Category Archives: Kiwi’s Abroad

Jordyn Maddix tops a good week for Kiwis in Junior College

It’s been a good week for Jordyn Maddix. She scored a career high 28 points – 7 of those in the extra period – as Western Texas won an exciting overtime contest against Clarendon. The former Westlake guard had an eye catching shooting line of 9 from 17 from the field, 6 of 13 from beyond the arc and 4 straight from the foul line.

That was followed by 14 points in the 77-69 defeat of Howard College. Parehuia Delamere had 8 assists, 8 rebounds and 5 points in that one.

Jenna Rose Mafua played a big part in Dodge City pushing Seward County all the way before going down 63-60. The Wellingtonian guard scored a team high 19 points (7/11FG, 4/6 3PG) and also secured 4 rebounds and a steal.

Central Maine whacked Paul Smith’s College 86-30 with Safena and Leata Te Nana-Williams playing leading hands. Leata stuffed the box score line with 15 points (6/9FG), 7 steals, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal. Safena was almost as prolific with 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 6 points, 4 steals and a block.

Williston State could only manage 30 points in a 57-30 defeat against Mesa yet Keeley Tini still managed a double-double. She claimed almost half of the teams’ rebounds (15 of 39) and a third of the points (11)!

Cloud County also went down to Seward despite a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds from Kay-Hauata Phillips. Te Araroa Sopoaga had 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and a block in the 78-64 defeat.

Maclani Michael poured in 15 points and Ella Bradley threatened a triple-double as Utah State Eastern swamped Community Christian College 93-46. Ella finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds (7 offensive) and 8 assists while Brooklyn Pouwhare had 2 points and 5 rebounds in the win.

Samantha Jenkins enjoyed a 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists outing as Dawson beat United Tribes 73-42.

Kyra Paniora top scored with 12 points (along with 6 assists and 4 rebounds) and Ash Strawbridge contributed 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a block as Southern Idaho squeezed home 52-49 against Salt Lake. Southern Idaho retain their #5 ranking with the win.

Molly Cockburn scored 9 points (4/7FG) and  Ella Paleaae-Cook 3 points as Miles slipped to a 65-49 defeat against North Dakota SCS. Molly also had 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Briarley Rogers came up with 9 points and 5 rebounds as Weatherford proved far too good for Southwestern Christian winning 81-39.

Izzy Cook scored 8 points as #6 Western Nebraska thumped Trinidad State 106-65. The Taranaki forward also contributed 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.

Dejaan Schuler scored 6 points as Casper College had a valuable 77-64 victory over East Wyoming. Casper up from 17 to number 20 on the national rankings.

Marshalltown defeated Des Moines 75-49 with Waiaaria Rogers pulling in 8 rebounds to go with 2 points and a couple of steals.

In Men’s action Ollie Hayward put in a strong shift for Midland College in the loss to South Plains amassing 15 points, 7 rebounds and a couple of dimes. Ollie was equally busy in the 56-54 win at Howard grabbing 6 rebounds to accompany 11 points.

Nico Hill was joint top scorer for Missouri State as the Grizzlies defeated St Louis 60-54. The former Opunake standout added 4 rebounds and 4 blocks to a dozen points. He then had 11 points  and 6 rebounds in a high scoring 97-94 loss to State Fair.

Nate Wilson flirted with a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds as South Georgia Tech defeated Andrew College 99-73.

Kiani Saxon scored 7 points as Louisiana State Eunice overturned a 14-point half-time deficit to defeat Baton Rouge, in an exciting encounter, 70-68 The former Liston College forward also tallied a season high 9 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Ezrah Vaigafa tallied 7 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists but Neosho County fell 97-82 to Johnson County.

Big Saturday of Division I college hoops reviewed

Grace Hunter scored a team high and season best 14 points as Florida International secured a 72-45 win against UTEP to improve to 3-4 in Conference USA play. Hunter also had one each in the rebounds, assists, steals and blocks categories.

After fouling out in the final minute of regular time Charlisse Leger-Walker could only watch on as Washington State edged home 60-56 against rivals Washington – sister Krystal L-W making two critical free throws with 14 seconds to play to seal the win.

Charlisse finished with a team high 18 points, passing 700 career points in the process, to go with 7 rebounds while Krystal was next best for the Cougars with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.

