LACEY LOWDOWN

17 points and 16 rebounds for Kalani Purcell but BYU-Provo beaten in Championship final

The 2016 American college play-off fortunes of Tall Ferns Kalani Purcell, Stella Beck and Josie Stockill have come to disappointing conclusions.

Having dominated West Coast Conference proceedings all season Brigham Young University-Provo slipped at the final hurdle losing an exciting championship final 70-68 against University of San Francisco in Las Vegas on Wednesday (NZT).

BYU Cougars, the defending champions, had advanced to the final on the back of a 16-2 conference regular season record and two convincing play-off victories.

The final was close throughout – BYU led 68-66 inside the final 60 seconds but coughed up fouls that sent San Francisco to the foul line, the free throw opportunities gleefully accepted by the number 6 seeds.

As she had been all season Tall Fern Kalani Purcell was a pillar of strength for the Cougars putting together a double double of 17 points and 16 rebounds in the final.

Her outstanding form earned Purcell a place in the WCC All-Tournament team.

Some consolation for BYU is that they are still likely to be invited to the NCAA tournament, often referred to as the ‘Big Dance’, when selections and seedings are announced next week.

The previous day St Mary’s Gaels were defeated 67-65 by San Francisco in the WCC semi-final. The result meant the season ended on a low note for Gaels and Tall Ferns swingman Stella Beck as they were tipped to meet BYU in the final. Beck had 7 points, 3 rebounds and a steal as the Gaels were overhauled in the final stanza after leading 41-37 at three quarter time.

The Gaels finish the season with an impressive 24-7 record but one win away from the championship game.

In other play-off news former Hawkes Bay standout and Colgate University senior Josie Stockill finished her outstanding four-year Raiders career on a losing note.

After winning their opening game of the Patriot League play-offs the Raiders were defeated in the quarter finals by number one seed Army 89-62.

It was somewhat fitting that Stockill played her last game of college basketball at one of the most famous and prestigious sites in America – the United States Military Academy known as West Point – home of the Army team.

Stockill finished as Colgate’s all time leading shot blocker, 5th in rebounding and 15^th in scoring.

Men’s college play-off action featuring Tai Webster (Nebraska) and Jack Salt (Virginia) begins later this week.

Toni Edmondson and the Perth Lynx will have home court advantage in WNBL Grand Final series

New Zealand is guaranteed at least one Australian WNBL championship winner after Townsville Fire proved too good for South East Queensland Stars in the Preliminary Final on Saturday. Townsville protected home court with a solid 91-71 victory to set up a meeting with Perth Lynx in the best of three grand final series.

Micaela Cocks had a game high 8 assists in addition to 6pts/2rebs/1stl/1block against the Stars. Chevannah Paalvast only played the last couple of minutes but she and Cock’s will be relishing the opportunity to play against fellow Tall Fern Toni Edmondson and her Lynx colleagues in game one on Saturday night in Perth.

US College – Women

 A number of college conferences have already begun post regular season conference tournaments and a number of Tall Ferns have been in the thick of the action.

The University of California Berkley Golden Bears terrific run in the Pac 12 Conference Tournament at Key Arena in Seattle came to an end at the semi-final stage on Saturday.

The Bears entered the tournament ranked 10^th and knocked off higher ranked teams Utah (66-63 AOT) and Arizona State (75-64) before going out in the semis 73-68 against UCLA, again after overtime action.

Former Rangitoto College forward Penina Davidson made a telling contribution for the Bears with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks against Utah. She followed that up with an even more impressive career high 17points (7/8FG) and 7 rebounds against Arizona State.

A third game in three days, two going to overtime, took its toll on Davidson as she could manage only 5 points in the semi final loss.

In the West Coast Conference Tournament number one and two seeds Brigham Young Uni-Provo Cougars and St Mary’s Gaels progressed to the semi-finals at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

St Mary’s beat Loyola Marymount 85-71 aided by 11 rebounds from Stella Beck (plus 3pts/3 assists and 2 steals).

