That’s what Charlisse Leger-Walker has rattled up in her first two NCAA Division I games for Washington State University.
Washington State have started the season in style defeating Washington 60-52 and Idaho 74-55 where Charlisse bagged 29 points.
Older sister Krystal hasn’t put up such eye watering numbers but a two-game tally of 14 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 steals and a block plus big minutes in the playmaking role were significant in the Cougars two victories.
California State University Fullerton have unfortunately lost three straight games to begin the season but it hasn’t been through lack of effort from Amiee Book.
Now in her third season with the Titans, Book has scored 50 points across the three games (twice as many points as any other Titan) and is shooting the three-ball at a highly respectable 47% (7/15). The former Waimea College standout is also the second highest rebounder on the team with 16 boards to date.
Jade Kirisome scored a career high 18 points (4/9 3PG) and Tayla Dalton tallied 11 points (3/7 3PG) but it didn’t prevent St Mary’s College, California falling to a fourth straight loss, going down 90-71 at Fresno State.
Dalton’s former Harbour teammate, also a freshman, Emme Shearer scored 13 points (5/8FG) and racked up 5 steals as Portland University Pilots had little trouble navigating past Northwest winning 93-54.
It was a different story 48 hours later as Portland were defeated by Washington University Washington recovered from the defeat against Washington State to win 83-56 – Shearer scored 7 points in that one on 3 from 5 shooting.
Kaylee Smiler and Tegan Graham scored 9 points each as BYU eased past Montana State 72-58, the pair playing 20 minutes apiece off the bench as the Cougars improved to 3-1.
Tsubasa Nisbett scored 4 points and added 3 rebounds as Georgia Southern pasted Coastal Georgia 118-48 to improve to 2-2 on the season.
Wofford College couldn’t quite make it three road wins on the bounce going down 70-64 in Cincinnati to Xavier University.
Helen Matthews has started all five games for Wofford (3-2) producing 4 points, a brace of rebounds, two assists and a steal in 21 minutes.
Taranaki guard Eva Langton and Texas A&M International have made a good start to Lone Star Conference in NCAA Division II play with a brace of wins against Oklahoma Christian. Across the two games she tallied 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and a pair of steals.
In NAIA action Michelle Nicholls is going well for the 5-3 Central Methodist University. With seven starts under her belt the former Waitakere rep is averaging 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
As reported last week Quinn Clinton’s star is on the rise at St Mary’s College Gaels.
In the win against University of Texas at El Paso (73-61) he looked very comfortable shooting 3 from 4 for 8 points adding 5 rebounds and a pair of steals.
A couple of days later it was Dan Fotu’s turn to shine for the Gaels. The Tall Black forward put together his first college double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds) in a 96-61 win against San Jose State.
Flynn Cameron put together a 6 points, 4 rebounds and game high 5 assists as University of California Riverside comfortably beat Northern Arizona 74-50.
Sam Mennenga helped Davidson College to an easy 77-45 win against Georgia Southern University. The former Westlake man posted 7 points, 4 rebounds and a block.
Anzac Rissetto had 4 points, a block and a rebound as North Carolina Charlotte 49ers were defeated 61-57 by Appalachian State. The 49ers led 49-42 with 9 minutes to play but were outscored 19-8 in the closing minutes.
James Moors made a quiet, efficient start to his Colorado State University career. Moors grabbed a couple of rebounds and made his only shot as the Rams beat Colorado State-Pueblo 89-77.
Kruz Perrott-Hunt and South Dakota will be thankful to get a win on the board after five straight losses. Perrott-Hunt didn’t score but he did contribute 4 assists and 3 rebounds as the Yotes defeated South Dakota State 91-78.
University of St Francis made it three straight wins in getting the better of Missouri Baptist, 82-75. Reihana Maxwell-Topia was again busy for the Fighting Saints filling the stats line with 2 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists and a steal.
Another former Rosmini College forward got his season off to a good start. Dallas Baptist University big man Will Heather had a productive game as DBU secured the double over Angelo State winning 93-86. Heather finished with 16 points (5/9FG, 4/4FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.
It’s been a while coming but finally we got to see Krystal and Charlisse Leger-Walker make their Washington State University debuts.
Covid has wreaked havoc with many college basketball programmes but the Cougars schedule has been hit harder than many.