Amiee Book scored 10 points (3/6FG) as Fresno State eased past Utah State 71-57. Book now just 11 points shy of 900 career points.

Tayla Dalton had 9 points, 3 steals, 3 assists and a pair of rebounds as St Mary’s California were defeated 73-62 at Loyola Marymount.

BYU were far too good for San Francisco winning 99-58. Tegan Graham had 6 assists and 9 points while freshman Arielle Mackey-Williams secured 2 rebounds to go with 4 points.

Kendell Heremaia, with 4 points in Fordham’s 62-54 win over St Bonaventure, went past Ashleigh Karaitiana’s(University of Hawaii, 2012-16) 1167 career points and moves to 7th on the NZ all-time scoring list in women’s NCAA Division I hoops. Heremaia also had 8 rebounds in the game.

Other Women’s Results:

Wofford 73 (Helen Matthews 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) ETSU 51

Houston Baptist 67 (Lauryn Mapusua 2 points) Nicholls 58)

UC Irvine 64 (Olivia Williams 5 points, 2 blocks, 1 rebound, 1 assist) Cal Poly 52

Tobias Cameron scored 14 points (4/7FG, 5/6FT) to accompany 7 rebounds as Abilene Christian won a tight one against Lamar 85-82. 

Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored 12 points to help South Dakota to a 71-58 win against North Dakota. South Dakota now 6-4 in the Summit League.

8 points and 8 rebounds plus 2 assists and a steal from Sam Mennenga helped Davidson prevail over La Salle 77-69.

Sam Waardenburg scored 8 points and corralled a couple of rebounds as Miami retained top spot on the Atlantic Coast Conference ladder with a 73-62 road won at Georgia Tech.

Callum McRae scored 4 points (he also pulled down 8 rebounds) as UC Riverside defeated California State Fullerton 67 74. In so doing the Manawatu forward becomes only the 8th New Zealand player to score 700 points in men’s NCAA Division I basketball.

Flynn Cameron made 5 from 8 from the field for 12 points for the victors.

Other Men’s Results:

New Mexico State 72 (Yuat Alok 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block) Stephen F Austin 58

#22 Colorado State 74 (James Moors 4 points, 1 rebound) Nevada Las Vegas 88

Seven Kiwis score in double figures – latest Div I wrap

South Dakota were beaten 74-62 in overtime by North Dakota State to bring to an end a run of five straight wins. Once again Kruz Perrott-Hunt  was the leading scorer for South Dakota – his  24 points was the fifth time he has passed the 20-point mark this season and also takes him past 500 career points.

Callum McRae was close to a double-double (12 points and 9 rebounds) and Flynn Cameron scored 13 points as UC Riverside were edged 68-62 by Long Beach State.

Sam Waardenburg’s 10 points came courtesy of a perfect 4 from 4 field goals and 2 from 2 from the foul line as Miami beat Virginia Tech, with a game winner on the buzzer, 78-75. Miami improve to 7-2 at the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Those 10 points eased Waardenburg past the 557 points Sean Marks made in his college career (University of California, Berkeley, 1994-98). Both are Rangitoto College alumni but Waardenburg has a way to go before he catches Isaac Fotu (785 points) to claim the outright school record for Division I points.

Other Men’s Results:

Abilene Christian 87 (Tobias Cameron 7 points, 2 assists, 2 steals) UTRGV 85

Davidson 68 (Sam Mennenga 2pts, 4 rebounds, 1 assist) Victoria Commonwealth 70

In women’s action all three kiwis scored as BYU monstered Santa Clara 76-44 to remain top of the West Coast Conference. Tegan Graham scored 16 (6/10FG), Kaylee Smiler 5 and Arielle Mackey-Williams 2 points. Graham now up to 1,099 career points – 10th on the NZ all-time leading scorer list in women’s Div 1 hoops.

There were also three New Zealanders on the scoresheet for St Mary’s in the Bay Area local derby against San Francisco – lost 70-56.

Tayla Dalton scored 9 points, Jade Kirisome 2, while Amy West also scored a couple of points before being forced from the game in the first half with a shoulder injury.

Grace Hunter scored 12 points, making both 3-point attempts in the process, as Florida International won 81-53 at San Antonio.

After a Covid induced 10-day break Washington State Cougars overcame northwest rivals Oregon State 58-51 to improve to 3-3 in Pac-12 fixtures.

