LACEY LOWDOWN

Now just 9 points shy of 1,000 career points Krystal Leger-Walker scored a season high 22 points, including the game winning And-1 play with one second left on the clock, to get Washington State home 65-66 in a thriller against UCLA. Krystal also added 5 assists, 5 rebounds and a couple of steals whilst Charlisse L-W, hampered by foul trouble, posted 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

In a game involving six Kiwis St Mary’s (6-7) pushed top of the West Coast Conference (WCC) table BYU (11-1) before falling away in the final quarter to lose 84-69.

For St Mary’s Tayla Dalton, playing her 50^th game for the Gaels, scored 13 points, Jade Kirisone scored 6 while Amy West was unavailable due to injury. 

For BYU Tegan Graham was 3 from 6 from deep for 11 points (and 6 assists) while Kaylee Smiler added a bucket – Arielle Mackey-Williams didn’t come off the bench in this one.

Also in the WCC Emme Shearer produced 9 points, 4 rebounds and a couple of steals as Portland suffered a surprise 79-74 loss at Pacific.

Helen Matthews couldn’t replicate her 23 points haul in the previous game in Wofford’s decisive 72-54 defeat of Furman but still came up with a team high 3 steals, 5 rebounds and 6 points. Wofford now 8-1, and second spot, in the Sothern Conference.

Tsubasa Nisbett was amongst three seniors honoured before the game in which Georgia Southern beat Coastal Carolina 90-75. The Cantabrian finished with 4 points and 3 rebounds.

With 5 points in the game Amiee Book passed 900 career points in Fresno State’s 57-66 loss to Wyoming. 

Texas Christian 70 (Tara Manumaleuga 2 points, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block) Iowa State 93

Southern California 70 (Tera Reed 4 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal) Washington 59

UC Irvine 51 (Olivia Williams 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) UC Davis 66

In men’s Division I play Sam Waardenburg scored a dozen points in Miami’s 76-72 triumph over Wake Forrest to remain in the top four of the ACC. Waardenburg becomes the 13^th New Zealander to score 600 career points in NCAA Division I men’s basketball.

With 609 career points he will probably pick off Mike Karena (616 points at Wright State, 2014-16) in his next game.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored his season average (15 points) as South Dakota defeated Denver 84-76.

Playing his 50^th collegiate game James Moors was a perfect 5 from 5 from the field as Colorado State moved to 9-3 in the Mountain West Conference after defeating Fresno State 65-50. Moors finished with 11 points in 18 minutes of action bringing up 100 points for the season in the process.

Despite 10 points apiece from Callum McRae and Flynn Cameron UC Riverside suffered an 85-68 Big West Conference loss to UC San Diego.

In his first game of the season, after recovering from injury, Cantabrian Angus McWilliam scored 3 points in 9 minutes of action for Riverside.

Like his brother Flynn, Tobias Cameron finished with 10 points as Abilene Christian defeated Tarleton 77-63 to move to 8-5 in conference play. The elder Cameron now 4 points short of 300 career points at Abilene.

Davidson 65 (Sam Mennenga 3 points, 3 rebounds) Rhode Island 72

Helen Matthews was in great form in Wofford’s 71-49 victory against Western Carolina to move to 7-1 in the Southern Conference. The Kaiapoi local was a terrific 10 from 14 from the field as she amassed a career high 23 points while adding 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a couple of steals for good measure.

St Mary’s registered consecutive away wins with an 88-81 win at Santa Clara. Tayla Dalton passed 200 points for the season with a highly efficient 18 points (6/8FG, 6/6FT) to go with a couple of assists and 4 rebounds. Jade Kirisone had 5 points in the victory.

Grace Hunter scored a season high 15 points as Florida International were downed 73-61 by Old Dominion. The Wellingtonian guard also had a team high 5 assists despite fouling out in 24 minutes.

Tera Reed made a welcome return to the Southern California line-up but it didn’t prevent the Trojans going down 91-69 to Utah. Reed, in her first game for almost three weeks, had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Washington State suffered a shellacking at the hands of #24 Oregon losing 83-30. Washington made just 11 of 63 shots (18%) from the field. Krystal Leger-Walker managed 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists amongst the carnage with Charlisse L-W scoring 4 points – only the fourth time this season she hasn’t scored in double figures.

McKenna Dale had a double of 6 points and 6 rebounds as Virginia slipped to a 77-70 loss to Syracuse.