Multiple pre-season games were cancelled. Then last week scheduled meetings with Cal Berkeley and Stanford were called off making Friday’s (local time) meeting with cross-state rival Washington the latest start to a WSU season in 44 years.
The game began with both L-W’s in the Washington State starting five – Charlisse needed a couple of early sighters before her first NCAA points came courtesy of an And-1 play.
She had 9 points in the opening quarter with Krystal a busy 4 rebounds and 2 assists as WSU opened up a 19-8 lead.
Krystal finished with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists a block and a steal in 35 minutes. Younger sister Charlisse finished with a game high 20 points (5/17FG), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 3 blocks as the Cougars began their Pac-12 programme with a 60-52 win against Washington.
Krystal stepped onto the court for the first time for the Cougs having sat out last season, in accordance with NCAA rules, having transferred from Northern Colorado University Bears.
In her three seasons with the Bears she started 87 games, scoring 564 career points and 378 career assists. She helped guide the Bears to the Big Sky Tournament Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018.
Krystal once again links up with Coach Kamie Ethridge who was her mentor at Northern Colorado.
The Cougars play in the tough Pac-12 Conference and will be delighted with the win given the team had not have played a game before Friday’s fixture – CL-W will surelty be a front runner for Pac-12 Rookie of the Week.
The strong showing from Charlisse follows on from the fine Div I debuts enjoyed by Tayla Dalton (St Mary’s College, California), Helen Matthews (Wofford University) and Emme Shearer (University of Portland) last month.
Is Quinn Clinton finally finding his mojo at St Mary’s College, California?
Or it may be more accurate to ask, are the Gaels coaching staff finally giving the classy shooting guard appropriate court time to display his talent?
Clinton got reasonable minutes in St Mary’s 73-50 win against Nicholls State University. The Cantabrian sored 6 points (2/3 3PG) in 17 minutes – in the same game Dan Fotu posted 10 points and 5 rebounds.
In the 82-70 win against Texas Southern Clinton scored 15 points (4/8 3PG), dished 3 assists and snared 4 rebounds, playing 30 minutes. All are career highs at the Gaels which is hardly surprising given he hardly played in his freshman year and redshirted the 2019-20 season.
Hopefully this good form is a sign of things to come.
Kruz Perrott-Hunt made his third start for South Dakota (0-3) tallying 8 points and 4 rebounds in 33 minutes.
Flynn Cameron, a former Junior Tall Black colleague of Perrott-Hunt, transferred from De Paul University in the off-season. He came up with 9 points and rebounds as University of California Riverside proved too good for Denver winning 83-63.
Thomas Webley played 33 minutes in his first outing for University of Hartford and has started all five games for the Hawks.
The freshman is averaging 5.4 points and 4.6 rebounds across his first five collegiate games.
Anzac Rissetto tallied 4 points and 2 rebounds as North Carolina Charlotte 49ersbeat Georgia State 76-65. Next week Anzac and the 49ers will take on Sam Mennenga’s Davidson University.
Reihana Maxwell-Topia’s first taste of college basketball was a double-overtime loss. Playing for St Francis, Illinois, the Fighting Saints went down 77-71 to Bellevue University with RM-T scoring 5 points on debut.
The former Rosmini College standout followed that with an enterprising stats line (8 points/5rebounds/1assist/1block/1steal) in a 77-68 victory over East-West University.
California State University Fullerton dropped their home opener to University of Nevada Las Vegas going down 81-67. Amiee Book, in her third season with the Titans, top scored for Fullerton with 16 points on 6 from 13 shooting.
Having missed three games due to injury Akienne Tera-Reed made a welcome return for Virginia Commonwealth University but couldn’t prevent the Rams going down 81-76 to Old Dominion University. Reed totaled 15 points (4/11FG) and 4 rebounds in just her second game of the season.
Already into conference play is Charlotte Whittaker and the Colorado University Buffaloes, the Buffs dropping Pac-12 games to Oregon and Oregon State.
Both opponents are ranked Top-20 in NCAA Division I with Whittaker putting together handy performances against both – 10 points versus Oregon and nine against Oregon State.
