It was a weekend of records in NCAA Division I basketball with Amiee Book, Charlisse Leger-Walker, Kruz Perrott-Hunt and the two Mac’s – Callum McRae and McKenna Dale – setting new marks.
We documented Callum McRae’s journey to 100 NCAA Division I appearances a couple of days ago – if you missed it take a read:
Amiee Book achieved the 100 game milestone last month before at the weekend scoring a career high 31 points. She made 8 from 14 threes and 11 from 17 shots overall but couldn’t prevent Fresno State Bulldogs being pipped 62-60 by Portland State.
Book followed up with 12 points as Fresno State lost a one possession game for the second time in three days and the fourth time overall this season – they lost 62-61 to Sacramento State.
Also coming up with a career high points scoring effort was Kruz Perrott-Hunt. The South Dakota senior was mightily impressive in the Coyotes exciting 68-67 defeat of BYU. He finished with a game high 26 points making 4 from 5 threes and all 8 of his free-throw attempts.
Charlisse Leger-Walker made a career high equalling 6 threes, from 12 attempts, as Washington State beat Montana 77-57. The Tall Ferns guard finished with 24 points, 6 assists, a pair of rebounds and a steal.
McKenna Dale was in dominant form as Virginia thrashed UNC Wilmington 78-36. Dale finished with a season high 22 points (4/9 3PG) to accompany 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals for the unbeaten (10-0) Cavaliers. It was also her highest single game score for Virginia since transferring from Brown University prior to the 2021-22 season.
Tara Manumaleuga scored a season best 13 points as Texas Christian defeated George Washington 68-56 and improve their record to an even 4-4. Manumaleuga came up with a career high 4 steals in the contest.
Helen Matthews posted her fourth double figure points haul of the season as Wofford defeated Emory & Henry 76.54. The Kaiapoi native totalled 11 points (5/8FG), 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals as Wofford improved to 7-2.
Another Cantabrian Ashlee Strawbridge scored 7 points in New Mexico State’s 57-52 defeat of San Diego. She followed that with 5 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds although New Mexico State came up short against Idaho losing 68-62.
St Mary’s recovered from a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to beat UC Davis 58-53. Tayla Dalton scored 6 points, Amy West 5 points and Jade Kirisome 2 points in the win.
Southern Methodist Ella Brow had an even 6 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists as Southern Methodist accounted for Gardner Webb 84-71.
Grace Hunter, returned to the Cal State Bakersfield line-up after injury. The Wellingtonian guard scored 5 points and although she fouled out in the overtime period Bakersfield hung on to win a nail biter against Omaha 69-68.
Back to men’s fixtures and Sam Mennenga was within a rebound of a double-double finishing with 20 points (9/16FG), 9 boards and 3 assists as Davidson were pipped 69-67 by Delaware. Mennenga has 150 points this season at a lofty 16.7ppg.
Also beaten narrowly were Colorado State going down 88-83 against Northern Colorado. James Moors posted 14 points and 3 rebounds in the defeat.
Tafara Gapare scored 8 points, making 3 from 3 triples in the process, as Massachusetts squeezed past Harvard 71-68.
The Sky Sport Breakers split their two-game Round 9 fixtures comprehensively beating South East Melbourne Phoenix 110-84 at Christchurch Arena on Thursday but coming unstuck at Spark Arena on Saturday evening going down 92-84 to Perth Wildcats.
The story of the Perth encounter was the display of a former Breaker. Corey Webster demonstrated that on his day he is one of the premier shot makers in the NBL. The three-time championship winner scored a team high 26 points on 10 from 17(59%) shooting.
Webster poured in 16 third quarter points to put his team in the ascendancy then scored Perth’s last 4 points to seal the win. The fist pump at the final buzzer indicated the satisfaction the performance, and result, gave the shooting guard who played 236 gamesin a 10-year career for the Breakers.
The Breakers leading scorer this season, Barry Brown Jr, went one better than Webster tallying 27 points – his ninth 20+ score in 12 innings – but it was a night when Perth and C-Web took the honours.