Texas Christian 47 (Tara Manumaleuga 6 assists) Oklahoma 76

Sam Waardenburg produced a massive performance for Miami in the 79-70 defeat of Georgia Tech. The former Rangitoto College standout produced 19 points (5/8FG, 3/4 3PG, 6/6FT), 8 rebounds, 5 assists and a block. Miami now 9-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Colorado State improved to 8-3 in the Mountain West Conference with an 82-72 win against Nevada. James Moorsscored 7 points and had quadruples in assists and rebounds. The 4 assists were a season high.

Davidson remain top of the Atlantic-10 Conference after a 73-67 overtime win against Saint Joseph’s. Sam Mennengawas 3 from 3 from the field for 7 points, adding a couple of blocks and assists.

Saint Mary’s 72 (Dan Fotu 2 points) Santa Clara 77

A massive double-double of 10 rebounds and a career best 26 points (10/16FG) from Ella Bradley propelled Utah State Eastern (USE) to a 63-58 win against Southern Idaho and break a 19-game winning streak by SI.

Maclani Michael claimed 6 points and 3 rebounds for USE while for Southern Idaho Ash Strawbridge scored 11 points and Kyra Paniora 7 points.

Ella is in a rich vein of form as she followed the above performance by totalling 26 points and 15 rebounds in a win and a loss in the double-header against Salt Lake.

Molly Cockburn and Ella Paleaae-Cook had big nights as Miles beat United Tribes Tech 71-65. Ella tallied 18 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals while Molly was close behind with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists. 

Parehuia Delamere scored 17 points as Western Texas beat Odessa 79-77 in overtime – the sophomore guard and Jordyn Maddix both making important free-throws in the final 6 seconds of the game to seal the win.

Leata Te Nana-Williams did it all as Central Maine outworked NHTI 97-41. Leata scored 17 points and also amassed 7 steals, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and a block. Harata Coleman chipped in with 2 points and 4 assists.

Samantha Jenkins scored 4 from 9 from beyond the arc as her 16 points and 3 assists eased Dawson across the line against Dakota (75-56).

Cloud County beat Pratt College 82-62 with Kay-Hauata Phillips scoring 14 points (7/10FG). Te Araroa Sopoaga once again displayed her all court game with 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 6 points and a couple of blocks.

Briarley Rogers made 3 from 4 threes in 12 points as Weatherford defeated Cisco 86-67.

Jenna Rose Mafua scored 11 points to go with 3 rebounds in Dodge City’s 69-55 defeat of Butler.

Keeley Tini was once again to the fore as Williston State distanced themselves from Miles to win 76-40. Keeley scored 10 points to accompany 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

Dejaan Schuler had 6 of each – points and rebounds – as Casper College tipped Western Wyoming 64-49.

Izzy Cook scored 7 points (3/3FG)and garnered 3 rebounds as Western Nebraska defeated Laramie County 72-57.

Ollie Hayward scored 14 points as Midland College were defeated 69-58 by New Mexico.

Ezrah Vaigafa scored 10 points as Neosho County beat Hesston 83-68.The former Wellington Saint also dished 5 assists and grabbed 7 rebounds.

Daniel Christensen scored 8 points in Barstow found it hot going at Desert College losing 97-82. 

Kiani Saxon had 4 points and 3 rebounds as Louisiana State Eunice defeated Southern-Shreveport 88-71.

A big performance from Callum McRae carried UC Riverside to a valuable 64-59 win against Hawaii. His 19-point haul was interspersed with 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. Flynn Cameron scored 7 points in the win.

Yuat Alok scored 10 points (5/7FG) in just 11 minutes as New Mexico State defeated California Baptist 68-57.

Dan Fotu, used for just 9 minutes per game by the St Mary’s coaching staff during January, responded to more playing time (16 minutes) with 9 points (4/7FG) and 4 rebounds in the Saint Mary’s Gaels 7554 win against Portland.

Tobias Cameron, playing his 99^th game for Abilene Christian, scored 7 points as the Wildcats gained a 77-73 home win against Chicago State. Cameron also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists with Abilene now 7-5 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Miami 64 (Sam Waardenburg 2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks) Notre Dame 68

Tayla Dalton and Jade Kirisome were both in double figures as St Mary’s snapped a four game losing streak with a 78-73 win against Santa Clara. Kirisome made 13 points (3/5 3PG), 4 assists and a couple of rebounds with Dalton making 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

#16 BYU suffered an away defeat at Portland going down 75-64. Tegan Graham scored 12 points (plus 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block) and Kaylee Smiler 2 points as BYU slipped to its first West Coast Conference defeat.

