LACEY LOWDOWN

January 7

NB Bracketed figures are conference play records (wins-losses)

Following a two game absence Charlisse Leger-Walker returned to the Washington State (1-3) lineup and propelled the Cougars to their first Pac 12 victory defeating Washington 66-52.

Leger-Walker scored a game high 26 points (11/17FG) and also came up with 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a pair of steals.

Now with 1,214 career points CL-W moved up two places to 7^th on the all-time list of New Zealand scorers in Women’s NCAA Division I basketball passing Micaela Cocks (1,195 points for University of Oregon, 2006-10) and Tegan Graham (1,209 points for Colgate University 2016-20 & BYU 2020-22).

Portland (6-0) guard Emme Shearer has extended her career high points scoring mark twice in consecutive games. After totaling 20 points against Santa Clara on Thursday she got 21 in the 77-46 win against San Francisco 48 hours later.

Shearer sits second on the West Coast Conference 3-point shooting percentage list and made 3 from 4 against San Francisco giving her 23/45 at 51.1% on the season.

Melika Samia scored 8 points, that included a pair of threes, in the win against San Francisco. 

Amiee Book scored 11 points as Fresno State (3-1) eased to a first Mountain West Conference win defeating San Jose State 65-51.

Olivia Williams added 7 rebounds to 10 points as UC Irvine (3-0) edged Long Beach State 60-57

BYU (3-2) accounted for San Diego 63-49 with Arielle Mackey-Williams making 9 points and Kaylee Smiler 5 points. The Kiwi guards also dished 3 assists apiece.

St Mary’s California.(2-3) defeated Pepperdine 68-58 with Amy West grabbing a team high 7 rebounds to accompany 4 points. Tayla Dalton also scored 4 points in the win.

Other Women’s Scores:

Boise State (2-0) 73 (Danni Bayes 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist) Utah State 56

Cal State Northridge (3-1) 52 (Rochelle Fourie 2 points, 2 rebounds) UC Riverside 53 

Cal State Bakersfield (1-3) 43 (Grace Hunter 3 points, 1 rebound,1 assists) UC  Davis 60

New Mexico State (3-1) 61 (Ashlee Strawbridge 2pts, 3rebs, 1 assist, 1 block) Tarleton St 43

Despite South Dakota (3-2) going down 73-61 at North Dakota State the rich vein of scoring continued for Kruz Perrott-Hunt. The senior guard, who dropped 26 points on 10 from 22 shooting that included 3 from 3 from beyond the arc, has averaged 21.6 points per game in his last five outings. 

Sam Mennenga followed up with another 20 -point outing (20 points exactly on 8 from 12 shooting) as Davidson (2-2) were defeated 89-72 at Virginia Commonwealth.

Flynn Cameron top scored with 18 points (8/12FG) as UC Riverside (3-1) comfortably beat Cal State Northridge 68-45. The Tall Blacks guard also tallied 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.

Tobias Cameron claimed 11 points, 3 rebounds and a couple of steals in Abilene Christian’s (1-2) narrow 74-72 home loss to Southern Utah.

Ben Gold produced 8 points, 3 rebounds and a brace of blocks as Marquette gained a big 95-73 win against Georgetown.

Tom Webley also tallied 8 points (4/7FG), plus a season high 6 rebounds, as Hartford Hawks suffered a 78-71 loss to Sacred Heart.

Zach Riley scored all of his 7 points in the first half as Fordham (1-2) downed Saint Joseph’s 66-54.

Colorado State secured its first Mountain West Conference win with a 79-57 defeat of Fresno State. James Moors had 6 points, 4 rebounds a block and a steal in the win. 

Callum McRae had 5 points and 4 rebounds as Sacramento State (2-1)  went down 78-75 at unbeaten Eastern Washington.

January 7

NB Bracketed figures are conference play records (wins-losses)

Making her 50^th start for the Pilots Emme Shearer made 4 from 7 threes and all 6 free throws on her way to a career high 20 points as Portland (5-0) beat Santa Clara 81-71 for a fifth straight West Coast Conference win.

