Category Archives: College Hoops

Feb 11 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Ferns

Latest NCAA News: Leger-Walker reaches another milestone

11 February

Former Junior Tall Ferns team mates Charlisse Leger-Walker and Charlotte Whittaker were in opposition as Washington State (6-7) visited #25 Colorado (10-3) in Pac 12 play. Leger-Walker posted a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds as Washington State came up just short going down 71-68. Whittaker had 2 points, 2 rebounds and a block for Colorado.

CL-W has taken her career points tally to 1,312 – just the fifth Kiwi after Erin Rooney, Stella Beck, Megan Compain and Akiene Tea-Reed to reach 1300 points in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.

Fresno State struggling at 1-12 almost pulled off one of the upsets of the season against unbeaten Mountain West Conference leaders Nevada Las Vegas. Fresno, with Amiee Book scoring 10 points (3/5FG) were pipped 64-63.

Arielle Mackey-Williams also scored 10 points in a one-point loss as BYU (7-6) were edged 64-63 by Pepperdine.

Also in West Coast Conference play Tayla Dalton scored 6 points in the 69-66 defeat St Mary’s (5-9) suffered at the hands of San Francisco.

Eight points from Dani Bayes helped Boise State register a 69-62 win against New Mexico.

Another freshman, Ella Brow, added 5 assists to 8 points as Southern Methodist (6-4) eased aside Tulsa 81-58.

Tara Manumaleuga  scored 8 points as Texas Christian went down 69-50 to Kansas.

Ashlee Strawbridge claimed 5 rebounds to accompany 7 points as New Mexico State (7-5) were beaten 63-56 by Western Athletic Conference leaders Southern Utah.

Virginia (3-11) were beaten 63-53 by Louisville with McKenna Dale scoring 5 points and grabbing 3 boards. 

Rochelle Fourie had a quadruple in points and rebounds as Cal State Northridge (4-9) got one over on Grace Hunter (3 points) Cal State Bakersfield (3-10) in a 69-60 win.

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Freshman Ben Gold posted 12 points (4/5FG, 2/3 3PG) in Marquette’s (11-3) somewhat surprising 87-72 loss to Connecticut. It was a collegiate career high for the 2022 Tall Black

Flynn Cameron also scored a dozen points as UC Riverside (9-4) beat UC Davis 72-65.

Callum McRae tallied 11 points and 8 rebounds as Sacramento State (5-7) were beaten 77-55 by Northern Arizona – that’s 300 points this season for the former Palmerston North Boys High standout.

Ahmed Essahaty scored 8 points as Long Island came within a couple of points of recording their second Northeast Conference win of the season – eventually going down 80-79 to Fairleigh Dickinson.

There were 7 points and 7 rebounds for James Moors as Colorado State (3-9) soared past Air Force 69-53.

Feb 06 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

Weekend NCAA D1 Wrap – Leger-Walker and Perrott-Hunt on the move

February 6

A game high 25 points from Charlisse Leger-Walker – 4 from 9 from beyond the arc – catapulted Washington State (6-6) to a 70-60 home win against California Berkeley. The Tall Ferns guard has edged past her former Waikato and St Peter’s School teammate Kendell Heremaia on the all-time list of kiwi scorers in Women’s NCAA Division I basketball.

Heremaia (Fordham University 2017-22) scored 1,291 career points with CL-W now up to 1,295 points.

Tara Manumaleuga put together a fine shooting display despite Texas Christian (0-11) losing 77-65 to Oklahoma State. Manumaleuga finished with a career high 19 points shooting 7 from 11 from the field, 3 of 4 threes and 2 out of 3 freebies.

Grace Hunter, with 10 points, was the only Cal State Bakersfield (3-9) player in double figures in the 56-42 loss to UC San Diego.

Kaylee Smiler scored 9 points and Arielle Mackey-Williams 7 as BYU (7-5) were beaten 52-49 by San Diego.