Krystal Leger-Walker was prominent for the Cougars making 3 from 6 triples on her way to 11 points, 6 assists, 6 rebounds and a steal. Sister Charlisse backed her up with 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals an assist and a block. 

Helen Matthews did a bit of everything as Wofford beat Tennessee Chattanooga 76-53. The Cantabrian guard had 4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block – for Chattanooga, Rotorua’s Pareunora Pene made 1 from 2 free throws.

Other Women’s Results:

Portland 68 (Emme Shearer 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals) San Diego 55

UC Irvine 81 (Olivia Williams 4 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist) CSU Bakersfield 73

Houston Baptist 58 (Lauryn Mapusua 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal) New Orleans 49

Fordham 55 (Kendell Heremaia 2pts, 3 steals, 1 assist, 3 rebounds) Saint Joseph’s 35

Perrott-Hunt overtakes Tall Blacks legend Stan Hill

Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored in double figures for the 15th time in 18 games for South Dakota as they squeezed past Western Illinois 75-72 for a fifth straight win. The former Rosmini college guard finished with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. South Dakota are up to third on the Summit League standings with a 5-3 record.

Perrott-Hunt now has 490 career points edging past Tall Blacks great Stan Hill into 17th spot on the all-time list of New Zealand scorers in NCAA Division I men’s basketball. Hill scored 489 points at San Jose State University in two seasons between 1976 and 1978.

James Moors scored 8 points (3/3FG, 2/4FT) as Colorado State beat Nevada 77-66 to improve to 6-1 in the Mountain West Conference. The former Westlake forward added 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a block.

Up to #16 on the national rankings, the highest mark in programme history, BYU cruised past San Diego 70-48. Tegan Graham headed the assists column with 5 dimes to accompany 4 points, 3 steals and 3 rebounds while Kaylee Smilerhad 2 assists, 3 points and a rebound. BYU top the West Coast Conference standings with a 5-0 record.

Graham moved past Josie Stockill’s (Colgate University Raiders, 2012-16) 1,081 career points and is now just 8 points shy of Tessa Boagni’s (California State University, Northridge Matadors 2014-18) 1,089 career total. Graham is currently 12thon the all-time list of New Zealand scorers in NCAA Division I women’s basketball

Amiee Book equaled her season best of 18 points (7/12FG, 4/6 3PG) but it was enough to prevent Fresno State falling Colorado State 78-67. The Nelsonian also came up with a pair of blocks and 3 rebounds.

Other Results:

Saint Peters’ New Jersey 56 (Victoria Ikenasio 3 points, 3 rebounds) Manhattan 66

TCU 54 (Tara Manumaleuga 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal) West Virginia 66

Junior College wrap – Jenkins, Tini and Hill the leading performers

Samantha Jenkins was back in high scoring mode as Dawson improved to 12-7 with a 67-49 win over Dakota. Samantha scored a game high 25 points (9/16FG) and demonstrated her all court game by adding 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block – she now has 258 points this season at 14.3ppg.

Keeley Tini scored a game high 16 points, and also secured 8 rebounds as Williston State defeated Miles 60-50. Six points shy of 300 points for the season Keeley ranks 27th on the Junior College Division I scoring list.

For Miles Molly Cockburn scored 6 points while Ella Paleaae-Cook was all hustle with 4 steals and 9 rebounds to go with a couple of points.

The pair were in action again in the 76-62 loss against Bismarck. Molly had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while Ella scored a team high 15 points to go with 7 rebounds, a steal and a block.

Kay-Hauata Phillips and Te Araroa Sopoaga are performing consistently well for Cloud County. In the 92-82 loss to Independence Kay-Hauata produced 15 points and 7 rebounds while Te Araroa had a busy 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Te Oriwa Tuipolotu produced a couple of rebounds in this one.

Averaging 2.8 steals per game Te Araroa is 17th on the national list in this category.

Despite 12 points and 5 rebounds from Ella Bradley and 9 points and 7 rebounds from Maclani Michael Utah State Eastern were frozen out by Snow College 57-51.

Southern Idaho (20-1) also faced Snow and came up with a 73-66 win. Kyra Paniora scored 9 points while Ashlee Strawbridge filled the stats line with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal – Southern Idaho up to number five in the national rankings.