On their way to two consecutive tons the Sky Sport Breakers posted 37 first quarter points against South East Melbourne Phoenix in Christchurch – the highest opening ten minute points haul the club have mounted in the 40 minute era which dates back to 2009.
It was also the first time consecutive 100+ scores have been posted since January 2019 when the Queensland clubs Cairns and Brisbane were walloped.
Here are the numbers:
Beat South East Melbourne Phenix 110-84 at Christchurch Arena on Thursday
Dan Fotu scored his first Breakers points. He scored 5 points in his sixth game of the season and seventh overall – he played once as a Development Player back in the 2017-18 season before he embarked on his 4-year collegiate career at St Mary’s College, California.
Barry Brown Jnr, the team’s leading scorer made a season best 31 points, making 4 from 6 from beyond the arc.
Will McDowell-White with 11 assistsbecame the 11th Breaker to dish 250 assists.
Cam Gliddon scored 5 points to pass 3,000 career points. He sits 12th on the scoring list of active players which is headed by Adelaide 36ers forward Daniel Johnson with 5,971 points.
Tom Abercrombie (4,212 points) is third on the NBL’s active players scoring list.
Abercrombie snared 2 steals to become just the 4th Breaker to pinch 250 steals.
The Breakers top five “Stealers”:
288 Boucher
278 Jackson
252 Vukona
251 Abercrombie
209 Henare
Lost 92-84 to Perth Wildcats at Spark Arena on Saturday
Rob Loe played his 125th game for the Breakers drawing level with Oscar Forman in 12th spot on the club’s all-time games played list.
Derek Pardon produced his 6th double-double of the season adding 14 rebounds to 13 points.
Upcoming
Cam Gliddon will play his 299th NBL game against the Sydney Kings.
Izayah Le’afa needs 3 points for 600 NBL career points.
Will McDowell-White needs to pinch 1 more possession for 50 steals in Breakers colours.
The Breakers (11-4) are next in action on Thursday when they entertain Sydney Kings (9-3) in a clash between the top two teams on the NBL ladder – tip-off 7.30pm at Spark Arena.
Playing his 100th Division I game on Sunday (NZT) Callum McRae posted a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds despite Sacramento State University going down 72-65 at Santa Clara. It’s the seventh time in eight games this season he has posted double figures in points or rebounds.
Despite playing his 100th NCAA game it feels as if the collegiate career of McRae has flown under the radar somewhat – if dipping under the radar is possible for someone standing 7’1” tall!
Having spent four years at the University of California Riverside the former Manawatu and Palmerston North Boys High School standout has reunited with coach David Patrick at Sacramento State for the current 2022-23 collegiate campaign.
Coach Patrick was largely responsible for taking McRae to Riverside back in 2018 after his successful youth career. McRae repaid the faith by playing 92 games for the Highlanders over four years although he was forced to redshirt the 2020-21 year due to injury.
That was a particularly trying period for McRae given the timing of the injury.
“The injury was a huge challenge but it was compounded because Covid just hit too. I had great people around me to support me but not being able to be around my family was tough.”
McRae bounced back in style in the 2021-22 season scoring a career best 32 points against UC Santa Barbara and averaging 10.8 points and 7.9 rebounds across 28 games – 27 as a starter. His 6.1 defensive rebounds per game placed him 42nd amongst all men’s Division I players in that statistical category. Given there are over 5,000 male Division I players a 42nd placing is rather impressive!
Despite the successes of last season when the opportunity to reunite with Patrick presented itself McRae had little hesitation in jumping on board.
“Coach Patrick is a great coach and better person but it came down to trust. I could’ve gone to a lot of places for my last year but playing, and having a significant role, was important to me and I knew I could trust him to have my best interests at heart.”
Eight games into the new season and the 100th NCAA Division I appearance has rolled around. McRae was aware that the major milestone was imminent but unsure of exactly when.
“Being in college for so long I knew it was coming up. I’m just happy to have made it this far, I had a couple injuries that almost forced me to stop playing so I am very thankful to be able to be on the court still and do what I love.