McKenna Dale was close to a double-double totaling 9 points and 9 rebounds as Virginia (3-10) fell 60-51 to Pitt. Dale also had a brace of steals and blocks.

Emme Shearer’s 8 points (and 5 assists) in Portland’s (12-1) 80-68 win at Santa Clara has carried her beyond 600 career points.

Dani Bayes also scored 8 points – adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists – as Boise State (7-5) defeated Fresno State (1-11) 66-61. Amiee Book scored 5 points for Fresno State.

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Tobias Cameron was a perfect 5 from 5 from the field, totaling 15 points, as Abilene Christian got the better of California Baptist to win 87-71.

A couple of Kiwis were in opposition as Davidson College grabbed a much needed 93-78 win against Massachusetts. Tafara Gapare scored 4 points for UMass but that was trumped by Davidson starter Sam Mennenga who posted 14 points on 6 from 9 shooting.

Callum McRae also scored 14 points – and added 8 rebounds and 4 assists – as Sacramento State suffered an agonizing 82-76 overtime loss at Idaho.

James Moors was in good form for Colorado State (2-9) despite an 88-79 loss at Utah State. Moors finished with 13 points making 5 from 8 shots whilst also tallying a team high 7 rebounds and a couple of blocks.

Flynn Cameron scored 8 points as UC Riverside (8-4) slipped to a 64-58 loss against Cal State Fullerton.

Recapping that Kruz Perrott-Hunt has moved into elite company after scoring a team high 18 points in South Dakota’s 86-72 loss to North Dakota.

His fourth point in the game brought up the senior guard’s 1,000th career point – only the fifth Kiwi to reach that mark in Men’s NCAA Division I basketball. 

He joins fellow Tall Blacks Kirk Penney, Tai Webster and Craig Bradshaw, plus current collegiate player Callum McRae, in the 1,000 points club.

Top 10 scorers (NZ Men) in NCAA Division 1 Basketball:

1,454 in 127 games, Kirk Penney (University of Wisconsin Badgers, 1999-2003)

1,146 in 116 games, Callum McRae (UC Riverside 2018-22 & Sacramento State 2022-present)

1,116 in 127 games, Tai Webster (University of Nebraska Huskers, 2013-17)

1,114 in 123 games, Craig Bradshaw (Winthrop University Eagles, 2003-7)

1,014 in 102 games, Kruz Perrott-Hunt (University of South Dakota (2019-present)

973 in 133 games, Rob Loe (University of St Louis Billikens, 2010-14)

945 in 125 games, Mark Dickel (UNLV, 1996-2000)

941 in 117 games, Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa (Sacramento State University, 2016-20)

850 in 115 games, Flynn Cameron (DePaul Univ, 2018-20 & UC Riverside 2018-present)

785 in 63 games, Isaac Fotu (University of Hawaii, 2012-14)

Feb 04 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

NCAA wrap – Leger-Walker, Shearer & Cameron catch the eye

February 4

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the women’s Basketball Coaches Association have named Charlisse Leger-Walker as a mid-season finalist for the 2023 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the second season running.

The Award goes to the top shooting guard in NCAA Women’s basketball. KL-W is averaging 19.2 points and 4.9 assists per game for the Washington State Cougars.

The Cougars (5-6) found the going too tough against the #2 ranked team in the nation losing 71-38 to Stanford. KL-W had the satisfaction of top scoring and leading the rebounding for the Cougs but it was just 8 and 6 against the Pac 12 Conference leaders.

Also in the Pac 12 Charlotte Whittaker scored 4 points as third placed Colorado (8-3) claimed a 63-53 win against Oregon.

Emme Shearer, one of the leading 3-point shooters in the West Coast Conference made 5 from 7 from deep for a career high equaling 21 points – and grabbed 8 rebounds – as Portland (11-1) overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat San Francisco 83-80 in overtime.

Amiee Book top scored for Fresno State (1-10) in their 74-59 loss to Air Force. Book scored 14 points (4/7FG) taking her career total to 1,174 and up to 9th on the all-time list of NZ Women’s Division I scorers. 22 more points will take Book past the 1,195 scored by Micaela Cocks (University of Oregon Ducks, 2006-10).