Central Maine Mustangs are now 16-2 after a comfortable 81-49 win against Rhode Island. Leata Te Nana-Williams hit three second half threes on her way to 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Safena Te Nana-Williams had 5 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists while Harata Coleman scored 2 points.

Jordyn Maddix scored 10 points and  Parehuia Delamere 9 points for Western Texas in their 82-60 los to South Plains.

Another former Harbour player Rashaan Smith also scored 10 points as  6th ranked Western Nebraska Cougars mauled Lamar 84-48. The former Birkenhead College standout also came up with 3 blocks and 4 boards. Izzy Cook came up with 8 rebounds and 2 points in the win.

#20 Casper College are tracking nicely with a 17-4 record. Waikato’s Dejaan Schuler contributed 9 points, 4 rebounds an assist and a steal in the Thunderbirds 81-47 victory over Northwest.

Dodge City dodged a bullet in overcoming Cowley 86-85 as it took an overtime period to secure the win. Jenna Rose Mafua played her part with 8 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. 

Yzabelle Tevao had a double of 6 points and 6 rebounds as McCook defeated Hastings 86-43.

Rosie Campbell produced a game high 7 assists to accompany 6 rebounds and 3 points as Southeast defeated Graceland 67-33.

In Men’s action Nico Hill scored a 12 points and had quadruples in rebounds and blocked shots as Missouri State-West Plains beat St Louis 60-54. That was 48 hours after posting a double-double of 19 points (5/11 3PG) and 10 rebounds despite Missouri State going under against Three Rivers (72-57).

Midland College fell 70-66 to New Mexico Military Institute but not before Ollie Hayward posted 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Nate Wilson came away with 5 points and 6 rebounds as South Georgia Tech completed a high scoring 106-88 win against Georgia Highlands.

Despite Neosho County suffering two defeats last week Ezrah Vaigafa still managed to put up good numbers across the two contests averaging 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. 

Huge weekend of college hoops

Yesterday was a huge day of college basketball when no fewer than 20 NCAA Division I games, involving 25 New Zealand players, took place.

Below are the highlights, with pride of place going to Sam Waardenburg who played his 100th game for the University of Miami Hurricanes. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes, although making a comeback from 26-points down, fell 61-60 in a top of the table Atlantic Coast Conference clash with Florida State.

Waardenburg scored 8 points and also added a pair of rebounds and a career high-tying 3 blocks.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt was again amongst the points as South Dakota recorded a fourth straight win defeating St Thomas 90-79. The former Rosmini College standout scored 22 points. Averaging 15 points per game Perrott-Hunt has totaled 81 points across those four victories.

Davidson’s visit to Fordham was notable on two counts. Sam Mennenga constructed a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds for Davidson while another former Harbour representative Zach Riley made his debut for Fordham playing just under 4 minutes.

Mennenga’s career high rebound count included 5 offensive boards – Davidson top of the Atlantic 10 Conference with six consecutive wins. 

Flynn Cameron scored 11 points and Callum McRae sunk 6 points as UC Riverside defeated California State Northridge 77-67. Cameron added 5 rebounds and 2 steals while McRae, who also pulled down 5 boards, also had 4 assists 2 blocks and a steal. Riverside now 3-1 in the Big West.

Dan Fotu enjoyed his most productive outing in recent times as St Mary’s Gaels beat Loyola Marymount 83-51. Fotu finished with 8 points (3/5FG), 6 rebounds and a pair of assists.

Other Men’s Results:

Colorado State 73 (James Moors 5pts, 3 rebounds, 1 block) Air Force 53

Abilene Christian 77 (Tobias Cameron 6 points, 6 rebounds) California Baptist 68

Kendell Heremaia was a rebound shy of a double-double as Fordham beat Davidson 63-51. The former Waikato standout compiled 18 points (4/8 3PG), 9 boards, an assist and a steal.

In women’s Division I action Tera Reed put in a big shift in Southern California’s 68-58 loss to UCLA. Tera scored 13 points (5/8FG) and added 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds in 34 minutes.

Grace Hunter top scored for Florida International in their 87-66 loss at Western Kentucky. The Wellingtonian scored 11 points and dished a pair of assists. 

Tegan Graham had a handy stats line of 4 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals as BYU (5-0) remained unbeaten in West Coast Conference play with a 74-63 win in San Diego.