Brigham Young University (BYU) have begun their season with a win and loss. Graduate transfer, from Colgate University, Tegan Graham posted 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the season opening win against LSU. The following day BYU were well beaten by Washington (77-48) with Graham scoring 8 points (2/5 3PG) and Kaylee Smiler scoring 7.
St Mary’s College, California dropped a third straight game going down 62-53 against Arizona State. 2019 Tall Fern Amy West added 5 rebounds to her 9 points (4/5FG). Tayla Dalton was 2 from 3 from the field for her 4 points.
Kendell Heremaia was troubled by the foul count as Fordham University went down 62-58 to Quinnipiac. Heremaia fouled out in just 17 minutes finishing with a quiet 5 points and a couple of steals.
Washington State University’s season opener has been deferred to December 11. The much anticipated debut of Charlisse Leger-Walker, playing alongside sister Krystal, has twice been pushed back due to Covid with games against Cal and Stanford postponed.
In contrast Helen Matthews and Wofford University (3-1) have already played four games with their latest victory against UNC Asheville 76-50. Matthews, a freshman, has started in all four games averaging 29 minutes, 8 points and 4 rebounds.
Lauryn Mapusa, in her first year at Central Arkansas after a successful two years at Hutchinson Community College, tallied 5 points and 6 rebounds as the Bears beat Arkansas – Pine Bluff 74-70. It was the second start of the season for Mapusa.
Covid continues to wreak havoc with American college basketball. Numerous programmes won’t start until January and others have closed down completely for the 2020-21 season.
However there is some good news as many universities have kick started their seasons this week allowing a number if Kiwis to show their worth.
Hats off to NCAA Division I freshmen Tayla Dalton, Helen Matthews (pictured), Emme Shearer and Sam Mennenga in particular.
Here is the wrap on the major happenings in the last couple of days:
This story was originally posted on the Basketball New Zealand website.
Sean Murphy is the latest Kiwi to accept a basketball scholarship in the USA.
The 18-year old Rosmini College and North Harbour representative will be attending the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) to play under Head Coach Kevin Lofton.
After talking at length with Coach Lofton Murphy developed a rapport with the long time UNK mentor.
“I really liked him a lot from the first time we spoke. Coach has been with UNK for 25 years and the past five as Head Coach, so I felt he had a pretty good apprenticeship with the University and he must be doing a lot right and have a true passion and respect for the school and his players. We talk a lot and I felt the fit was good for me and my goals.
“The second thing is playing in a high level Division II Conference. When Coach told me it was ‘dog eat dog’ out there every game, I knew this would be a great challenge for me to expand on my skillset and help me develop even further.
“The third thing is the actual University. Nebraska at Kearney is a very respected academic school in the Mid-West and the major that I am leaning towards ranks very highly at UNK from right across America. So, with a great academic programme also on tap for me this made the decision easier also.”
The UNK basketball team are known as ‘The Lopers’ and are an NCAA Division II university
and play in the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
Naturally, Murphy is looking forward to linking up with the Lopers.
“I’m looking forward to meeting my new coaches and team-mates and finally get down to training and playing the game I love in the States. It will be fun to feel the energy and vibe of a great university and meet new people.”
Murphy has played four years on the Rosmini Premier team during a period of unprecedented success at the college.
He began the 2020 season in good form as Rosmini were attempting to contest a fourth consecutive Secondary Schools National Grand Final. The 198cm swingman scored 39 points against Rangitoto College and was averaging 26 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists per game over the first five games before COVID-19 restrictions brought a premature end to the Auckland Premier Basketball season.
Murphy had played in the previous three finals, collecting a winners medal in 2017 and 2018.
“Sean has been an integral part of our success at Rosmini over the past four years rising up from the Juniors into playing a pivotal role for our Senior Premiers over recent seasons.
“His opportunity in the States is a reward for the tremendous amount of work and dedication he has put into his own game,” said Rosmini Coach Matt Lacey.
Those successes certainly rank highly when Murphy assesses his career highlights to date.
“I have been blessed to be a part of a great basketball programme at Rosmini College. Great coaches and amazing teammates over the years so I would probably say winning two High School National Championships made me very proud and very happy, plus the opportunity to play for my country and making the Junior Tall Blacks.”
Murphy admits there have been countless good moments when he recalls his playing career at Rosmini.