Passing 100 points for the season Ashlee Strawbridge scored 13 points (6/11FG) as New Mexico State (7-3) edged past California Baptist 62-61, the winning basket made with just 7 seconds to play.

McKenna Dale was one rebound shy of a double-double tallying 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in Virginia’s (3-9) loss to North Carolina. 

Dani Bayes passed the 200 points mark for the season in scoring 11 points as Boise State (5-5) defeated San Diego State 62-57. The freshman guard made all three of her 3-point attempts and overall was 4 from 6 from the field.

Jade Kirisome scored 8 points, Tayla Dalton 6 and Amy West a couple as St Mary’s (5-7) won 62-55 at Pepperdine.

Grace Hunter totaled 7 points and 4 rebounds as Cal State Bakersfield (3-8) won a very low scoring contest against UC Riverside 43-39.

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Flynn Cameron knocked down 5 of 7 threes on his way to 19 points as UC Riverside (8-3) lost an overtime thriller to CS Bakersfield 82-76.

Callum McRae’s 16 points (6/8FG) and 8 rebounds were not enough to grab Sacramento State (5-5) a win – Eastern Washington the victors 82-63.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt, after scoring 15 points, is just 4 points short of 1000 career points. Those points came in South Dakota’s (6-6) 71-62 win over North Dakota State.

Tobias Cameron played a big part in Abilene Christian (4-6) defeating Seattle 83-68. The senior guard mustered 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a brace of steals.

In just his third game for Long Island Ahmed Essahaty was thrust into the starting line-up and didn’t disappoint scoring 10 points, on 5 from 9 shooting. The Wellingtonian guard helped Long Island to their first North East Conference win of the season as they defeated Sacred Heart 74-70.

Akiva McBirney-Griffin had 10 points and 6 rebounds as UC Irvine defeated UC San Diego 76-60.

Tafara Gapare scored 5 points as Massachusetts slipped to a 70-59 defeat at the hands of George Mason.

Jan 31 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks

Kruz Perrott-Hunt the latest Kiwi Centurion

January 31

Kruz Perrott-Hunt has moved into an exclusive century club after playing game number 100 for the University of South Dakota today.

Perrott-Hunt is just the 17th Kiwi male to bring up a century of NCAA Division I appearances joining a distinguished list that includes fellow Tall Blacks Kirk Penney, Tai Webster, Rob Loe, Mark Dickel, Jack Salt and Sam Timmins.

KP-H scored 10 points in his ton up game but it was a contest in which South Dakota suffered its biggest loss of the season going down 103-53 at Summit League leaders Oral Roberts.

The senior guard is enjoying an outstanding senior season – he leads the Coyotes scoring with 305 points at 14 per game making 40% (40/100) of his 3-point shots and 84% (43/51) from the foul line. In addition he is second on the team for assists with 2.0 per game.

Another milestone beckons – he is currently just 19 points shy of 1,000 career points.

Jan 30 2023
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College Hoops

Women’s NCAA weekend review – Matthews with a season high

January 30

Helen Matthews takes the spotlight as we review the weekends Women’s NCAA Division I action. Matthews played a significant part in Wofford College Terriers securing a pair of Southern Conference away wins. The brace of victories takes Wofford to equal first on the conference standings with a 5-2 record.

Matthews top scored as Wofford recorded their first ever success at Mercer winning 76-71. The Cantabrian guard made 3 from 6 threes on her way to 21 points.

Matthews followed that with a valuable 8 points and 8 rebounds, playing all 40 minutes for the first time in her career, in Wofford’s 79-75 road win at Samford – the former Junior Tall Fern is now just 6 points shy of 500 career points.

Portland (10-1) maintained second place on the West Coast Conference ladder comprehensively beating Loyola Marymount 58-39. Emme Shearer top scored for Portland with 12 points and in claiming 10 rebounds recorded her first collegiate double-double.