Other Women’s Results:

Houston Baptist 44 (Lauryn Mapusua 7 points, 2 rebs, 2 assists) A&M Corpus Christie 57

Virginia 48 (McKenna Dale 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist) Duke 57

Wofford 53 (Helen Matthews 2 points, 1 rebound) Mercer 67

St Mary’s 53 (Tayla Dalton 6pts, 2rebs, 2 assists, Amy West 2pts, Jade Kirisone 3rebs, 3 steals, 3 assists) Gonzaga 66

Fresno State 74 (Amiee Book 3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist) New Mexico 80 

UC Irvine 50 (Olivia Williams 3pts, 3 steals, 1 rebound) Long Beach 62

Portland 76 (Emme Shearer 2pts, 2rebs, 2 assists, 1 steal) Santa Clara 71 AOT

Division I Wrap from last two days

Helen Matthews enjoyed an excellent shooting night as Wofford defeated Samford 80-69. The Cantabrian scored 16 points on a highly efficient 6 from 8 from the field, sinking both 3-point attempts. It was a season best for the Kaiapoi native who has now scored exactly 100 points this season.

Playing her first game in over a month former Queen Margaret College standout Grace Hunter top scored for Florida International University as they came up just short against Marshall to slip to 1-3 in Conference USA. The Porirua guard scored 12 points and also added a pair of rebounds and an assist.

The three Kiwis in the St Mary’s Gaels lineup all made valuable contributions in their 78-71 away win at San Diego, with three being the common denominator amongst the stats.

Tayla Dalton made 14 points (5/8FG, 3/3 3PG) – she also had three’s in rebounds, assists and steals. Amy Westcontributed 3 points, 3 rebounds, a block and a steal while Jade Kirisome added 3 rebounds and 3 assists to 4 points.

12 points (4/6 3PG), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block from Kendell Heremaia helped Fordham move to 3-1 in Atalntic-10 play with a 61-53 home win against George Washington.

Also filling the stats line was Olivia Williams as UC Irvine beat Cal State Fullerton 75-67 to move to 4-1 in the Big West Conference. Williams finished with 8 points, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block).

Other Women’s Results:

Portland 59 (Emme Shearer 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal) Gonzaga 68

Fresno State 57 (Amiee Book 5 points) Air Force 66

Southern California 43 (Tera Reed 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 assist) UCLA 66

Saint Peter’s 74 (Victoria Ikenasio 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 1 assist) Canisius 55

Virginia 52 (McKenna Dale 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist) North Carolina 61

Men’s Results:

Abilene Christian 62 (Tobias Cameron 2 points, 1 assist)  Seattle 72

St Mary’s Gaels 73 (Dan Fotu 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist)  Santa Clara 65

New Mexico State 46 (Yuat Alok 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist) Sam Houston 71

Div I Wrap – Career high for Sam Waardenburg

Playing his 99th game for the University of Miami Sam Waardenburg enjoyed a career night as the Hurricanes improved to 6-1 in the ACC with a thumping 85-57 win over North Carolina. The former Junior Tall Blacks forward scored 21 points on an impressive shooting night making 7 from 9 from the field including 5 from 6 three-pointers. 

If all goes to plan Waardenburg will play his 100th game on Saturday against Florida State.

Another former Harbour representative Sam Mennenga tallied 2 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists as Davidson eked out a 63-61 win at Virginia Commonwealth. Davidson off to a 5-0 start in the Atlantic 10 Conference 

Charlisse Leger-Walker was within a rebound of a double-double as she amassed 24 points, 9 rebounds and an assist in Washington State’s 71-58 defeat by UCLA. It was a quieter performance from Krystal L-W with 4 assists and a pair of rebounds.

Tera Reed is more facilitator than scorer these days and delivered a game high 7 assists as USC defeated Washington 73-66. Once again she played all 40 minutes accumulating 5 rebounds, 2 points a block and a steal.

Tera has now drawn level with Micaela Cocks in terms of number of NCAA Division I games played, that’s 125 appearances and equal seventh on the NZ women’s all-time list.

Victoria Ikenasio corralled a career high 9 rebounds in St Peter’s 75-53 defeat by Quinnipiac.