Perhaps even more significantly, barring injury, he will soon complete the double of 100 NCAA Division I appearances and 1,000 points and move into elite company – the double has only been achieved previously by Kirk Penney, Tai Webster and Craig Bradshaw.
To date he has 940 points – averaging 10.9 points per game (and 9.6 rebounds) – the 1,000 points mark looks likely to be achieved around the turn of the year.
Only fourteen New Zealand men have racked up 100 Division I appearances and amongst them are Dan Fotu (126 games for St Mary’s College, California) and Sam Waardenburg (118 games for the University of Miami).
The pair were involved in the two most memorable events in McRae’s junior career, both taking place in 2016.
Waardenburg and Fotu were opponents in “That Final” – the 2016 Secondary Schools Boys National Final, one of the most spectacular championship games witnessed in recent years.
Scoring 33 points and snaring 17 rebounds McRae dragged Palmerston North Boys High back from a massive 60-35 half-time deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter.
Had it not been for the miraculous Rangitoto buzzer beater, courtesy of Cameron Stone’s miraculous shot, the championship would have gone the way of Palmy North Boys.
Later that year, this time playing with Fotu and Waardenburg, McRae enjoyed tremendous success at the FIBA U18 Oceania Championships in Fiji where the New Zealand team pulled off a stunning 57-51 victory against Australia in the final – the win qualifying the Junior Tall Blacks for the U19 World Cup the following year.
McRae still has vivid memories of both events.
“After all these years that Rangitoto game is always bought up and still hurts a little but the joy of beating Australia helps a little. All I remember was the atmosphere of the game with my school behind us and the haka the boys did for us and then to Rangi. Even though we lost I was proud of that and the fight to come back after being down so much.
“I still talk with a few of the boys every now and again and have even played with and against some here in college. That year group has been successful and I’m happy to see everyone succeeding and continuing on their paths.”
That 2016 U18 New Zealand team have gone on to achieve big things in the game. In addition to Waardenburg and Fotu, Taki Fahrensohn, Isaac Letoa, Quinn Clinton and the Cameron brothers Tobias and Flynn have played Division I basketball while Fotu, Letoa, Fahrensohn, Flynn Cameron and Taane Samuel, who was also on the team in Fiji, have gone on to play for the Tall Blacks.
Becoming the sixth member of the “Class of 2016” to gain senior international recognition would be special for McRae.
“I’d love to – playing for your country is an honour so if I ever have that opportunity I’d take it.”
More pressing are the needs of Coach Patrick and the Sacramento State Hornets team as they strive to make an impression in the Big Sky Conference and beyond.
“I want to make my first NCAA tournament. Doing what I can to make that happen is priority number one and hopefully that will lead me to continuing my career professionally and becoming the best player I can be.”
Whether he gets to the Big Dance or not McRae will have plenty of good memories to reflect on when his college career concludes.
“Most of my highlights come from off the court. I’m lucky to have met some great people while being over here and have created lifelong friends. However beating Nebraska by a lot and Arizona state on the buzzer were great highlights too.
“I appreciate all the coaches and people who have helped me get to where I am today.”
One of those to help McRae along his journey is his former Palmerston North Boys High Head Coach Miles Pearce. The former Tall Black is impressed with what he has seen.
“Cal has achieved so much in his career and it’s really only just beginning. He’s been a starter every year of his college career and improved his game every step of the way.
“I’m so proud of him and his accomplishments and everything he’s worked for. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him.”
For now the focus for McRae is the present rather than the future.
Studying for a Master’s Degree in Recreational Therapy and ensuring the Hornets have a successful season are the main priorities for the big Kiwi.
The full list of centurions below includes former Hornet Izayah Le’afa the current New Zealand Breakers guard.