Lauryn Mapusua earned 10 free throws and converted 8 on her way to 14 points as Houston Christian (3-5) lost 59-48 to Northwestern State.

McKenna Dale tallied 11 points in Virginia’s (3-6) 90-72 loss to Syracuse.

Ella Brow scored 8 points as Southern Methodist (5-3) got the better of Tulsa winning 61-54.

Five Kiwis were on show as BYU (7-4) got the better of Saint Mary’s 74-59. For BYU Kaylee Smiler scored 9 points (plus 4 blocks) and Arielle Mackey-Williams 7. St Mary’s forward Amy West contributed 6 points and 6 rebounds while Jade Kirisome, in her 100th NCAA game, made 5 points and Tayla Dalton 4 points.

Saint Mary’s followed that with a 67-54 home defeat at the hands of San Diego – 7 points for Dalton in that one.

Seven points and 5 assists for Grace Hunter in the 79-57 defeat California State Bakersfield suffered at the hands of UC Davis.

Dani Bayes, last week named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Week, scored 6 points as Boise State (4-5) flew past Air Force 60-55.

Charlisse Leger-Walker had a rare scoring off-night as Washington State overcame #19 Arizona 70-59, Leger-Walker made 5 from 6 free throws but was 0 of 13 from the field. The Tall Fern still found other ways of impacting the contest as she gave 7 assists and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Amiee Book also scored 5 points, bringing up 200 points for the season, as Fresno State went down 75-56 to San Diego State.

Ashlee Strawbridge added 6 rebounds to 4 points as New Mexico State (6-3) edged Abilene Christian 69-61.

Jan 30 2023
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College Hoops

Tobias Cameron surpasses Rob Loe’s all-time Men’s NCAA record

Over the last few days Callum McRae, Sam Mennenga and Tom Webley have set new career marks but it is the record set by Tobias Cameron that headlines the latest Men’s NCAA Division I roundup.

Playing his 134th game for Abilene Christian University Cameron has set a new New Zealand record for the number of games played by a Kiwi in NCAA Division I Men’s basketball. Cameron celebrated the milestone with a win – tallying 8 points and 5 rebounds as Abilene pipped Utah Tech 81-76.

Rob Loe, who played 133 games for the University of St Louis Billikens (2010-14), had previously held the all-time high appearance record. The Tall Blacks centre still holds the record for most starts – 121.

It should be noted that Loe played the standard four years at St Louis while Cameron has taken advantage of the additional ‘covid year’ to play a fifth year at Abilene.

Callum McRae pulled down 9 rebounds to accompany 15 points as Sacramento State (5-4) were  beaten 72-65 by Montana State. McRae has pulled alongside Tai Webster (University of Nebraska Huskers, 2013-17) as the second highest Kiwi points scorer in Men’s NCAA Division I basketball. Kirk Penney is the all-time leader with 1,454 points for the Wisconsin Badgers.

In collegiate game number 99 Kruz Perrott-Hunt made 3 from 4 threes on his way to 13 points as South Dakota (5-5) secured an 81-67 road win at St Thomas. With 971 career points the Tall Black is closing in on the double of 100 appearances and 1,000 NCAA Division I points – only achieved previously by four Kiwi men. 

Davidson College snapped a four game losing streak with a 64-57 win at La Salle. Sam Mennenga was once again to the fore leading Davidson in points and rebounds with a double-double of 27 points (10/16FG, 3/4 3PG) and 11 rebounds. Those 27 points were a career high and it was the third double-double in the last five games for the 2022 Tall Black.

Mennenga followed that with a team high 16 points against Rob Loe’s alma mater St Louis but Davidson (3-6) came up short against the Atlantic 10 Conference co-leaders losing 74-70.

Despite Hartford falling 76-52 to Pennsylvania Tom Webley produced a career high 16 points shooting a highly efficient 8 from 10.

Flynn Cameron totalled 12 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists as UC Riverside (8-2) beat UC San Diego 72-65.