Grace Hunter scored 13 points (5/13FG) and dished a trio of assists as Florida International were pipped on the buzzer (65-64) by Southern Mississippi. That’s five straight double figure scores from the Porirua guard.

Helen Matthews scored 10 points as Wofford beat UNC Greensboro 63-45 for a third straight win and 6-1 record in the Southern Conference. Matthews also snared 8 rebounds and dished 4 assists.

McKenna Dale knocked down 3 from 3 triples for 9 points, to add to 3 rebounds and a steal in Virginia’s 65-57 loss to Boston College.

Other Women’s results:

Texas Christian 62 (Tara Manumaleuga 3 points) West Virginia 70

Fresno State 62 (Amiee Book 3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal) Boise State 56

St Peter’s 45 (Victoria Ikenasio 2 points, 4 rebounds) Manhattan 65

It’s been a good week for Jordyn Maddix. She scored a career high 28 points – 7 of those in the extra period – as Western Texas won an exciting overtime contest against Clarendon. The former Westlake guard had an eye catching shooting line of 9 from 17 from the field, 6 of 13 from beyond the arc and 4 straight from the foul line.

That was followed by 14 points in the 77-69 defeat of Howard College. Parehuia Delamere had 8 assists, 8 rebounds and 5 points in that one.

Jenna Rose Mafua played a big part in Dodge City pushing Seward County all the way before going down 63-60. The Wellingtonian guard scored a team high 19 points (7/11FG, 4/6 3PG) and also secured 4 rebounds and a steal.

Central Maine whacked Paul Smith’s College 86-30 with Safena and Leata Te Nana-Williams playing leading hands. Leata stuffed the box score line with 15 points (6/9FG), 7 steals, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Safena was almost as prolific with 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 6 points, 4 steals and a block.

Williston State could only manage 30 points in a 57-30 defeat against Mesa yet Keeley Tini still managed a double-double. She claimed almost half of the teams’ rebounds (15 of 39) and a third of the points (11)!

Cloud County also went down to Seward despite a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds from Kay-Hauata Phillips. Te Araroa Sopoaga had 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in the 78-64 defeat.

Maclani Michael poured in 15 points and Ella Bradley threatened a triple-double as Utah State Eastern swamped Community Christian College 93-46. Ella finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds (7 offensive) and 8 assists while Brooklyn Pouwhare had 2 points and 5 rebounds in the win.

Samantha Jenkins enjoyed a 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists outing as Dawson beat United Tribes 73-42.

Kyra Paniora top scored with 12 points (along with 6 assists and 4 rebounds) and Ash Strawbridge contributed 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a block as Southern Idaho squeezed home 52-49 against Salt Lake. Southern Idaho retain their #5 ranking with the win.

Molly Cockburn scored 9 points (4/7FG) and  Ella Paleaae-Cook 3 points as Miles slipped to a 65-49 defeat against North Dakota SCS. Molly also had 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Briarley Rogers came up with 9 points and 5 rebounds as Weatherford proved far too good for Southwestern Christian winning 81-39.

Izzy Cook scored 8 points as #6 Western Nebraska thumped Trinidad State 106-65. The Taranaki forward also contributed 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.

Dejaan Schuler scored 6 points as Casper College had a valuable 77-64 victory over East Wyoming. Casper up from 17 to number 20 on the national rankings.

Marshalltown defeated Des Moines 75-49 with Waiaaria Rogers pulling in 8 rebounds to go with 2 points and a couple of steals.

In Men’s action Ollie Hayward put in a strong shift for Midland College in the loss to South Plains amassing 15 points, 7 rebounds and a couple of dimes. Ollie was equally busy in the 56-54 win at Howard grabbing 6 rebounds to accompany 11 points.

Nico Hill was joint top scorer for Missouri State as the Grizzlies defeated St Louis 60-54. The former Opunake standout added 4 rebounds and 4 blocks to a dozen points. He then had 11 points  and 6 rebounds in a high scoring 97-94 loss to State Fair.

Nate Wilson flirted with a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds as South Georgia Tech defeated Andrew College 99-73.

Kiani Saxon scored 7 points as Louisiana State Eunice overturned a 14-point half-time deficit to defeat Baton Rouge, in an exciting encounter, 70-68 The former Liston College forward also tallied a season high 9 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Ezrah Vaigafa tallied 7 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists but Neosho County fell 97-82 to Johnson County.

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