Kalani Purcell threatened a triple double as BYU defeated Pepperdine 72-59. Purcell, the leading rebounder in the conference, had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.

Josie Stockill spent virtually the whole of the second quarter sitting on the bench as Colgate University Raiders struggled to overcome Lafayette in the first round of Patriot League play-off action on Saturday. Stockill, “Itching to get out there and make an impact”, took control of proceedings in the second half, the former Hawkes Bay forward finishing with a double double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, as the Raiders stole an 80-68 win.

Colgate next faces the highly fancied Army West Point on Monday in quarter final action.

 Jacinta Beckley and Seattle University Redhawks fell 66-52 to CSU Bakersfield in its final regular season game of the season. Beckley played just 6 minutes and recorded just a single rebound – the Redhawks will meet Bakersfield again on Wednesday in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.

Cal State Northridge Matadors will also begin tournament play this week facing Cal Poly on Tuesday. The Matadors completed its Big Western Conference regular season with a home defeat at the hands of Long Beach State 79-69 on Saturday. Forward Tessa Boagni had 4 points, 2 rebounds and an assist in the loss.

Europe – Women

 Jillian Harmon and Le Mura Lucca now boast a 20-1 record at the top of Serie A. Harmon bagged 20 points on Wednesday as Lucca was tested by Venezia before eventually winning 69-59.

Toni Edmondson to play in first WNBL Grand Final

Cantabrian Toni Edmondson (11 points) was one of five Perth Lynx players in double figures as the Lynx stunned defending champions Townsville Fire on Sunday afternoon.

The Australian WNBL Major Semi-Final was expected to be a tight affair but the Lynx dominated from start to finish eventually winning 92-71 to book themselves a place in the Grand Final series in a couple of week’s time. Micaela Cocks scored 12 points (4/8FG) and Chevannah Paalvast 4 points (2/3FG) on a day when the Fire was well and truly subdued.

Not all is lost for Townsville as they host South East Queensland Stars in a do or die Preliminary Final next Sunday, the winner to meet the Lynx.

US College – Women

 Colgate Raiders lost 83-74 to Lehigh on Wednesday but in scoring 14 points Tall Ferns forward Josie Stockill became just the 20^th player in Colgate University Women’s Basketball history to pass 1,000 career points.

The Hawkes Bay native piled in a further 18 points on Saturday, plus a career high 16 rebounds, as Colgate secured just its 3^rd Patriot League success defeating Lafayette 70-55.

Josie Stockill passed 1,000 career points for Colgate University

Following a 16^th straight win Brigham Young Uni-Provo Cougars has risen to No 22 on the NCAA Division 1 rankings. The West Coast Conference Regular Season champions were much too good for Portland dominating from start to finish to win 84-59 on Thursday. Kalani Purcell finished the game with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a couple of steals.

Somewhat surprisingly the Cougars lost its final regular season game on Sunday going down 73-55 at Gonzaga. Despite the loss Purcell managed to chalk up her 16^th double double of the season adding 13 rebounds to 10 points.

In the same conference Stella Beck’s St Mary’s Gaels (14-4) wrapped up second place in the WCC with a 72-59 victory against San Francisco. Beck continued her recent good form with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.

Seattle University Redhawks fell 79-48 to Utah Valley in Western Athletic Conference action – 2pts/1reb/1assist for Jacinta Beckley.

Cal State Northridge Matadors gave unbeaten UC Riverside a 25-14 first quarter start and a lead that proved too big to pull back. The Matadors slipped to 4-9 in Big Western Conference games after losing 84-62. On a positive note, after a quiet sequence of games, Tessa Boagni bounced back into form with 13 points, 6 rebounds and a steal.

The University of California Berkley Golden Bears rounded out its regular season with two home games at the weekend. On Friday Penina Davidson (7pts) went 3 from 3 from the field including a score from her only shot from beyond the arc as the Bears beat Oregon 65-54.

On Sunday Oregon State were too strong for the Bears winning a low scoring contest 54-44. Davidson managed 4 points, 4 rebounds and a block in that one. The Bears finished with a 4-14 record in Pac 12 Conference play.

