored 12 points, with all her points coming in made threes, as Dodge City beat Pratt 84-49.

Sam Jenkins scored 11 points as well as contributing 5 rebounds and trios in steals and assists as Dawson College (11-6) dominated Miles 78-37.

Molly Cockburn posted excellent numbers as Miles College beat United Tribes Tech 75-67. The Cantabrian guard finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and a brace of steals. Shout-out to Ella Paleaae-Cook (2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) who was thrust into the Miles starting five 48-hours after arriving in the States.

Briarley Rogers made 6 points making 2 from 4 three-pointers as Weatherford accounted for Collin County 90-76 to move to 8-4 this season

Izzy Cook scored 8 points and Rashaan Smith 6 points as 10^th ranked Western Nebraska dominated McCook to win 97-63. Western Nebraska now an impressive 17-1 this season.

Molly Cockburn posted excellent numbers as Miles College beat United Tribes Tech 75-67. The Cantabrian guard finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and a brace of steals. Shout-out to Ella Paleaae-Cook (2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) who was thrust into the Miles starting five 48-hours after arriving in the States.

In men’s action Nico Hill scored 16 points (4/6 3PG) and pulled down 6 rebounds in Missouri State-West Plains 71-59 loss to Mineral Area.

Ollie Hayward scored a season high 14 points as Midland College snapped a 5-game losing skid with an 80-72 win against Western Texas.

Despite a 98-60 loss to Odessa Ollie went one better with 15 points making 9 from 11 at the free throw line a couple of days later.

Nate Wilson had 4 points and a pair of rebounds as South Georgia Tech were pipped 76-73 by Central Georgia.

Also suffering a narrow loss were Neosho County, defeated 70-64 by Hesston. Ezrah Vaigafa had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in that one.