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

It’s probably no coincidence that New Zealand’s leading scorers in collegiate basketball, Charlisse Leger-Walker and Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones have also played the most minutes.

Playing decent minutes, no matter what the level of college competition, is down to a combination of ability, opportunity, attitude, patience, playing at the appropriate level and good fortune. Many on the lists below, like Tobias Cameron, Kaylee Smiler and Tessa Talo-Tomokino, have had to bide their time before playing big minutes. 

It’s unusual for freshmen to play substantial minutes, particularly at NCAA Division I level, so hats off to the athletes below who are making a mark in their first collegiate year’s.

For some a year or two playing junior college basketball, before transferring to university programmes, has proven a beneficial route – Hannah Wentworth, Ashlee Strawbridge and Ella Bradley are three such cases.

When you consider 64 Kiwi women are playing collegiate basketball in North America in 2022-23 the list below shows that approximately two thirds of the players are averaging less than half a game.

The numbers are very similar for the men with 18 of 53 playing 20 minutes are more.

It will be interesting to see if the numbers move significantly in the second half of the season as freshmen and sophomores gain more experience and earn more trust from their respective coaches. I suspect not as the onset of conference play often results in a shortening of rotations.

Minutes Played per game – Women	Class	University/College	Level	MPG	Games
Charlisse Leger-Walker	Junior	Washington State	NCAA D1	34.8	12
Te Araroa Sopoaga	Sophomore	Cloud County CC	JUCO	31.9	14
Kaylee Smiler	Senior	BYU	NCAA D1	30.7	11
Tessa Talo-Tomokino	Junior	Northeastern State	NCAA D2	30.2	9
Samantha Jenkins	Sophomore	Dawson CC	JUCO	29.0	13
Amiee Book	Grad Snr	Fresno State	NCAA D1	28.7	13
Helen Matthews	Junior	Wofford	NCAA D1	28.1	11
Leah Mafua	Soph	Dodge CITY CC	JUCO	27.9	14
Hannah Wentworth	Sophomore	Eckerd College	NCAA DII	27.4	11
Waiata Jennings	Freshman	Collin County CC	JUCO	27.0	12
Dani Bayes	Freshman	Boise State	NCAA D1	26.1	13
Jenna Rose Mafua	Soph	Dodge City CC	JUCO	25.1	14
Tayla Dalton	Junior	St Mary’s California	NCAA D1	24.4	12
Ella Paleaae-Cook	Sophomore	Miles CC	JUCO	24.2	15
Ashlee Strawbridge	Sophomore	New Mexico State	NCAA D1	24.0	12
Arielle Mackey-Williams	Sophomore	BYU	NCAA D1	23.6	12
Olivia Williams	Sophomore	UC Irvine	NCAA D1	22.9	11
Ella Brow	Freshman	Southern Methodist	NCAA D1	22.4	12
Ella Bradley	Sophomore	Texas at Tyler	NCAA D2	22.1	11
Grace Hunter	Junior	CSU Bakersfield	NCAA D1	21.5	6
Dominique Stephens	Sophomore	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	21.2	12
Emme Shearer	Junior	Portland	NCAA D1	20.5	13
Lilly Parke	Freshman	Auburn at Montgomery	NCAA D2	20.3	12

*records as at 28.12.2022

** 64 New Zealand women are currently on basketball scholarships in America and Canada.

Minutes Played Per Game – Men	Class	University/College	Level	MPG	Games
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones	Junior	Hawaii at Hilo	NCAA D2	32.8	8
Ezra Vaigafa	Soph	Neosho County CC	JUCO	31.3	3
Alex Blackmore	Soph	Castleton	NCAA D3	30.9	9
Callum McRae	Senior	Sacramento State	NCAA D1	30.8	12
Sam Mennenga	Junior	Davidson College	NCAA D1	30.7	12
Flynn Cameron	5th Yr	UC Riverside	NCAA D1	28.3	12
Kael Robinson	Soph	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	27.9	12
Kruz Perrott-Hunt	Senior	South Dakota	NCAA D1	27.8	12
Sam Gold	Soph	Milligan	NAIA	25.7	12
Tobias Cameron	5th Yr	Abilene Christian	NCAA D1	25.5	13
Sean Murphy	Soph	Nebraska at Kearney	NCAA D2	23.9	10
Mac Stodart	Soph	Colorado-Colorado Springs	NCAA D2	23.5	12
Isaac Miller-Jose	Senior	Manitoba	Canada	23.3	8
Boston Caldwell	Fresh	Central Maine CC	JUCO	22.9	10
Corey Le’aupepe	Senior	Menlo	NAIA	22.8	13
Maxim Stephens	Junior	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	22.8	5
Finn McClure	Junior	Milligan	NAIA	22.6	8
Kiani Saxon	Soph	Louisiana State Eunice	JUCO	21.5	11

*records as at 28.12.2022

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

December 29

It won’t come as a surprise to those that follow the fortunes of the New Zealander’s playing college hoops to find that Callum McRae leads the rebounding count – the former Junior Tall Black is close to averaging a double-double with his 9.5 boards per game to go with his 11.5 points.