“There are many and I will so miss it. Apart from the winning of Nationals and Junior Prems our trip to Greece for the World High School Championships last year was also memorable.”
As mentioned Murphy was named to the 2020 Junior Tall Blacks who were scheduled to play at a Four Nations International Tournament in China and the Albert Schweitzer International Tournament in Germany but unfortunately both events were cancelled.
When announcing the team Junior Tall Blacks Head Coach Aaron Fearne described Murphy as a wing with great international size.
“He’s very good at stretching the floor and knocking down the three ball. He understands our system well and can guard multiple positions,” added Fearne.
Having played for New Zealand at the 2019 FIBA Oceania Championships in New Caledonia in 2019 averaging 10 points and 3 rebounds per game Murphy would relish the opportunity wear the black singlet again in the future – hopefully one day for the Tall Blacks.
“That would be another dream come true, so I will never give up on that ambition and will continue to work harder to make it!”
Murphy is grateful to all who have contributed to his basketball journey and had a major impact on him as a player and a person.
“There have been many people that have helped me so much from the time I started to play basketball just over 10 years ago now. Like I said I am blessed to have had great coaching over the years from day one. But the most influential I would probably say would be my parents (Tracy and Rob), they have always believed in me, lifted me up when I have been down, told me how it is when I have had bad games and supported me whole heartly in my basketball journey.
The other person who believed in me the most is my mentor the late Fata Letoa, whom I hold the upmost respect for.
“Finally I just want to say thanks to BBNZ, Rosmini College, North Harbour Basketball, my team-mates over the years and all the people that have supported my journey to help me achieve where I am today.
“Also a big shout out and thanks to Chris at Lead Scholarship’s NZ who put my profile forward to the coaches at UNK. I appreciate it all.”
Murphy believes the best advice ever given to him is, “Never ever give up even when everything appears down on you, believe in yourself and keep going, plus ‘work harder’.
“I think those two things you need to live your life by always, that way you will succeed. Stay focused on your own journey.
That journey will commence at the beginning of the Fall Semester in August 2021 when Murphy will head to UNK.
Murphy is the sixth Rosmini College student to secure a basketball scholarship in the States in the last three years.
William Heather was a member of the 2017 national championship winning team and subsequently was offered a scholarship at Dallas Baptist University to play NCAA Division II basketball.
Kruz Perrott-Hunt was a national championship winner in both 2017 and 2018 and is in his second year at South Dakota University is majoring in psychology.
Recently departed to the Sates are freshmen Marvin Williams-Dunn and Reihana Maxwell-Topia.
Reihana is at the University of St Francis in Chicago whilst Marvin has travelled to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to begin study at Ouachita Baptist University.
Last week Taine Murray committed to the University of Virginia and like Sean will head to the States in 2021.
Reihana Maxwell-Topia has this week headed to the USA on a 4-year basketball scholarship.
Reihana will be a student athlete at the University of St Francis, Illinois. He was recruited by Head Coach Ryan Marks now in his eighth season at the helm of the Fighting Saints.
Coach Marks boasts a 114-76 record during his previous seven seasons, the Fighting Saints twice being Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season champions in addition to being Tournament Champions (2018—19) under his watch.
Reihana played on the Rosmini Premier team for four consecutive years and was an integral part of the team that won back to back New Zealand Secondary Schools National Championships in 2017 and 2018. Rosmini were runners-up in 2019 with the rangy power forward scoring 15 points in the Grand Final and also named to the Tournament Team.
He is a multiple representative championship winner having also won an U15 National Title representing Hibiscus Coast and in 2019 the U19 National Title with North Harbour.
2019 was a busy year for Reihana – in April he played a pivotal role in helping Rosmini finish a highly creditable sixth at the ISF Basketball World Schools Championship in Greece.
In July he was a member of the Harbour U19 team that travelled to the USA to participate in tournaments in Phoenix and Dallas and capped off his globe-trotting year representing New Zealand at the FIBA U17 Oceania Championships in New Caledonia where the team claimed a silver medal.
He is the fourth Rosminian currently on a basketball scholarship in the States. Marvin Williams-Dunn is a fellow freshman at Ouachita Baptist University, Arkansas whilst William Heather (Dallas Baptist University) and Kruz Perrott-Hunt (University of South Dakota) are both sophomores.