Junior College wrap – January 18

Keeley Tini had a massive double-double of 17 points and 15 rebounds as Williston State sank Bismarck State 70-65. Keeley is sitting 11th on the National Junior College rebounding list with 179 boards and 27th on the scoring list with 267 points.

Ella Bradley scored 22 points for the third time this season (she also totalled 6 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal) as Utah State Eastern beat Community Christian College (92-51) – Ella now has 201 points this season. In the same game  Brooklyn Pouwhare scored 2 points and  Maclani Michael tallied 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals.

Ashlee Strawbridge racked up 20 points (4/5 3PG) as #6 Southern Idaho moved to an imposing 19-1 with a crushing 129-41 win against Colorado Northwestern. 

Jordyn Maddix was one point short of a season high, scoring 19 points (5/10 3PG) as Western Texas went under, 83-67 at Midland College. Parehuia Delamere was also in double figures with 10 points.

Cloud County slipped to 9-8 after defeat at Colby (69-60). Kay-Hauata Phillips top scored for Cloud with 16 points (7/11FG) and also grabbed 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Te Araroa Sopoaga once again filled the box score with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a block.

With 15 points (6/11FG) LeataTe Nana-Williams top scored for Central Maine as they stormed Fort Kent 88-31. Twin sister Safena had an excellent all court game with 7 assists, 6 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals.

Jenna Rose Mafua scored 12 points, with all her points coming in made threes, as Dodge City beat Pratt 84-49.

Sam Jenkins scored 11 points as well as contributing 5 rebounds and trios in steals and assists as Dawson College (11-6) dominated Miles 78-37.

Molly Cockburn posted excellent numbers as Miles College beat United Tribes Tech 75-67. The Cantabrian guard finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and a brace of steals. Shout-out to Ella Paleaae-Cook (2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) who was thrust into the Miles starting five 48-hours after arriving in the States.

Briarley Rogers made 6 points making 2 from 4 three-pointers as Weatherford accounted for Collin County 90-76 to move to 8-4 this season

Izzy Cook scored 8 points and Rashaan Smith 6 points as 10th ranked Western Nebraska dominated McCook to win 97-63. Western Nebraska now an impressive 17-1 this season.

Molly Cockburn posted excellent numbers as Miles College beat United Tribes Tech 75-67. The Cantabrian guard finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and a brace of steals. Shout-out to Ella Paleaae-Cook (2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal) who was thrust into the Miles starting five 48-hours after arriving in the States.

In men’s action Nico Hill scored 16 points (4/6 3PG) and pulled down 6 rebounds in Missouri State-West Plains 71-59 loss to Mineral Area.

Ollie Hayward scored a season high 14 points as Midland College snapped a 5-game losing skid with an 80-72 win against Western Texas.

Despite a 98-60 loss to Odessa Ollie went one better with 15 points making 9 from 11 at the free throw line a couple of days later.

Nate Wilson had 4 points and a pair of rebounds as South Georgia Tech were pipped 76-73 by Central Georgia.

Also suffering a narrow loss were Neosho County, defeated 70-64 by Hesston. Ezrah Vaigafa had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in that one.

19-points apiece for Dalton and Perrott-Hunt

Tayla Dalton scored a career high 19 points to help carry Saint Mary’s College Gaels to an 82-63 win against Loyola Marymount in their West Coast Conference opener. Dalton made 5 threes, also a career high, passing 200 career points in the process.

Despite nursing a shoulder injury Jade Kirisome still came up with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals for the Gaels.

St Mary’s have just 48 hours rest before taking on conference favourites BYU – potentially six Kiwis playing in that fixture.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored 19 points (8/18FG) and pulled down 6 rebounds as South Dakota beat Summit League rivals North Dakota 75-68.

Perrott-Hunt now has 417 career points, edging past Jack Salt (415 points) into 20th spot on the New Zealand men’s NCAA Division I all-time scoring list.

Miami University’s winning streak ended at nine after they were pipped by two made free throws inside the final second of the game to lose 65-64 at Florida State.

Sam Waardenburg had 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals and 2 assists for Miami who still head the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 5-1 record. 

10 points (5/9FG), 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals from Sam Mennenga helped propel Davidson College Wildcats to a 77-67 Atlantic 10 Conference victory against Massachusetts. Davidson off to a strong 3-0 start in A-10 play.