There is a three-way tie at the top of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girl’s Premier Grade ladder following the completion of the Round 5 games.
Previously unbeaten Westlake Girls High School lost their first game since 2021 downed 70-64 by Epsom Girls Grammar.
Westlake’s Amy Pateman and Rebecca Moors were two of ten New Zealand athletes that attended the 13th Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp in Abu Dhabi last weekend. Both were selected to the Girl’s All-Star Team and although Moors missed the encounter with Epsom, Pateman showed off her offensive arsenal with a game high 29 points.
However it wasn’t enough to get the win as Draun Forbes paced Epsom to a notable victory.
Epsom were out the gate at pace forging a 22-14 quarter time lead with Forbes scoring 8 points. The lead stretched out to 17 points by half-time (44-27) as Maya Fowler and Leah Patuwairua continued the Epsom scoring onslaught.
The tide turned dramatically in the third as Pateman and Emma Schroeder led Westlake’s revival – the Epsom lead reduced to 55-49 at three quarter time.
Westlake continued to press for the win but Fowler and Forbes combined for 13 fourth quarter points to enable Epsom to close out a fourth win of the season.
Epsom 70 – Forbes 25, Patuwairua 18, Fowler 15, Talia Vea 6, Kiki Reti 6
Westlake 64 – Pateman 29, Schroeder 17/9rebs, Elin Vincent 7, Imani Rasmussen 3/9rebs
Joining Westlake and Epsom at the top of the league are Mt Albert Grammar School after they completed an 82-61 home win against St Kentigern College.
Nine first quarter points from Jorjia Fiu propelled MAGS to an 18-13 lead.
Fiu and Peyton Uri knocked down threes after Kilani Tuineau had made a couple of neat inside scores for St Kent’s.
A tumbling drive from Ash Tuumaialu and 8 straight points from livewire guard Anamia Rangihaeta trimmed the deficit before Gianna Tiatia re-established a double digit half-time advantage for MAGS (46-29).
Despite Rangihaeta continually finding a way to basket MAGS extended their lead beyond 20 points as Emina Tiatia and Nia Roberts nailed 3-pointers – the three-quarter time buzzer beater from Roberts particularly hurtful for the visitors as they trailed 71-45.
St Kent’s stuck gamely to their task in the final quarter but MAGS were rarely troubled as they eased to win number four.
MAGS assistant coach Mike Uri, standing in for head coach Brent Lay who was away managing the New Zealand 3×3 teams in China, will likely hand back the reins for the team’s top of the table clash with Epsom on Monday.
That should be a cracker of a contest!
MAGS 82 – Fiu 20, Roberts 16, E Tiatia 12, Lara-Poppy Cocker-Lemalie 11, Uri 9, G Tiatia 7
St Kentigern 61 – Rangihaeta 23, Tuumaialu 16, Kilani Tuineau 5
The North Shore derby went the way of Takapuna Grammar as they edged a close one at Northcote College 85-82 on the back of 30-point hauls from Amy McKenzie and Bailey Flavell.
It was Northcote with the better start winning the opening stanza 26-20 with Nikki Gear scoring 9 points for the hosts.
However Takapuna exerted their authority in the second outscoring Northcote 29-12 to lead 49-38 at the interval. It was Amy McKenzie with the hot hands – she made five 3-pointers in the period and with Natalija Burton also burying a three the visitors were humming along.
Lily Morgan and DJ Hannah combined for 15 third quarter points as Northcote stormed back into the contest trimming the Taka advantage to 64-61.
Lizzie May made a couple of three-point plays for Northcote but there was no stopping the McKenzie-Flavell scoring axis. Two threes apiece in the final term took Flavell to five in the game while McKenzie enjoyed a career night nailing eight from beyond the arc.
Northcote 82 – Hannah 21, Morgan 18, N Gear 15, May 11, L Gear 7
Takapuna 85 – McKenzie 34, Flavell 31, Mackenzie Mackereth 9, Burton 7
In a game brought forward to Tuesday night St Mary’s College secured their first win of the season beating Baradene College 71-55.
We have no other details although Baradene will definitely have missed the services of centre Ritorya Tamilo who is in Europe with the Tall Ferns – she made her debut against European champions Serbia earlier this week.
Standings
4-1 MAGS, Epsom, Westlake
3-2 Takapuna
2-3 St Kent’s, Baradene
1-4 St Mary’s
0-5 Northcote
LACEY LOWDOWN 