It was a massive day of NCAA Division I college hoops today with no fewer than 29 Kiwis in action.
Tobias Cameron equaled his career best points tally and Sam Mennenga posted a double-double – here is a review of the action beginning with the Women’s action.
Charlisse Leger-Walker filled the stats line as Washington State proved much too good for Loyola Marymount winning 93-41. The Tall Ferns guard added 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block to 16 points on 7 from 12 shooting.
Tayla Dalton scored the first basket of the season for St Mary’s College as they went on to defeat Nevada 67-58. The 2022 Tall Ferns 3×3 guard scored 12 points (4/7FG, 4/6FT) and had 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Amiee Book scored 11 points as Fresno State beat Fresno Pacific 66-49. The Grad Senior also snared a couple of steals and 4 rebounds in the win.
Emme Shearer made 4 from 6 from the field for her 10 points while also adding 6 assists, 5 rebounds and a couple of steals as Portland University Pilots beat Willamette 92-56. Melika Samia had 2 points, 2 steals, 3 rebounds and an assist on debut for the Pilots.
Freshman Dani Bayes made 4 from 7 threes amongst her 12 points as Boise State swept past Multnomah 110-59. Bayes also added 2 assists and 3 rebounds in just 16 minutes.
Just short of double figures was Helen Matthews as she tallied 9 points in Wofford’s 81-72 loss to Youngstown State. Those points take the Cantabrian past the 300 career points mark.
A couple more Cantabs were in action as New Mexico State took on Colorado.
Ashlee Strawbridge, on debut, played a team high 37 minutes for New Mexico as they fell 85-55 to Colorado. Strawbridge finished with 7 points, 5 rebounds and a steal.
For Colorado Charlotte Whittaker, working her way back to match fitness following five operations on hip injuries and a 20-month layoff, claimed a couple of rebounds, a block and a single point in 11 minutes.
Freshman Ella Brow didn’t score any points but she did dish a game high 6 assists as Southern Methodist University defeated Texas A&M International 88-54.
Another freshman Rochelle Fourie scored with her first shot in Cal State University Northridge colours. The Palmy North forward scored just the 2 points on 1 from 2 shooting as CSUN were overpowered 88-56 by the University of California.
The Schuler sisters each scored on their Division I debuts also.
Breeje knocked down one from two free throws as Eastern Washington got an 86-47 win against Corban while Dejaan made a three for Stetson as the Hatters defeated Flagler 79-52.
In Men’s Division I action Kruz Perrott-Hunt carried the scoring load for South Dakota in their 85-59 loss at Wisconsin. KP-H scored 12 of South Dakota’s first 15 points before going on to register 21 points on 10 from 20 from the field. He also had a pair of steals plus triples in rebounds and assists.
Another 2022 Tall Black Sam Mennenga had 3 rebounds and 2 assists in the opening three minutes and went on to post a double-double as Davidson College defeated Guilford 87-64. Mennenga finished with 11 each in rebounds and points to accompany 3 assists and a steal.
Fellow Tall Black Flynn Cameron, in his 50th Division I start, scored 11 points to go with 7 rebounds and 2’s in steals and assists in Californai Riverside’s 82-66 loss at Colorado.
Brother Tobias nailed 18 points – equaling his career high – making 4 from 7 threes as Abilene Christian saw off Jackson State to win 65-56. Cameron senior added 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 bocks and a steal in a fine all court game.
Callum McCrae, in his first game for Sacramento State since his transfer from UC Riverside, pulled down 10 rebounds and tallied 6 points in the 76-50 loss to UCLA.
James Moors scored 6 points as Colorado State edged Gardner Webb 65-63 while freshman Akiva McBirney-Griffin had a trio of points and rebounds with a couple of assists as Cal University Irvine comfortably beat Chapman 96-50.
There were also some useful performances in pre-season games last week worthy of mention.
Grace Hunter, fresh off her strong season with the Tokomanawa Queens, dished a game high 5 assists to go with 7 points (3/4FG) as California State University Bakersfield beat Biola 96-57.
Florence Dallow marked her NCAA Division I debut in fine style knocking down 5 threes from 7 attempts to tally 17 points as Portland beat Warner Pacific 94-45.
Dallow’s New Zealand Junior Tall Ferns teammate Lilly Parke was in equally good form as Auburn University at Montgomery were pipped 81-78 by Southern Mississippi. The former Auckland Basketball and Baradene College forward top scored with 19 points (7/10FG, 4/4 3PG) in just 15 minutes.
LACEY LOWDOWN 