Tafara Gapare came up with 6 points and 4 rebounds as Massachusetts (4-5) got past Duquesne 87-79.

Akiva McBirney-Griffin tallied 5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks as UC Irvine (7-2) outclassed Cal State Northridge winning 81-56.

James Moors also scored 5 points in Colorado State’s (2-7) 80-59 loss to Boise State.

In other news Wellingtonian guard Ahmed Essahaty made his debut, playing a couple of minutes, for Long Island University in their 73-66 loss to Stonehill. 

Jan 21 2023
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College Hoops

NCAA DI midweek wrap – Mennenga, Cameron, McBirney-Griffin, Mackey-Williams the standouts

21 January

Cameron was just one point shy of his season best in scoring 25 points (10/20FG) as UC Riverside (7-1) took care of business against Cal Poly winning 83-78. 

The Tall Black guard followed that with a team high 19 points and added 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals for the Big West Conference leaders as they edged a tight one against UC Davis winning 74-72.

Cameron has passed 200 points for the season and is also closing in on 800 career points – a mark reached in NCAA Division I Men’s basketball by just eight Kiwis including current players Callum McRae and Kruz Perrott-Hunt.

Sam Mennenga remains in good form but Davidson College (2-5) slipped to a fourth straight Atlantic 10 defeat going down 68-61 at Dayton. Mennenga completed his fourth double-double of the season amassing 15 points and 13 rebounds whilst moving his career points tally to 704.

Second in the Big West are UC Irvine (6-1). in their latest game freshman Akiva McBirney-Griffin enjoyed his first double digit outing as Irvine beat Hawaii 76-68. The Waikato native finished with 11 points (4/7FG) and 3 rebounds plus one each in blocks, steals and assists.

Doing well in the Big Sky Conference are Callum McRae and Sacramento State (4-2) although they did drop their latest game, defeated 69-65 at Idaho State. McRae was held to 8 points and 4 rebounds in this one.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored 10 points as South Dakota (3-4) fell 82-64 to South Dakota State.

Tobias Cameron, passing 200 points this season, scored 7 points as Abilene Christian (1-4) fell to a heavy 84-54 defeat against Utah Valley.

Tom Webley posted 6 points on 3 from 4 shooting in Hartford’s 87-62 loss to Maryland Baltimore. The Cantabrian forward also reeled in 3 rebounds along with 3 assists and a block.

Colorado State (2-5) were defeated 82-76 in overtime by San Diego State. James Moors scored just the one point but did snag 8 rebounds and a career high 4 blocks.

In other news former Onslow College and Scots College guard Ahmed Essahaty has been added to the Long Island University roster for the remainder of this season.

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BYU (6-2) made it seven wins on the bounce defeating San Francisco 78-59 with Arielle Mackey-Williams posting 13 points (5/8FG) and Kaylee Smiler 6 points. Sophomore  guard AM-W also distributed a career high 6 assists and passed 200 points for the season at 9.2ppg.

Helen Matthews scored 11 points and claimed 3 rebounds as Wofford (3-1) accounted for Chattanooga 64-51.

Joy for Yzabelle Tevao and Chicago State as the Cougars won their first game of the season pounding Olivet 108-50. Tevao finished with 11 points (5/9FG) and 8 rebounds – both season highs for the West Aucklander.

Dani Bayes and Boise State entertained Amiee Book and the Fresno State Bulldogs and it was Boise that protected home court winning 60-53. Bayes scored 10 points – Book 3 points and a couple of steals for Fresno.

Grace Hunter scored 8 points and added a pair of assists and steals as Cal State Bakersfield (2-5) defeated Cal State Fullerton 64-58.

Olivia Williams scored 7 points, snared a couple of rebounds and had a single, assist, steal and block as UC Irvine, 7-0 in Big West Conference play beat UC Santa Barbara 70-60.

McKenna Dale produced 7 points, 6 rebounds and a couple of assists as Virginia (3-5) went down 77-68 to Florida State in the ACC.

