14 December
Ahead of conference play here are some eye catching numbers that have been put up by Kiwis in NCAA Division I hoops in the opening two months of the season.
Senior Emme Shearer is one of only two players in all NCAA Division I Women’s basketball to be averaging at least 17 points and 2.5 steals per game. In addition Shearer has made 41 from 45 free-throws at 91% for the unbeaten Portland Pilots (10-0).
Freshman Ritorya Tamilo leads Hawaii (5-3) in points (11.3ppg) and rebounds (5.4rpg). In addition she ranks 18th nationally with 2.4 blocks per game.
Sophomore Maia Jones leads St Mary’s Gaels (4-5) in assists (3.3apg) and is shooting the three-ball at 42% (14/33).
Also knocking down threes at a very good clip is Leah Mafua. She has made 14 from 32 at 43.8% for Central Arkansas (5-2) across the first 7 games of the season.
Better still is the percentage of Lilly Parke in making 18 from 40 at 45% from deep to lead Fairleigh Dickinson (7-3) in three-point shooting – Parke starting all 10 games is averaging 9.4ppg.
Putting up similar numbers is Junior Olivia Williams at UC Irvine (6-3) making 16 from 40 threes at exactly 40% whilst averaging 9.9 points per game.
Sophomore Mackenzie Chatfield is averaging 3.3 assists per game for Western Kentucky (8-1) and has made 13 from 34 threes at 38% – second best in both categories for WCU.
Senior Helen Matthews, back in the Wofford College (6-2) starting five after missing all of last season due to an ACL injury, is averaging 9.9ppg.
Putting up the best numbers amongst Kiwis in Men’s Division I hoops is Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones with the senior guard leading the scoring and rebounding count at UC San Diego (8-2). The former St Pat’s man is averaging 16.6 points and 5.7 boards per game. In addition he is second best for assists with 29 at 2.9 per game across the opening 10 games.
Tall Black Ben Gold, in addition to averaging 8.5ppg, is the joint leading shot blocker on the highly ranked Marquette (9-1) team. Irrespective of which ranking numbers you look at the Golden Eagles are ranked top-6 in the nation.
Hunter Adam has made a good start to his sophomore season at Davidson College (7-2). The Cantabrian has played all 9 games and has the second best field goal percentage at 55.6% making 10 from 18 shots.
Another Cantabrian Nick Book has made a promising start to his career at South Carolina Upstate (4-8). The freshman, averaging 5.1ppg, has a field goal percentage of 58.5 (24/41) – second best on the team.
Tafara Gapare has the third best shooting percentage at Maryland (8-2). The senior, out of Wellington has made 20 from 35 at 57% across the opening 10 games.
Sophomore Tom Beattie has started 7 from 8 games for Hawaii (5-3) with the former Harbour rep averaging 8.3 points per game and the second highest assists makes with 16.
LACEY LOWDOWN 