Also in the West Coast Conference Tayla Dalton top scored for St Mary’s (1-3) as the Gaels went down narrowly to Loyola Marymount 66-64. Dalton finished with 17 points while Jade Kirisome added 4 points.  

Amiee Book scored 10 points as Fresno State (0-3)went down 64-49 to UNLV 64-49.

9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists for Helen Matthews as Wofford opened Southern Conference play with a convincing 79-55 victory over Furman. 

Grace Hunter also scored 9 points as Cal State Bakersfield (1-2) lost a low scoring affair against Cal Poly 50-37.

Olivia Williams stroked home 6 from 7 free throws on her way to 8 points as UC Irvine (2-0) easily beat UC Davis 67-38.

Ella Brow helped Southern Methodist (1-1) to a 61-51 win against Central Florida. The freshman guard finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Lauryn Mapusua had an entry in every stats column with 2 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal as Houston Christian (1-1) fell 63-58 to South East Louisiana.

Tara Manumaleuga scored 5 points and snatched a career high 5 steals as Texas Christian (0-2) were beaten 81-69 by Texas.

New Mexico State (2-1) 63 (Ashlee Strawbridge 2 points, 3rebs, 1 block) Utah Valley 57 AOT

January 3

Our fourth and final collegiate half term report highlights the players with the best shooting percentages from the field and from beyond the three-point arc.

Former Waikato and St Peter’s School forward Ella Bradley heads the women’s shooting numbers while ex Rotorua Boys High School standout Nabil Kone tops the men’s list.

The three-point shooting percentages are headed, as probably expected, by guards. Former Harbour and Westlake Girls player Emme Shearer is enjoying a standout season with the University of Portland Pilots.

The same can be said of Tobias Cameron. Younger brother Cameron has grabbed most the headlines in the last few months after his elevation to the Tall Blacks roster but Tobias is going about his work in a very efficient manner for Abilene Christian University.

Special mention to the freshmen who make the lists – Waiata Jennings, Sydney Neale, Dani Bayes, Boston Caldwell and 2022 Auckland Tuatara teammate Brayden Iuli.

Field Goal % – Women	Min 15 Shots			%	Shots
Ella Bradley	Sophomore	Texas at Tyler	NCAA D2	49.0	24/49
Sydney Neale	Freshman	Dyersburg State CC	JUCO	48.9	44/90
Emme Shearer	Junior	Portland	NCAA D1	48.3	43/89
Amy West	Senior	St Mary’s California	NCAA D1	48.3	14/29
Charlisse Leger-Walker	Junior	Washington State	NCAA D1	47.8	85/178
Arielle Mackey-Williams	Sophomore	BYU	NCAA D1	47.8	32/67
Kaylee Smiler	Senior	BYU	NCAA D1	47.5	29/61
Hannah Wentworth	Sophomore	Eckerd College	NCAA D2	47.1	48/102
Jenna Rose Mafua	Sophomore	Dodge City CC	JUCO	46.4	52/112
Waiata Jennings	Freshman	Collin County CC	JUCO	46.2	72/156
Ashlee Strawbridge	Sophomore	New Mexico State	NCAA D1	45.8	27/59
Briarley Rogers	Sophomore	Weatherford	JUCO	44.9	35/78
Dominique Stephens	Sophomore	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	44.7	46/103
Rashaan Smith	Sophomore	Western Nebraska	JUCO	44.0	11/25
Tessa Talo-Tomokino	Junior	Northeastern State	NCAA D2	43.3	26/60

