The opening round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girl’s Premier Grade saw comfortable wins for Epsom Girls Grammar, Mount Albert Grammar, Baradene College and Westlake Girls High.
Epsom Girls Grammar v St Mary’s College at Auckland Grammar School
Drawn Forbes scored a game high 20 points to propel Epsom Girls Grammar to a 79-44 victory against St Mary’s.
It was the Saints that made the better start, Kodee Williams-Sefo scoring 10 points as they forged a 19-13 lead. Unfortunately for St Mary’s that was the end of the night for the New Zealand U15 squad member who had to sit out the remainder of the game with a knee injury.
Trinity Atiga scored 8 second quarter points but Andrea Ape-Paia and Maya Fowler trimmed the St Mary’s advantage to a single point at half-time (32-31).
With the St Mary’s scoring drying up in the third, Epsom drove home the advantage outscoring their opponents 25-4 in the period – triples from Forbes, Maya Fowler and Ivy Tino aided the run.
With EGGS in complete control the lead ballooned out in the fourth.
EGGS 79 – Forbes 20, Ape-Paia 16, Talia Vea 12, Fowler 12, Keilah Pati 6
St Mary’s 44 – Atiga 17, Williams-Sefo 10, Tamsin Jakeman 6, Faith Ualika 6
Rangitoto College v Mt Albert Grammar at Rangitoto
Mount Albert Grammar enjoyed their first trip across ‘The Bridge’ this season as they claimed the spoils at Rangitoto College with a convincing 89-62 win.
Waimanu Clarken ,with a Round 1 high 37 points, and Danae Tait with 19 points were the architects of the win. The duo shared 18 points as MAGS raced to a 26-14 first quarter lead.
Tamsin McAsey scored 7 second quarter points for the hosts who trailed 46-30 at half-time.
Zaara Sain and Aroha Rogers (26 points) continued to find the nylon for Rangi but Tait knocked down her fifth triple of the game, Clarken continued her merry way, and Tiger-Lily Cocker-Lemanie chipped in with points as MAGS made a winning start to the season.
Rangitoto 62 – Rogers 26, Sain 11, Tamsin McKasey 9, Maddison Skelton 8
MAGS 89 – Clarken 37, Tait 19, Cocker-Lemanie 16, Jorjia Fiu 6, Sienna-Rose Tawera 6
Saint Kentigern College v Westlake Girls High School at Saint Kentigern
Newly promoted Saint Kentigern College found the going a little tough against Westlake Girls High – outscored 80-40.
Mackenzie Chatfield led the Westlake scoring with 31 points, the other major contributors being Lily Fotu and the Moors sisters Rebecca and Sarah.
St Kent’s actually made the better start to the contest as they held a 16-6 lead on the back of 11 points from Sharmaine Tapling.
Three’s from Ash Tuumaialu and Tapling kept the scoreboard moving but Chatfield and Fotu were moving through the gears as Westlake edged ahead (33-29) at the interval.
The St Kent’s scoring slowed to a crawl in the second half and with the marauding Moors’ controlling the paint – they corralled a combined 25 rebounds – the second half was largely one way traffic.
Westlake 80 – Chatfield 31, Rebecca Moors 18, Sarah Moors 16, Fotu 13
Saint Kentigern 40 – Tapling 16, Tuumaialu 8, Maia Bennett 6, Mania Rogers 6
Carmel College v Baradene College at Rosmini College
Summer Faliafa (25 points) and Ritorya Tamilo (26 points) dominated proceedings as Baradene College bossed the contest at Carmel College to run out 86-35 winners.
The omens were not good for Carmel at quarter time when they trailed 31-2.
However the experienced Jemma Cammell settled her young charges with 11 first half points – at that stage Tamilo threatening a triple double, with deft footwork for inside points, rebounds at both ends and multiple shots swatted away.
Tamilo and Faliafa continued to punish the Carmel defence in the second half – Poppy Cavanagh Briggs and Amelia Nathan adding to the damage.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Carmel as Zahara Tibbotts, Leighton Esera and Cammell led a spirited second half display.
Carmel 35 – Cammell 20, Esera 5, Annie Garland 4
Baradene 86 – Tamilo 26, Faliafa 25, Cavanagh-Briggs 13, Nathan 8, Emily Burrows 6
LACEY LOWDOWN 