Europe – Women

 Jillian Harmon and Le Mura Lucca roll on in the Italian Serie A now boasting an 18-1 record. Despite having to wear a spare set of uniforms provided by their hosts, due to a color clash, Lucca disposed of Oriveto 66-46 with Tall Ferns forward Harmon scoring 13 points.

Micaela Cocks is a key member of the Townsville Fire 

Three Tall Ferns will contest the Australian WNBL Major Semi-Final in Townsville next Sunday. The match up will ensure at least one Kiwi international will be appearing in the 2016 Grand final as the winning team progresses straight to the final. The losers get a second life playing the winner of the 3^rd/4^th play off encounter.

The Townsville Fire with Micaela Cocks and Chevannah Paalvast in their ranks will host Toni Edmondson and the Perth Lynx. East v West in Australia, Canterbury v Auckland amongst the Kiwis.

Townsville ensured top spot and back to back WNBL regular season titles with a hard fought 64-57 victory against Adelaide Lightning on Saturday.The Fire had slipped up on Friday going down 82-69 against the Lynx in Perth but made no mistake 24 hours later.

Against Perth Cocks played a game high 35 minutes for the Fire contributing 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Teammate Paalvast added three points and a rebound.

Toni Edmondson could not find her range for the Lynx shooting none from four but the Cantabrian did collect three rebounds and dish a pair of assists.

Cocks (5pts) and Paalvast (2pts) were relatively quiet against Adelaide but both will be relishing the prospect of the major semi-final on home court next weekend.

 US College – Women

The US college basketball season is heading towards the sharp end of the 2015-16 campaign. The regular season has just a week or two more of games before conference tournaments get underway in early March.

Brigham Young Uni-Provo wrapped up its first ever West Coast Conference Regular Season title with two games to spare. They met second placed San Diego on Wednesday, the only team they had lost to this season, and won a tight encounter 68-60.

Once again Kalani Purcell was a major architect of the win with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 7assists and two steals as BYU stretched its unbeaten run to 15 games.

More fine performances from Stella Beck for St Mary’s

In the same conference Stella Beck is in the form of her life. Following last week’s career best 27 points Beck produced a 20 points outburst for St Mary’s Gaels as they defeated Gonzaga, 66-47, on Thursday. This was followed by a triple double threatening 11 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists as Portland was demolished 95-53 – St Mary’ move to 12-4 in conference play.

Colgate University Raiders went down 71-58 against Boston University but Josie

Stockill, who already holds the Raiders all time shot blocking record, is now just 4 points shy of 1,000 career points for the Raiders. The Raiders centre returned 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks on the night.

Seattle University Redhawks had a tough couple of games matched up against the two top teams in the Western Athletic Conference. On Thursday they gave the more fancied Univ of Texas Rio Grande Valley a run for their money before eventually going down 76-71. Former Paraparaumu College standout Jacinta Beckley notched 4 points, 3 rebounds and an assist for the Redhawks. Beckley scored 3 points on Saturday in the 66-56 against unbeaten New Mexico State.

Cal State Northridge Matadors are now 4-7 in Big Western Conference games after losing 77-66 against Cal Poly on Saturday. Forward Tess Boagni chipped in with 4 points and two rebounds in 16 minutes for the Matadors

Penina Davidson had a very handy 10pts, 3 rebs, 2 blocks, 2 steals stats line but University of California Berkley Golden Bears went down 72-66 at Utah on Friday.

Europe – Women

Tall Ferns Jillian Harmon (Le Mura Lucca, Italy) and Erin Rooney (COB Calais France) had a break this week as the major European Leagues paused to allow international games to be played.

Stella beck leads the West Coast Conference in field goal shooting – 57% from the field.

Career high points hauls for Stella Beck and Josie Stockill highlight the efforts of Tall Ferns overseas this week.

 Former Hutt Valley High School standout Beck put together an almost perfect shooting performance as she recorded a career high 27 points in St Mary’s Gaels 91-81 win At Loyola Marymount in West Coast Conference play. Beck was almost unstoppable shooting 10 from 11 from the field and a perfect 7 of 7 from the charity stripe. She wasn’t too shabby at the defensive end either collecting 3 rebounds and 4 blocks.