Field Goal % – Men	Min 15 shots			%	Shots
Nabil Kone	Soph	Trinity International	NAIA	60.0	15/25
Tobias Cameron	5th Yr	Abilene Christian	NCAA D1	58.0	51/88
Dallas Clayton	Soph	Missouri State West Plains	JUCO	57.5	23/40
James Moors	Junior	Colorado State	NCAA D1	56.7	38/67
Kiani Saxon	Soph	Louisiana State Eunice	JUCO	56.3	27/48
Corey Le’aupepe	Senior	Menlo	NAIA	55.0	66/120
Brayden Iuli	Freshman	Menlo	NAIA	53.7	36/67
Tom Webley	Junior	Hartford	NCAA D1	53.5	23/43
Isaac Miller-Jose	Senior	Manitoba	Canada	53.5	23/43
Matt Brien	Senior	Nebraska at Kearney	NCAA D2	53.3	16/30
Sam Mennenga	Junior	Davidson College	NCAA D1	52.9	72/136
Josh Lowe	Senior	Lee University	NCAA D2	52.6	20/38
Maxim Stephens	Junior	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	52.0	26/50
Sam Gold	Soph	Milligan	NAIA	50.9	55/108
Callum McRae	Senior	Sacramento State	NCAA D1	50.8	61/120
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones	Junior	Hawaii at Hilo	NCAA D2	47.2	51/108
Nate Wilson	Soph	South Georgia Tech	JUCO	46.8	37/79
Boston Caldwell	Fresh	Central Maine CC	JUCO	46.2	49/106
Sean Murphy	Soph	Nebraska at Kearney	NCAA D2	44.4	16/36

3-point % – Women	Min 10 Shots			%	Shots
Emme Shearer	Junior	Portland	NCAA D1	48.3	13/28
Kaylee Smiler	Senior	BYU	NCAA D1	47.1	16/34
Arielle Mackey-Williams	Sophomore	BYU	NCAA D1	46.7	14/30
Charlisse Leger-Walker	Junior	Washington State	NCAA D1	42.4	36/85
Hannah Wentworth	Sophomore	Eckerd College	NCAA D2	41.7	35/84
Jenna Rose Mafua	Sophomore	Dodge City CC	JUCO	41.0	32/78
Ashlee Strawbridge	Sophomore	New Mexico State	NCAA D1	38.5	5/13
Sydney Neale	Freshman	Dyersburg State CC	JUCO	36.8	14/38
Grace Hunter	Junior	CSU Bakersfield	NCAA D1	36.8	7/19
Tara Manumaleuga	Senior	Texas Christian	NCAA D1	36.7	11/30
Dani Bayes	Freshman	Boise State	NCAA D1	35.9	23/64
Amiee Book	Grad Snr	Fresno State	NCAA D1	35.1	27/77
Jordyn Maddix	Junior	Auburn at Montgomery	NCAA D2	35.3	12/36

3-point % – Men	Min 10 Shots			%	Shots
Tobias Cameron	Grad Snr	Abilene Christian	NCAA D1	48.7	19/39
Zach Riley	Soph	Fordham	NCAA D1	46.7	7/15
Maxim Stephens	Junior	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	46.2	6/13
Kiani Saxon	Soph	Louisiana State Eunice	JUCO	42.9	9/21
Sam Mennenga	Junior	Davidson College	NCAA D1	39.1	9/23
Boston Caldwell	Fresh	Central Maine CC	JUCO	39.1	18/46
James Moors	Junior	Colorado State	NCAA D1	38.3	5/13
Flynn Cameron	Grad Snr	UC Riverside	NCAA D1	37.9	25/66
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones	Junior	Hawaii at Hilo	NCAA D2	35.3	6/17

*records as at 28.12.2022

NB 53 New Zealand men are currently on basketball scholarships in America and Canada.

It’s doubly interesting as conference play has begun and will continue through until March. The bracketed figures show teams conference record.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt missed South Dakota’s pre-Xmas opening Summit League defeat due to illness. His reappearance brought instant success – he returned 19 points as the Coyotes beat St Thomas 92-84 and then scored a career high in the 80-63 defeat of Western Illinois.

The Tall Blacks guard finished with 30 points making 11 from 20 shots including 4 of 6 from beyond the arc. He was also a perfect 4 out of 4 from the foul line while also pulling down 7 rebounds and dishing 4 assists. The Coyotes now 2-1 in Summit League play.

Sacramento State opened its Big Sky Conference programme with a 74-63 home win against Portland State. 8 points, 9 rebounds, a block and an assist for Callum McRae in that one.