100+ Men’s NCAA Division I Appearances/Starts (*Currently playing #Playing
a fifth year)
133/121
Rob Loe (University of St Louis, 2010-14)
131/61
Sam Timmins (University of Washington 2016-20)
127/106
Jack Salt (University of Virginia, 2014-19)
127/92
Kirk Penney (University of Wisconsin, 1999-2003)
127/83
Tai Webster (University of Nebraska, 2013-17)
126/47
Dan Fotu (St Mary’s College, 2018-22)
125/103
Mark Dickel (UNLV, 1996-2000)
123/104
Craig Bradshaw (Winthrop University, 2003-7)
120/83
Tom Vodanovich (James Maddison University, 2013-17)
Sam Mennenga scored 21 points and pulled down 7 rebounds as Davidson slipped to only their second loss of the season going down 68-66 in overtime to Charlotte. Up to 540 career points he moved past Matt Freeman (531 points), another former Westlake Boys High player, into 18th on the New Zealand all-time Division I scoring list. Next in line is Sean Marks who scored 557 points for the University of California between 1994 and 1998.
Zach Riley scored a season high 11 points (2/3 3PG, 3/4FT) as Fordham defeated Maine 72-67. Used sparingly so far this season Riley, afforded 17 minutes playing time, demonstrated what he could provide for the Rams moving forward.
Tobias Cameron produced a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds as Abilene Christian dominated North American 93-46. Cameron also added a trio of steals and assists in the win.
Ben Gold made 7 points, in only 10 minutes, as Marquette defeated Baylor 96-70. The Tall Blacks forward also had a block and a rebound.
In women’s division I action Kiwi guards Arielle Mackey-Williams and Dani Bayes were in opposition as BYU took on Boise State. Bayes scored a season high 16 points, making 4 from 8 threes, but Boise State went down 76-67. Mackey-Williams made 17 points, one short of equalling her season best, for BYU as they improved to 5-3.
All three Kiwis were in scoring mode for St Mary’s as the Gaels pulled away in the second half to defeat San Jose State 63-48. Tayla Dalton added 8 rebounds to a team high 13 points (5/7FG) while Amy West scored 4 points and Jade Kirisome a deuce.
Cantabrian guard Helen Matthews scored 12 points – her third double digit outing in the last four games – as Wofford defeated Davidson 72-51 to make it 5 wins on the bounce.
Emme Shearer scored 11 points in just 11 minutes as Portland dominated Evergreen State to win 87-35. Melika Samia chipped in with 2 assists, 4 rebounds and a point as Portland improved to 5-3 on the season.
Tara Manumaleuga scored 10 points and added 3 steals and a block as Texas Christian put the defensive clamps on Incarnate Word to win 60-33.
Ella Brow scored 7 points (3/5FG) as Southern Methodist easily defeated Arkansas Pine Bluff 74-45.
McKenna Dale (6 points) made a pair of threes and garnered a couple of rebounds as Virginia beat Penn State 89-68.
Other Women’s Results:
Chicago State 43 (Yzabelle Tevao 4pts, 4rebs) Indiana State 68
La Salle 71 (Emilee Tahata 3pts, 2rebs) Lafayette 54
New Mexico State 61 (Ashlee Strawbridge 4pts, 3rebs, 1 block) Texas El Paso 65
Houston Christian 51 (Lauryn Mapusua 3pts, 1 assist) Rio Grande Valley 68
UC Irvine 67 (Olivia Williams 4pts, 4rebs, 2 assists) Eastern Washington 65
One appearance after playing NCAA game number 100 Amiee Book, with her second triple in Fresno State’s 68-49 loss to Penn State, completed the unique double of 1,000 points and 100 appearances in Women’s NCAA Division I basketball. The Graduate Senior, daughter of former Tall Black Ed Book, is just the 17th New Zealand player to complete the double.
Kaylee Smiler continued her good form as BYU were edged 61-56 by Ball State. The Waikato guard scored 17 points (7/12FG) to go with 3 assists and 2 rebounds. Arielle Mackey-Williams scored a couple of points in the defeat.
Charlisse Leger-Walker scored in double figures for the 53rd time in her collegiate career as Washington State defeated South Dakota State 61-41. Playing all 40 minutes Leger-Walker finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal
Ashlee Strawbridge scored 11 points (5/10FG), grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked 2 shots in New Mexico State’s 60-51 loss to Denver.