Enda Brennan, one of four Kiwis at Southeast Community College, has made a big impression in the first few weeks of his college career. The , out of Riccarton High School, is second on the list and is also the only freshman amongst the top 17 players.

Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones not only leads the men’s scoring list (remember he averages 17.8 points per game) but is also the third highest rebounder claiming 9.1 boards per outing to emphasise his all-round ability.

Another Wellingtonian Isaac Miller-Jose has played his collegiate basketball at Manitoba University in Canada and is enjoying another fine season with the Bisons. 

Yet another Wellingtonian, Sam Gold, leads the way amongst a strong contingent of players featuring in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) conferences.

Leading Rebounders – Men	Class	University/College	Level	RPG	Rebs
Callum McRae	Senior	Sacramento State	NCAA D1	9.5	114
Enda Brennan	Freshman	Southeast CC	JUCO	9.3	130
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones	Junior	Hawaii at Hilo	NCAA D2	9.1	73
Sam Mennenga	Junior	Davidson College	NCAA D1	7.1	85
Nate Wilson	Soph	South Georgia Tech	JUCO	6.5	65
Isaac Miller-Jose	Senior	Manitoba	Canada	6.5	52
Sam Gold	Soph	Milligan	NAIA	6.5	78
Corey Le’aupepe	Grad Snr	Menlo	NAIA	6.0	78
Sean Murphy	Soph	Nebraska at Kearney	NCAA D2	6.0	60
Alex Blackmore	Soph	Castleton	NCAA D3	5.9	53
Maxim Stephens	Junior	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	5.6	28
Tobias Cameron	Grad Snr	Abilene Christian	NCAA D1	5.4	70
Flynn Cameron	Grad Snr	UC Riverside	NCAA D1	5.4	65
Kael Robinson	Soph	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	4.7	56
Kiani Saxon	Soph	Louisiana State Eunice	JUCO	4.6	51
James Moors	Junior	Colorado State	NCAA D1	4.5	59
Nico Hill	Junior	Missouri Baptist	NAIA	4.5	67

*records as at 28.12.2022

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

Te Araroa Sopoaga is again putting up big numbers at Cloud Community College. The sophomore forward is not only the leading rebounder amongst all New Zealand female players but also leads Cloud in assists, steals and blocks – Sopoaga is surely university bound in 2023-24!

If there is any sibling rivalry in the Stephens household Dominique at least can claim bragging rights on the rebounding count. She is currently averaging 6.2 per game, a shade better than brother Maxim who averages 5.6 per game.

Rotorua’s Waiata Jennings and Harbour’s Parehuia Delamere claim the third and fourth spots on the table while Cantabrian Helen Matthews edges Charlisse Leger-Walker as the top NCAA Division I rebounder.

Leger-Walker’s former Waikato and St Peter’s School sidekick Ella Bradley rounds out the Top 10 and is NZ’s leading NCAA Division 2 rebounder. 

Leading Rebounders – Women	Class	University/College	Level	RPG	Rebs
Te Araroa Sopoaga	Sophomore	Cloud County CC	JUCO	6.9	96
Dominique Stephens	Sophomore	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	6.2	74
Waiata Jennings	Freshman	Collin County CC	JUCO	5.8	70
Parehuia Delamere	Sophomore	Western Texas	JUCO	5.7	63
Helen Matthews	Junior	Wofford	NCAA D1	5.6	67
Charlisse Leger-Walker	Junior	Washington State	NCAA D1	5.2	62
Ella Paleaae-Cook	Sophomore	Miles CC	JUCO	5.1	76
Briarley Rogers	Sophomore	Weatherford	JUCO	4.9	44
Leah Mafua	Sophomore	Dodge City CC	JUCO	4.8	67
Ella Bradley	Sophomore	Texas at Tyler	NCAA D2	4.7	52

*records as at 28.12.2022

** 64 New Zealand women are currently on basketball scholarships in America and Canada.

If you missed it here is the link to the leading scorers at this point of the season: https://bit.ly/3WMikxl

28 December

In Part 1 of our American collegiate half term report we take a look at the leading scorers amongst the Kiwi contingent currently playing in North America. 

It’s not a total surprise that Charlisse Leger-Walker clearly leads the way in points scored and points per game at the mid-point of the collegiate season. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones makes it a hyphenated double as he leads the way on the men’s side. 

Leger-Walker scored a career high 40 points earlier in the month and has scored 20 points or more on seven occasions this season. Having already amassed 1188 career points you suspect, barring injury, the former Waikato and St Peter’s guard is on course to pass Erin Rooney’s all-time Kiwi record of 1,647 career points.