All at Rosmini College and the wider New Zealand basketball community wish Reihana well on the next stage of his journey.
Marvin Williams-Dunn has committed to Ouachita Baptist University on a four-year basketball scholarship.
The athletic point guard had originally committed to Utah State Eastern Junior College but when the coaching structure at USE changed, Marvin and his family began to review their options.
Ouachita Baptist University Tigers Head Coach Dennis Nutt was quick off the mark.
Not only does Coach Nutt have 20-years of coaching experience to draw on when assessing the capabilities of young athletes but the former guard played collegiately at Texas Christian University, played in the NBA with the Dallas Mavericks and had a spell with the famous Real Madrid club in Spain.
Nutt is excited to have Marvin join the Tigers basketball programme.
“Marvin will bring immediate help at the point guard position. He has competed on a very high level in New Zealand which will benefit him greatly. Our staff was really impressed with his confidence as well as his skill set. He has a chance to be a special player in our system.
“We can’t wait to get him on campus,” he added.
The Tigers play in the NCAA Division II Great American Conference. Nutt has taken the team to two Conference Tournament Championships (2013 and 2016) and also a Regular Season Championship in 2015.
Marvin has enjoyed an outstanding junior career playing for the Rosmini College Premier team in all five of his high school years – he holds the unofficial all-time games played record at the college. Rosmini appeared in three consecutive Schick Nationals Grand-Finals in his final three years at the school, playing a pivotal role in the their back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018.
He played his age group representative basketball for Waitakere West, Auckland and Harbour, gaining New Zealand National selection on a number of occasions.
In 2018 he played at the FIBA Asian U16 Championships in China. Later that year he captained New Zealand at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Argentina, leading the team in assists (2.9apg) and was also the second highest points scorer tallying 7.9 points per game.
In 2019 Marvin played for NZ U18 Men at the FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup in Malaysia and earlier that year led the Rosmini team to a highly respectable sixth place at the ISF Basketball World Schools Championship in Greece.
“Ouachita approached me last year but I had already committed to Utah State at that time. But when the situation changed at Utah earlier in the year Coach Nutt messaged me again and things happened pretty quickly after that,” said Marvin.
Asked whether he was up to the challenge of NCAA basketball Marvin’s response was emphatic.
“Always.”
“I’m looking forward to playing for and learning from Coach Nutt. He’s an experienced coach, who’s played in the NBA so it will be a fantastic opportunity for me.”
Marvin is hoping to make a suitable impression when he links up with his new teammates.
“A number of last year’s players were seniors so there will be minutes up for grabs so I’m going in with the opportunity to work hard and earn court time in my freshman season.”
Ouachita Baptist University is in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and Marvin will be headed that way in August.
“The campus is not too big, it’s besides the Ouichita River and the surrounding area looks similar to New Zealand.”
Understandably Marvin is thankful for the help that he has received.
“My parents (Audrey and Channon) have played the biggest part in my development so I need to thank them. I would also like to thank Matt Lacey for helping me with the recruitment process and of course I’m grateful to the coaching staff at Ouichita for the opportunity.”
“It’s really exciting, a dream, I’m looking forward to being a Tiger!”
Marvin is the latest Rosmini alum to sign a four-year US basketball scholarship, following William Heather (2018) and Kruz Perrott-Hunt (2019) who play at Dallas Baptist University and the University of South Dakota respectively.
Everyone who knows Marvin will wish him well and know he will be a great ambassador for New Zealand.
Aimee Book was the last remaining Kiwi women left in NCAA Division I Conference Tournament play but that involvement finished today.
Despite 14 points (6/13FG) from the Nelson native California State Fullerton Titans were beaten 72-59 by University of Hawaii in a Big West Conference quarter-final tie. The sophomore wing also chimed in with 6 rebounds and assist, playing the whole 40 minutes.
Book has scored in double figures in 17 of the 28 games she has played this season and started in all but one of those appearances.
Roll of Honour
Katelin Noyer (Fresno State University)
Mountain West Conference Regular Season Champions and MWC Tournament runners-up.
Pareunora Pene (University of Tennessee Chattanooga)
Reihana Maxwell-Topia has this week headed to the USA on a 4-year basketball scholarship.
LACEY LOWDOWN 