In a game featuring a bunch of Kiwis, St Mary’s (4-4) were given a hammering by Portland (7-1) going down 64-41. Emme Shearer (7pts, 4rebs) and Melika Samia (4rebs, 1 block) wore the smiles of victors while Tayla Dalton (6pts), Jade Kirisome (5pts) and Amy West (2pts, 2 assists) will be rueing a poor home performance.

Lauryn Mapusua’s 6 points helped Houston Christian (3-3) to a 71-52 success against Incarnate Word.

Other Women’s Scores:

Cal State Northridge (3-5) 60 (Rochelle Fourie 3 points, 2 rebounds) Hawaii 76

Southern Methodist (3-3) 65 (Ella Brow 2 points, 1reb, 3 assists, 2 steals) Wichita State 73

Texas Christian (0-6) 66 (Tara Manumaleuga 3 points) Oklahoma 93

New Mexico State (4-3) 62 (Ashlee Strawbridge 2pts, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) Grand Canyon 69

Jan 16 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

NCAA DI Weekend Wrap – 8 Kiwis in double figures

16 January

In NCAA Division I weekend action eighty Kiwis scored in double figures with Charlisse Leger-Walker, Olivia Williams and Helen Matthews leading the way.

Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points to help secure Washington State (3-3) an 85-84 overtime win at Oregon. L-W, who added 7 rebounds, 6 assists and a block, moved past the 300 points mark for the season – 310 to be exact at 20.7ppg.

Olivia Williams top scored with 15 points (3/6 3PG) as Big West Conference leaders UC Irvine (4-0) defeated Rochelle Fourie’s California State Northridge 69-62.

Wofford (2-1) eked out a 55-51 win against UNC Greensboro with Helen Matthews scoring a team high equaling 15 points (6/9FG) to accompany 5 rebounds.

Ella Brow made 3 from 5 triples on her way to 14 points as Southern Methodist (3-2) won an overtime contest with East Carolina 68-66. The freshman also had a career high 8 assists to go with 6 rebounds a block and a steal.

Grace Hunter also scored 14 points in California State Bakersfield’s (1-5) 62-50 loss to UC San Diego.

Jade Kirisome scored 10 points as St Mary’s Gaels (3-3) pinched a 67-63 away win at neighbours San Francisco.

There were 9 points apiece for Kaylee Smiler and Arielle Mackey-Williams as BYU (5-2) defeated Pepperdine 63-52 for a fifth straight win.

Dani Bayes added 5 rebounds to 5 points as Boise State (2-2) went down 55-42 to San Diego State.

Unbeaten teams Portland (now 6-1) and Gonzaga met in a West Coast Conference heavyweight clash with the Zags getting the win 73-66. Emme Shearer scored 5 points for Portland.

Other Women’s Scores:

Fresno State (1-5) 71 (Amiee Book 4 points) Air Force 68

Virginia (3-4) 66 (McKenna Dale 2pts, 2rebs, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) Boston College 50

Texas Christian (0-5) 70 (Tara Manumaleuga 2pts, 1 steal, 1 rebound) Oklahoma State 80

In Men’s NCAA Division I play Sam Mennenga’s 13 points – his 17th double digit outing in 18 games – couldn’t prevent Davidson (2-3) slipping to a third straight Atlantic 10 defeat going down 67-65 to George Mason.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt tallied 10 points but South Dakota (3-3) were well beaten by South Dakota State 

Nine of each – points and rebounds – for James Moors as Colorado State (2-4) won a thriller against Nevada, Las Vegas 82-81.

Tobias Cameron had 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists as Abilene Christian (1-4) slipped up against Tarleton State going down 72-63.

Younger brother Flynn Cameron also tallied 9 points as UC Riverside (5-1) won 65-64 for a first win in 25 attempts at UC Santa Barbara. The young Tall Black flirted with a double-double as he also had 9 assists.

Eight points, 10 rebounds and a block for Callum McRae as Sacramento State (5-1) edged Northern Arizona 59-56.