McKenna Dale had a highly productive 10 points (3/3 3PG), 8 rebounds plus an assist, block and steal as Virginia eased to a 72—50 win against East Carolina.
Helen Matthews pulled down 9 boards (6 offensive) to equal her career best haul of rebounds and added 7 points as Wofford cruised past Southern Wesleyan 70-51.
Emme Shearer scored 8 points and snared a game high 3 steals as Portland had a comfortable 67-41 win against Northeastern. Melika Samia scored 2 points in the win.
Dani Bayes scored 7 points as Boise State were pipped 55-54 in overtime by Milwaukee.
All three Kiwis playing at St Mary’s got on the scoresheet but it didn’t prevent the Gaels going down 73-53 to Kansas. Jade Kirisone scored 5 points, Amy West 4 and Tayla Dalton 3
Other Women’s Scores
Cal State Northridge 89 (Rochelle Fourie 3 points, 1 rebound) Antelope Valley 59
In Men’s NCAA Division I play Kruz Perrott-Hunt made 4 from 7 threes on his way to a team high 17 points in South Dakota’s 66-59 loss to Coastal Carolina. KP-H also posted 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the loss. He followed that with 10 points as South Dakota “Kruzed” past Mount Marty 97-58.
Sacramento State were defeated 91-87 by Southern Utah in double overtime. Kiwi centre Callum McRae, in career game number 99, had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks – he has posted double figures in points or rebounds in every game bar one this season.
Abilene Christian University snapped a three game losing streak to beat Northern Arizona 92-82. It was a 99th win in ACU colours for Tobias Cameron who posted 13 points, 5 rebounds and a couple of assists.
James Moors added 4 rebounds and a brace of steals to 7 points (3/4FG) as Colorado State comfortably beat Mississippi Valley State 88-45.
The Sky Sport Breakers have continued their winning ways with another impressive pair of victories in Round 8 of the Australian NBL.
The 116-79 home win against Brisbane takes the Breakers to 10-3 overall while the 82-71 victory in Cairns on Friday night was a sixth straight road win. That’s a record that has only been bettered on two occasions in the Breakers history.
The 116 points against Brisbane was the highest score posted by the Breakers since they put a colossal 130 on Illawarra Hawks back in February 2019. It was the highest score posted by any team in the NBL this season and also produced the largest winning margin.
Their shooting percentages were the best of the season across all three major categories – 60% (44/73) from the field, 51% (17/33) from 3-point land and 84% (11/13) from the charity stripe.
It mattered little on the night but in a tighter contest the Breakers might have been a little bemused by the foul count. The home team were pinged on 29 occasions, the Bullets incurring the wrath of the officials just 14 times. Certainly Tom Abercrombie was not a happy chappie picking up four fouls in under ten minutes to spend almost the entire second half cheering on from the bench.
There were no such issues in Cairns as the Breakers extended their run of away wins to six on the bounce. The current run of 6 consecutive away victories has only been bettered twice:
In 2008-09 the club enjoyed a 7 game winning streak on the road while the team of 2012-13 put together a run of 8 straight road wins – that was the championship winning season when they only lost 4 games all season.
Here are the key numbers from the two games:
Beat Cairns Taipans 82-71 (away) on Friday
Tom Abercrombie secured 8 rebounds – the most the Breakers swingman has pulled down in a single game since December 2019.
Derek Pardon recorded his third consecutive double-double (15 points and 11 rebounds) and his fourth in the last five games. The last player to produce three consecutive double-doubles for the Breakers was Shawn Long in February 2019.
Kiwi Sam Waardenburg, a former Rangitoto College and Harbour Basketball teammate of Dan Fotu, was outstanding for the Taipans. He finished with 15 points (5/6FG) 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and an assist. Yet to play for the Tall Blacks, after a fine career at the University of Miami, you imagine he is climbing up the pecking order on Pero Cameron’s Tall Blacks long list.
Beat Brisbane Bullets 116-79 at Spark Arena on Sunday
Jarrell Brantley and Izayah Le’afa posted season high points. Brantley was a beast in the low post accumulating 29 points on 13 from 19 shooting.