 In the same conference Kalani Purcell continued her good season as Brigham Young Uni-Provo recorded wins against San Francisco and Santa Clara. Across the two games Purcell averaged 17 points, 15.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1.5 blocks.

 BYU remain atop the conference standings with a 14-1 record, St Mary’s (10-4) in third spot, with two weeks of the regular season to play.

 Colgate University Raiders may have slipped to a fifth straight loss when beaten 78-55 by Army West Point but Tall Fern Josie Stockill had a game to remember. The Hawkes Bay product scored a career high 29 points in addition to securing 9 rebounds and effecting 7 blocked shots.

 Stockill, who already holds the Raiders all time shot blocking record, is now just 18 points shy of 1,000 career points for the Raiders.

 Cal State Northridge Matadors improved to 4-6 in Big West Conference play following a convincing 62-48 win against Irvine. Tessa Boagni has had a quiet time of late and that trend continued as the Cantabrian centre grabbed 4 rebounds to match 4 points (1-4FG).

 Penina Davidson helped the University of California Berkley Golden Bears snap a four game losing streak with a strong 4pts/6rebs/4assists/2 steals stat line. The Bears improved to 3-11 in the Pac 12 Conference after defeating Arizona 75-56 on Sunday.

Australia – Women

The Townsville Fire has almost wrapped up the Australian WNBL minor premiership for the second successive season. After demolishing Dandenong Rangers 89-49 in Townsville on Friday the Fire requires just one win from its remaining two games after to secure the premiership.

Micaela Cocks made a major contribution to the win with 13 points that included a couple of crucial threes whilst Chevannah Paalvast added a brace of points and assists.

 Canberra Capitals broke a 21 game losing streak to upset top four contenders Perth Lynx on Friday winning 80-77. Toni Edmondson had 3 points and 3 assists for the Lynx.

 The Lynx bounced back on Saturday night securing a crucial 88-85 come from behind victory at Sydney Flames. Edmondson weighed in with a handy 8 points and 5 rebounds effort as the Lynx remained second on the ladder.

 Nelson native Jess Bygate also had 8 points for Adelaide Lightning as it cruised to an 88-62 victory in Melbourne against the Boomers on Saturday. Bygate shot a perfect 3 from 3 from the field plus a couple of free throws.

The dosage was almost repeated on Sunday as Adelaide won again beating Bendigo Spirit 92-78. 6 points and 2 rebounds for Bygate on that occasion.

 Top placing’s on WNBL ladder with one round to play – top four qualify for semi-finals at end of the 24 game regular season:

16-6 Townsville Fire

15-8 Dandenong Rangers

15-8 Perth Lynx

14-8 SE Queensland Stars

12-10 Bendigo Spirit

Europe – Women

Le Mura Lucca kept its impressive run in the Italian League going with a hard fought 74-71 road win at exotically named Siesto San Giovanni Geas. Once again Tall Fern Jillian Harmon led the Lucca effort with a 25 points haul.

COB Calais (3-13) remains second from the bottom of the French League after going down 76-51 at home to Villeneuve on Sunday. Erin Rooney put up just two shots for Calais failing to score with either attempt. The former Canterbury guard had to settle for 4 assists and a brace of steals in 29 minutes of action.

Crucial win for Kalani Purcell and BYU.

Two important games featuring four Tall Ferns players were played last weekend, one in Victoria and the other in CaliforniaTwo important games featuring four Tall Ferns players were played last weekend, one in Victoria and the other in California. Guards Micaela Cocks and Chevannah Paalvast are members of the Australian WNBL defending champion Townsville Fire and were involved in an important regular season game against archrivals Bendigo Spirit.

11,000 kilometers away on the other side of the Pacific forwards Stella Beck and Kalani Purcell were facing off for their respective NCAA Division 1 college teams Saint Mary’s University Gaels and Brigham Young University-Provo Cougars.