Flynn Cameron scored 7 points as UC Riverside opened their Big West Conference campaign with a 71-59 home win against CSU Bakersfield. The 2022 Tall Black was more prominent as Riverside (2-0) won a thriller at Long Beach State 73-72. Passing 700 career points Cameron scored a dozen to accompany 5 rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal.

Abilene Christian (1-1) lost 75-68 to Stephen F Austin in their Western Athletic Conference opener but bounced back to defeat Tarleton 69-63 with Tobias Cameron scoring 11 points (3/3FG, 3/4FT) in the victory. 

Sam Mennenga also came up with 11 points as Davidson College (1-1) had a disappointing 69-55 Atlantic-10 home loss to Dayton. 

Tom Webley took just two shots but scored with both efforts as Hartford Hawks lost 61-54 to Morgan State.

James Moors also scored 4 points as Colorado State (0-2) went down 78-70 to San Jose State. The former Westlake Boys standout added 3 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

Other Men’s Results:

Massachusetts (0-1) 64 (Tafara Gapare 4 points) St Bonaventure 83 

Marquette (3-1) 68 (Ben Gold 3 points) Villanova 66

In Women’s Division I action Dani Bayes top scored with a season high 19 points (7/14FG) as Boise State (1-0) defeated San Jose State 73-62 to open Mountain West Conference play. 14 games into her collegiate career Bayes is averaging 9.7 points per game with the 19 points also doubling as a career best.

Emme Shearer grabbed a steal and 6 points in the final two minutes to help Portland (4-0) to an 86-76 come from behind win at Pepperdine. Shearer finished with 17 points and is now just 9 shy of 500 career points. The win followed a 70-61 success at Loyola Marymount.

St Mary’s, (1-2) in the West Coast Conference), led by 15 points at one stage but were eventually defeated 69-65 by San Diego in overtime. Amy West scored a couple of points, Jade Kirisome made 4 and 3 rebounds while Tayla Dalton produced 9 points and 3 assists in the loss.

St Mary’s then went on to visit BYU (2-2) on New Year’s Eve and were crushed 66-41 with Arielle Mackey-Williams putting up 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists for the Cougars while Dalton scored 7 points for St Mary’s.

Mackey-Williams, with five double digit scoring efforts this season, scored 13 points for the Cougars in their 69-51 win against Pacific – Kaylee Smiler adding 5 points in the victory.

Amiee Book had a handy double of 9 points and 7 rebounds as Fresno State came up short against Colorado State going down 64-58 in their Mountain West Conference opener. The 9 points took Book to exactly 1,100 career points moving her past Jillian Harmon (1,096 points for Stanford University Cardinals, 2005-09) and up to 11^th spot on New Zealand’s all-time scorers in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.

Olivia Williams scored 10 points with a perfect 3 from 3 from the field and 2 out of 2 at the foul line as UC Irvine (1-0) began Big West Conference play with a 55-49 win against Cal State Bakersfield (1-1). Williams passed the 100 points mark for the season with her seventh point.

Grace Hunter produced 6 points and a couple of assists for Bakersfield.  

48 hours earlier Hunter scored 8 points as the Bakersfield Roadrunners defeated UC Riverside 56-53 in a double overtime thriller to open Big West Conference play.

Yzabelle Tevao added a team high 7 rebounds to 9 points as Chicago State were heavily beaten 119-53 by Ball State.

Helen Matthews, last week named the Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week, 

Posted 7 points and added a couple of rebounds and steals as Wofford dominated Erskine to win 78-48.

Washington State played Friday’s game against #11 Utah without its leading scorer Charlisse Leger-Walker who has returned to New Zealand for family reasons. 

Other Women’s Results:

Virginia 69 (McKenna Dale 3 points, 1 rebound) Georgia Tech 6

Southern Methodist 44 (Ella Brow 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist) Houston 60

Texas Christian 42 (Tara Manumaleuga 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block) Baylor 64 

Houston Christian 68 (Lauryn Mapusua 3 points) New Orleans 59

New Mexico State (1-1) 58 (Ashlee Strawbridge 2 points, 3 rebounds) Southern Utah 61