Rotorua’s Waiata Jennings and Leah Mafua, both playing at junior college, are second and third on the rankings while Hannah Wentworth is the highest scoring kiwi in Women’s NCAA Division II hoops.

Jennings, in her freshman season, is leading the Collin Cougars scoring and had a season high 25 points against Angeline College. With a 12-0 record Collin are ranked #9 in the country amongst women’s junior college teams.

Leah Mafua is doing the same for #16 Dodge City College and with sister Jenna Rose averaging 11.9 points per game the Wellington siblings are providing a significant one-two back court punch for the Conquistadors.

Hannah Wentworth, in her second season with Eckerd College, is enjoying another strong season for the No 12 ranked NCAA Division II team. The Harbour shooting guard ranks sixth in 3-pointers made (35) – more on our top shooters in an upcoming report.

Leading Scorers – Women	Class	University/College	Level	PPG	Points
Charlisse Leger-Walker	Junior	Washington State	NCAA D1	21.1	253
Waiata Jennings	Freshman	Collin County CC	JUCO	15.3	184
Leah Mafua	Sophomore	Dodge City CC	JUCO	13.0	182
Hannah Wentworth	Sophomore	Eckerd College	NCAA D2	12.5	137
Briarley Rogers	Sophomore	Weatherford	JUCO	11.9	107
Te Araroa Sopoaga	Sophomore	Cloud County CC	JUCO	11.7	164
Jenna Rose Mafua	Sophomore	Dodge City CC	JUCO	11.4	160
Amiee Book	Grad Snr	Fresno State	NCAA D1	10.2	133
Grace Hunter	Junior	CSU Bakersfield	NCAA D1	9.7	58
Waiaaria Rogers	Sophomore	Marshalltown CC	JUCO	9.4	66
Helen Matthews	Junior	Wofford	NCAA D1	9.3	111
Dominique Stephens	Sophomore	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	9.1	109
Dani Bayes	Freshman	Boise State	NCAA D1	9.0	117

*records as at 26.12.2022

** 64 New Zealand women are currently on basketball scholarships in America and Canada.

Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones is building nicely on his previous two seasons at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Tait-Jones was named PacWest Conference Freshman of the Year in 2020-21 and to All-West Region Second team in 2021-22. This season he averages 17.8 points per game, the best by any Kiwi in collegiate basketball. The former St Pat’s and Wellington forward has amassed 798 career points at 17.0 points per outing across 47 NCAA Division II games.

Sam Mennenga is the second highest scoring Kiwi tallying 15.8 points per game at Davidson College in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Capped earlier in the year by the Tall Blacks at the Asia Cup, the ex-Harbour and Westlake Boys forward is up to 599 career points – already 16^th all-time on the NZ Men’s Division I scorers list midway through his third collegiate year..

The Waikato duo of Maxim Stephens and Kael Robinson occupy third and sixth spots on the NZ scoring table as well as the top two spots on the Rocky Mountain College scoring list. Stephens has played just the five games following his recovery from ankle injuries while Robinson is obviously reaping the benefits of the 2022 season in the NBL with the Franklin Bulls – he has started all 12 games for Rocky.

Boston Caldwell, another ex-Westlake and Harbour player, is the highest scoring New Zealander amongst the 16 Kiwi freshmen playing in America in 2022-23. Caldwell scored a massive 38 points in Central Maine’s penultimate game before the Xmas break. Nate Wilson is the only other junior college player to be averaging double figures per game.

Like the women there are a pair of siblings on the leader board. The Cameron brothers – Tobias and Flynn – feature amongst  the top 14 Kiwi scorers (and also amongst the top five NCAA Division I players). 

Leading Scorers – Men	Class	University/College	Level	PPG	Points
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones	Junior	Hawaii at Hilo	NCAA D2	17.8	142
Sam Mennenga	Junior	Davidson College	NCAA D1	15.8	189
Maxim Stephens	Junior	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	14.6	73
Boston Caldwell	Fresh	Central Maine CC	JUCO	13.4	134
Corey Le’aupepe	Senior	Menlo	NAIA	13.1	170
Kael Robinson	Soph	Rocky Mountain	NAIA	12.2	146
Mac Stodart	Soph	Colorado Springs	NCAA D2	11.6	139
Callum McRae	Senior	Sacramento State	NCAA D1	11.5	138
Kruz Perrott-Hunt	Senior	South Dakota	NCAA D1	11.3	136
Sam Gold	Soph	Milligan	NAIA	11.3	136
Tobias Cameron	Senior	Abilene Christian	NCAA D1	11.2	145
Nate Wilson	Soph	South Georgia Tech	JUCO	10.6	106
Flynn Cameron	Senior	UC Riverside	NCAA D1	10.2	122
Alex Blackmore	Soph	Castleton	NCAA D3	10.4	94

*records as at 26.12.2022

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

In part two, dropping tomorrow, we will take a look at the leading rebounders – which three Kiwis are averaging over nine boards per game?