When it comes to rivalries in the Australian WNBL they don’t get any bigger than the Bendigo Spirit and the Townsville Fire. It is a rivalry, built over contesting the past three championship playoffs, Bendigo winning two and Townsville the defending champion.

Townsville had lost the two previous games against the Spirit this season but they limited the Spirit to just 24 first half points to score a rare win at Bendigo Stadium, 75-63, on Sunday.

The fourth consecutive win by the Fire pleased coach Chris Lucas who told the Townsville Bulletin, “It was always going to be tough but we got the job done.” The Tall Ferns assistant coach added “I’m really proud of the team, it’s a great result for us and they always do a great job on the road.” The win propelled Townsville to the top of the WNBL ladder.

Cocks, a starter in the Fire team, didn’t have her best shooting night. Her 6 points came from 8 attempts but she did also add 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Rookie Paalvast didn’t trouble the statisticians but provided her usual athletic hustle in her 12 minutes on court.

Purcell and Beck have featured strongly in West Coast Conference play all season. Purcell is the league’s leading rebounder (13.5rpg) whilst Beck, has the best field goal shooting percentage in the conference – 56%.

BYU Cougars entered the game leading the West Coast Conference standings with an 11-1 record, St Mary’s Gaels second (9-2) but it was Purcell and the Cougars that collected the spoils winning the top of the table clash 65-44.

The win was described by BYU coach Jeff Judkins as, “One of the best games we have played all year.” His team raced to a 21-5 first quarter lead and dominated proceedings thereafter.

Once again Purcell was outstanding, she had a game-best nine rebounds and 10 assists plus 6 points before fouling out in the closing minutes.

Stella Beck put in a solid performance for St Mary’s but her 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, I block effort failed to put much of a dent in BYU’s twelfth straight win and apparent charge towards the Conference title.

Roundup of other news featuring  Tall Ferns overseas……….

Australian WNBL side South East Queensland Stars caused a major upset on Saturday defeating top of the table Perth Lynx 87-71 in Western Australia. Cantabrian Toni Edmondson could do little to help turn the tide in the hosts favour grabbing a pair of rebounds, dishing 5 assists but going 0 from 3 from the field.

It was quite a week for the Stars who called in the receivers on Wednesday, sacked coach Shane Heal but were rescued Thursday, won in Adelaide on Friday and prevailed in Perth on Saturday.

Jillian Harmon and Le Mura Lucca  racked up win number 17 to head the Italian SieraA League with just a solitary loss. Lucca beat Napoli 70-57 on a rare Monday night outing.  Harmon was not at her most accurate shooting 4 from 12 from the field but still racked up 12 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and a block in another powerful display.

Erin Rooney  enjoyed a weekend off at COB Calais (French League).

In other US college basketball news Colgate University Raiders fell to Navy on Saturday and now have a 2-9 record in Patriot League games. Hawkes Bay centre Josie Stockill scored 11 points and added 7 rebounds, 3 assists and a customary block as the Raiders slipped to a fourth straight loss, three of those by single digits.

Seattle University Redhawks (3-5 WAC) took an early lead but was eventually beaten 57-49 by Chicago State in Western Athletic Conference play. Forward Jacinta Beckley had 4pts (2/4FG), 2 rebs, and 1 steal for Seattle

Cal State Northridge Matadors (5-18, 3-6 BWC) lost 83-76 Saturday afternoon at UC Riverside in a Big West Conference game. Cantabrian Tessa Boagni had 8 points and 5 rebounds with the Matadors now 3-6 in conference play.

In Pac-12 Conference play Univ of California, Berkley Golden Bears went down 53-46 at No 15 ranked Stanford on Tuesday in the first of the Battle of the Bay encounters. The two fierce rivals met again on Friday but the outcome was the same as Cal was defeated at home 60-55 to slip to 2-10 in Pac-12 Conference play. Penina Davidson was a strong defensive presence for the Golden Bears accumulating 11 rebounds and 4 steals but her shooting form deserted her as she went 2 from 14 over the two games.