Tafara Gapare scored 6 points and added a block, a steal and 4 rebounds as Massachusetts (2-3) beat Rhode Island 75-65.

Jan 14 2023
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks

NCAA DI mid-week roundup including career high’s for Smiler and Mennenga

January 13 

NB Bracketed figures are conference records (wins-losses)

In this NCAA Division I wrap we feature career high’s from Kaylee Smiler and Sam Mennenga plus a number of other strong performances most notably from Callum McRae, Grace Hunter and Dani Bayes.

Callum McRae was once again in double-double mode as Sacramento State (3-1) defeated Norther Colorado 72-64 with the senior centre tallying 15 points and 11 rebounds as well as dishing 7 assists. That’s 7 double-D’s already this season for McRae with four of them coming in the last five games.

Sam Mennenga pulled down a career high 16 rebounds as Davidson (2-3) slipped to a 61-57 home defeat at the hands of Richmond. Also scoring 11 points it was Mennenga’s third double-double of the season.

Abilene Christian (1-3) were defeated 103-86 by Texas Rio Grande despite 12 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals from Tobias Cameron.

Flynn Cameron had 6 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal as UC Riverside (4-1) eased past UC San Diego 74-68 in Big West Conference action.

Making his first start of the season Tom Webley scored 9 points and also accumulated 5 rebounds, an assists and a steal in Hartford’s narrow 78-73 loss to St Francis Brooklyn.

Other Men’s Scores:

Colorado State (1-4) 74 (James Moors 4pts, 3rebs, 1 assist) Air Force 85 AOT

Fordham 58 (1-3) Zach Riley (3pts, 2 steals, 1 assist) Dayton 82

Marquette 82 (6-1) Ben Gold 3 points) v #6 Connecticut 76

Massachusetts (1-3) 77 (Tafara Gapare 2 points, 2 rebounds) La Salle 78 

In women’s Division I play Grace Hunter was a single point shy of her career best as Cal State Bakersfield (1-4) suffered an agonizing 63-62 defeat at UC Santa Barbara. The Wellingtonian guard scored 22 points (also tallying 6 assists and 5 rebounds) as Bakersfield gave up four points in the final 6 seconds to lose 63-62.

Dani Bayes top scored for Boise State with 16 points, making 4 from 6 3-pointers, but the Broncos (2-1) were beaten 71-50 by Colorado State. It was the eighth double figure outing for the freshman guard in her first 16 collegiate games.

New Mexico State (4-1), with Ashlee Strawbridge making a season best 13 points, comfortably beat Sam Houston 69-48. Strawbridge shot a very efficient 6 from 8 and also added a steal and 2 rebounds.

Kaylee Smiler and Arielle Mackey-Williams shared 20 points as BYU (4-2) comfortably defeated Loyola Marymount 63-46. Mackey-W scored 12 points while Smiler was beaming after a career high 8 assists and 8 points.

Tayla Dalton scored 10 points as St Mary’s (3-3) won 78-64 at Santa Clara. Playing a team high 34 minutes Dalton also had deuces in rebounds, assists and steals. Jade Kirisome had a trio each of points, rebounds and assists in the win.

Helen Matthews grabbed 5 rebounds to compliment 7 points as Wofford (1-1) came off second best against West Carolina going down 53-49.

Freshman starter Ella Brow caught the eye with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal as Southern Methodist (2-2) clawed the Cincinnati Bearcats 55-44.

Fresno State (1-4) went down 49-43 to San Diego State with Amiee Book making 5 points and 5 rebounds in the loss.

Other Women’s Scores

Texas Christian (0-4) 45 (Tara Manumaleuga 3pts, 2rebs, 1 assist, 1 steal) West Virginia 77

UC Irvine (4-0) 57 (Olivia Williams 2 points, 2rebs, 2 assists, 1 steal) Cal State Fullerton 39

Jan 09 2023
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College Hoops

NCAA Weekend Wrap – Big performances aplenty

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 7th 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.

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