Le’afa scored all his 21 points in the first half on 7 from 10 shooting including 4 from 6 from deep.
Cam Gliddon, with 3 rebounds, secured his 1,000th career rebound.
Upcoming
Gliddon needs just 2 points for 3,000 career points. With 2,998 career points he sits 12th on the scoring list of active players which is headed by Adelaide 36ers forward Daniel Johnson with 5,971 points.
Tom Abercrombie (4,204 points) is third on the active players scoring list.
Izayah Le’afa needs 12 points for 600 career points and Tom Vodanovich a single point for 400 career points.
Tom Abercrombie, with I more steal will become the 4th Breaker to pinch 250 steals.
The Breakers top five “Stealers”:
288 Boucher
278 Jackson
252 Vukona
249 Abercrombie
209 Henare
Talking of steals Will McDowell-White needs to pinch 3 more possessions for 50 steals in Breakers colours.
In addition WM-W is only 3 assists shy of becoming the 11th Breaker to dish 250 assists.
The Breakers are next in action on Thursday entertaining South East Melbourne Phoenix at Christchurch Arena – tip-off 7.30pm followed by a Saturday evening encounter with Perth Wildcats at Vector Arena.
Amiee Book played NCAA game number 100 as Fresno State won a tight tussle with Delaware 53-49 at the Daytona Beach Invitational on Black Friday.
Book added 6 rebounds, 3 steals, a block and an assists to 4 points and is now just 6 points shy of the unique double of 1,000 points and 100 appearances in Women’s NCAA Division I basketball. It’s a double only achieved previously by 16 New Zealand players.
Amy West, enjoyed her first outing of the season since recovering from a shoulder injury, as hosts St Mary’s beat Niagara 73-59 in the St Mary’s Thanksgiving Classic. The former Tall Fern finished with 6 points, 8 rebounds and a block in just 8 minutes. Tayla Dalton had a quartet of points and rebounds in the win.
Emme Shearer had 7 points, 5 rebounds and an assist as Portland enjoyed a come from behind 66-60 win against Houston at the St Pete Showcase in Florida.
Olivia Williams added triples of steals and rebounds to 8 points as UC Irvine defeated Long Island 65-56.
Other Women’s Results
New Mexico State 65 (Ashlee Strawbridge 5pts, 2rebs, 1assist, 1steal, 1 block) Yale 73
In Men’s Division I play Sam Mennenga was a highly efficient 7 from 8 from the field making 15 points, 4 rebounds and a couple of steals as Davidson College accounted for San Francisco 89-80.
At the North Shore Classic in Hawaii Sacramento State went down 74-61 to hosts Hawaii. Despite being on the losing team Callum McRae still produced an 11 points and 8 rebounds double.
The Cameron brothers Flynn and Tobias were in opposition for the first time in their long NCAA careers as Abilene Christian University took on the University of California Riverside UCR) at the Vegas 4 Tournament in Las Vegas on Thursday (NZT). Younger brother Flynn, the Riverside combo-guard, took the opportunity to pour in a career high 26 points to carry UCR to a 76-65 victory.
Tobias tallied 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and a steal in response but it was a game when Flynn grabbed the plaudits. He made 7 from 12 threes, all three freebies and also grabbed a team high 8 rebounds to go with 2 assists, 2 steals and a block. Nailing seven triples he became the first Highlander to achieve that feat for four seasons.
Both Cameron’s are fifth year seniors having first played their freshman years back in 2018-19. Tobias has played all five years at Abilene Christian while Flynn played two years at De Paul University before transferring to Riverside.
The game in Vegas was the 118th career game for Tobias while for Flynn, capped by the Tall Blacks for the first time earlier this year at the FIBA Asia Cup, it was game number 96.
When game number 100 ticks over for Flynn he will become the 16th kiwi to play a century of Men’s NCAA Division I games – the duo the first New Zealand brothers to reach the notable milestone and also the first to play against each other at Division I level. Tall Blacks head coach Pero Cameron you imagine has been watching the careers of his sons unfold with immense pride.
Callum McRae played on the same Junior Tall Blacks team as the Cameron’s at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup. In his latest outing he was within a point of a double-double grabbing 10 boards to go with 9 points as Sacramento State went down 82-71 to UC Davis. Those 9 points took McRae past 900 career points and up to 4th on the all-time list of New Zealand scorers in Men’ NCAA Division I basketball.
Hartford University Hawks had a comfortable 82-45 win against FDU Florham with Tom Webley claiming 8 points (4/6FG) and 4 rebounds.
Akiva McBirney-Griffin scored a season best 6 points as UC Irvine pounded Life Pacific 116-54.
In women’s NCAA Division I play Helen Matthews helped Wofford to the narrowest of wins, a 67-66 triumph against UNC Wilmington. The Cantabrian combo guard tallied 14 points, one shy of her season best 15, and added 4 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.
Amiee Book is on the verge of the double of 100 games and 1,000 points in NCAA Division I basketball. In her 99thappearance she scored 9 points as Fresno State won a one sided contest against UC Merced 71-28. Book has now scored 990 career points.
Barring injury that 100th game will be on Saturday (NZT) when Fresno play Delaware at the Daytona Beach Invitational.
BYU had little problem overcoming Carroll College recording a 71-47 win. Kaylee Smiler made 3 from 5 threes to equal her season high of 12 points with Arielle Mackey-Williams scored sored 7 points on 2 from 4 from the field.
Mckenna Dale took just the one shot, that missed, but she did pull down a team high 8 rebounds and garnered a couple of steals as Virginia defeated Campbell 62-41.
Tara Manumaleuga scored 3 points and had a brace each of rebounds, assists and steals as Texas Christian slipped to a 62-54 loss to Sam Houston.
At the North Shore Showcase in Hawaii a couple of former Waikato rep standouts Charlisse Leger-Walker and Kaylee Smiler were in opposition as Washington State University (WSU) took on BYU. Given BYU were 0-3 entering the contest and Washington unbeaten it was expected that the Cougars of Washington would be too good for the Cougars of Brigham Young. CL-W once again top scored for Washington with 21 points but it was Smiler (7 points and 2 assists) with the grin as BYU prevailed 67-57. Arielle Mackey-Williams also chipped in with a valuable 9 points for BYU.
BYU couldn’t quite repeat that success 24 hours later going down to Troy 68-62 with Smiler nabbing 5 points and a couple of rebounds.
When WSU took their turn to play Troy they took care of business winning 87-72. CL-W settling for a quiet 14 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists!
Olivia Williams scored a team high 16 points, making 4 from 8 threes, as UC Irvine edged Seattle 54-53 to improve to 3-1 this season.
Portland Pilots were beaten 55-53 by a San Diego buzzer beater. Emme Shearer made a couple of threes on her way to 13 points to sit alongside a couple of rebounds an assist and a steal for Portland.
Southern Methodist defeated Texas A&M Commerce 86-57 with freshman guard Ella Brow scoring a season best 12 points.
Also producing a season best was Helen Matthews who was one rebound away from a double-double as Wofford triumphed 88-79 at High Point. The Cantabrian guard tallied 15 points and 9 rebounds.
Boise State beat Portland State 71-61 with freshman Danni Bayes posting 13 points (5/8FG), 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Grace Hunter was immediately thrust into the starting point guard spot in her first outing of the season for California State University Bakersfield. The Wellingtonian guard connected with her first two jump shots and added a block, assist and rebound but unfortunately succumbed to injury after just 5 minutes. Bakersfield struggled without Hunter and went down 74-42 to UNLV.
McKenna Dale scored 6 points on 3 from 4 shooting, as well as securing 5 rebounds as Virginia won 74-60 on the road at American.
In Men’s Division I play…..
Tafara Gapare scored his first collegiate points – a made three – as UMass defeated Murray State 71-69.
Sacramento State improved to 3-1 winning their home opener 58-43 against UC Merced with Callum McRae again in excellent form. The Manawatu forward produced a big double-double of 14 points (7/14FG) and 14 rebounds – 6 offensive boards a highlight.
At the Charleston Classic James Moors followed up his career high 24 points against South Carolina with 6 points and 3 rebounds in a 74-64 loss to Charleston.
Also at the Classic Sam Mennenga scored 23 points as Davidson College saw off Old Dominion 66-61. It was quite a weekend for the Tall Blacks forward in the three games at the Classic he tallied also 57 points, and was named to the Charleston Classic Tournament Team. That’s now 500 Division I career points for the former Westlake and Harbour player.
Tom Webley scored 9 points, and added 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a block as Hartford University pummeled Houghton 98-32.
UC Riverside flogged Occidental 106-30 with Flynn Cameron adding 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and a block to half a dozen points.
Other Results:
Fresno State 47 (Amiee Book 3pts, 2rebs) Cal Poly 48
St Mary’s 66 (Tayla Dalton 2pts, 3rebs, 1 steal) University of California 69
The 2022 edition of the Sky Sport Breakers seem to thrive on adversity.
Not for the first time this season the team and staff faced minimal recovery time, due to flight cancellations and delays, before taking the court against well rested opponents.
On this occasion, having beaten the Tasmania Jack Jumpers on Friday night in Launceston, the Breakers had to overcome a chaotic return journey before eventually arriving in Auckland just over 12 hours ahead of the Sunday afternoon fixture against the Adelaide 36ers at Trusts Arena.
It was a game in which the Breakers trailed 80-78 with under three minutes to play, a situation where you would have thought the travel weary Breakers might fold. Instead it was the Auckland based club that found another gear outscoring the 36ers 11-3 in the closing minutes to close out an impressive weekend’s work and improve to 8-3 on the season – clear second behind the Sydney Kings (8-2) on the NBL ladder.
Barry Brown Jr scored 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter but it was Breakers big man Derek Pardon that was the major influence on proceedings.
Fast becoming a fan favourite Pardon recorded a 19 points/10 rebounds double-double for the second consecutive game while also snaring 3 steals and swatting 3 blocked shots in a 35 minutes high energy performance.
There were other notable contributors to Sunday’s win with Jarrell Brantley posting his first double-double of the season – 17 points and 10 rebounds while Will McDowell-White was also influential with 13 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds.
It wasn’t the happiest return to Auckland for former Breakers great CJ Bruton who was back in New Zealand for the first time since taking on the head coach role with the 36ers.
It was also a return of sorts for kiwi Hyrum Harris (6 points and 3 rebounds) and Mitch McCarron (8 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals). The 36ers duo played plenty of games at Trusts Arena during their time in the NZNBL with the James Blond Super City Rangers a few years ago.
Won 89-83 v Adelaide 36’ers at Trusts Arena on Sunday
McDowell-White became the fifth Breaker to score 100 points this season as he notched 13 points.
The Breakers centurion points scorers are:
Brown 162
Brantley 149
Pardon 137
Le’afa 131
McDowell-White 105
Won 84-76 v Tasmania Jack Jumpers (away) on Friday
Derek Pardon posted 19 points and 10 rebounds, the exact numbers he posted on Sunday.
Izayah Le’afa dropped 4 from 7 threes on his way to a season high 17 points, he now has 550 NBL career points.
Tom Vodanovich scored his 100th point for the Breakers.
Upcoming
Cam Gliddon needs just 3 rebounds to bring up 1,000 career rebounds and 11 points for 3,000 career points.
Izayah Le’afa requires just 1 assist for 150 career dimes.
Will McDowell-White is 3 assists shy of becoming the 11th Breaker to dish 250 assists.
Tom Abercrombie, with I more steal will become the 4th Breaker to pinch 250 steals.
The Breakers top five “Stealers”:
288 Boucher
278 Jackson
252 Vukona
249 Abercrombie
209 Henare
The Breakers are in Cairns on Friday to face the Taipans before facing yet another quick turnaround to take on Brisbane Bullets at Vector Arena at 4pm on Sunday.
LACEY LOWDOWN 