LACEY LOWDOWN

After two rounds of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girl’s Premier Grade competition only Westlake Girls High, St Kentigern College and Rangitoto College boast 2-0 records and with St Kent’s set to host Westlake next Friday one of the early frontrunners will suffer a loss.

Epsom Girls Grammar held a 16-15 early lead before being outscored 27-9 in the second quarter by Takapuna Grammar with Amy McKenzie and Manaia Watson combining for 20 points.

Natalja Burton and Bailey Flavell extended the Takapuna advantage in the third prior to Draun Forbes and Olivia Edhouse providing a late scoring flourish for Epsom in the closing minutes.

Takapuna 85 – McKenzie 22, Flavell 21, Watson 18, Burton 7

EGGS 65 – Edhouse 15, Forbes 14, Kiki Reti 10, Mya Kingi 9, Kyra Tuihalangingie 7, Savana Feite 7

A strong fourth quarter showing propelled St Kentigern College to an exciting 72-68 away win at Mt Albert Grammar.

With Phoenix Kaipo dropping five 3-pointers and Meiya Lemafa posting a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds consistently MAGS led 51-47 at three-quarter time and looked likely headed for a second win of the season.

However St Kent’s guard Ash Tuumaialu reeled off 15 of her team high 20 points in the fourth quarter and with Jorja Dixon and Mischa McLister knocking down triples they outscored MAGS 25-17 in the frame to steal the win.

MAGS 68 – Kaipo 18, Lemafa 20/13rebs, Emina Tiatia 5/10rebs, Peyton Uri 6, Lara Cocker-Lemalie 6, Gianna Tiatia 6

St Kentigern 72 – A Tuumaialu 20, Dixon 16, Kilani Tuineau 14/13rebs, Gigi Forster 11

A 2-point game at 72-70 midway into the last quarter Rangitoto College pulled away in the final minutes to win a close one 82-75 at Northcote College.

With the result in doubt Rangitoto were well served in the closing stages by Maddi Skelton, Kyree Rakena and Sienna Maurice – all three knocking down triples.

The game also featured two 30-point performances with Mela Andrews scoring 31 points for Rangi while Northcote guard DJ Hannah trumped that with 37.

Hannah received strong support from centre Lily Morgan (21 points) while for Rangitoto Kyree Rakena scored 15, Maddie Skelton made 14 and Zaara Sain had 11 rebounds and 9 assists to accompany 6 points.

Northcote 75 – Hannah 37, Morgan 21, Misha Aitchison 8, Ema Lavemaau 5

Rangitoto 82 – Andrews 31, Rakena 15, Skelton 14/5assists, Sienna Maurice 8, Sain 6/11rebs/9assists

Manurewa High School entertained Westlake Girls High and went down 81-31 but unfortunately we don’t have full details of the game. Emma Schroeder piled on 31 points for Westlake with Imani Rasmussen (8 points and 12 rebounds) and Kodee Williams-Sefo (6 points and 10 rebounds) going close to double-doubles.

Manurewa 31

Westlake 81 – Schroeder 31, Zenthia Stowers 9/5assists, Rasmussen 8/12rebs, Williams-Sefo 6/10rebs, Elin Vincent 6

Auckland Grammar School and Westlake Boys High School are the only two teams to  come through unscathed after two rounds of the highly competitive Auckland Secondary Schools Boy’s Premier Grade competition. The pair are two from two over the opening two weeks with all other teams having lost at least once.

Auckland Grammar won an entertaining early season tussle at Rosmini College 96-89. There was little between the teams in the early exchanges – Rosmini ahead 46-45 at half-time.

Grammar made their move in the third as they established a double figure lead (67-57) and that was still the margin at the three-quarter mark (74-64) after Jackson Kiss had scored 14 points in the spell.

Chris Wyllie scored 10 points in the fourth to reduce the deficit to single figures but 12 from Ryan Hunt and some key plays from Roman Ma’afu-Moerua ensured the visiting fans left the happier.

Jameer Reed paced Rosmini with 31 points with his fellow 2024 New Zealand U17 selection Jackson Kiss leading the Grammar effort.

Rosmini 89 – Reed 31, C Wyllie 21, Liam Bates 21, J Wyllie 7, Bart Jackowski 7

AGS 96 – Kiss 30, Hunt 26, Ma’afu-Moerua 13, Brigham Hakaraia 8, Roera Tipene 7

Westlake Boys also made it two from two with a convincing 118-73 victory at Sacred Heart. Lake piled on 59 first half points and, enjoying double figure contributions from seven players, went on to win all four quarters.

Troy Supple paced Westlake with 24 points with 18 from Oscar Neville the next best however it was very much a team effort from the Swans.

Sam Snowdon led the Sacred Heart effort with a game high 29 points – skipper Jamie Vile adding 19.

Sacred Heart  73 – Snowdon 29, Vile 19, See Ieremia 9

Westlake 118 – Supple 24, Neville 18, Noah Rasmussen 15, Andre Bautista 12, Daly Pohio 11, Harper Wilson 10, Malakhai Jewell-Joyner 10

A strong first half showing was the catalyst to St Kentigern College securing an 84-77 away win at Mt Albert Grammar.

St Kent’s were 20-13 ahead at the first break and stretched that out to 54-27 at the half-time with Ari Taylor and Hunter Te Ratana doing damage.

MAGS were hampered by losing Dante Tapula’aia to a first quarter injury but fought back well in the second half with Lucas Cartwright and Mose Leiasamaivao leading the revival.

Fourth quarter triples from Te Ratana, Charlie Hughes and Cooper Lepou sealed the victory for St Kent’s and a first Prems win for coach Josh Davis.

MAGS 77 – Leiasamaivao 23, Cartwright 20, Mikey Moses 12, Dayton Simkin 9

St Kentigern 84 – Taylor 23, Te Ratana 21, Lepou 11, Hughes 10

St Peter’s College forged a 23-15 first quarter lead at Mt Roskill Grammar and with double figure contributions from Gus Dallow and Mario Nola led 37-29 at half-time.

Tino Seuiavatele and Zachan Kemen were the best in a spirited Roskill effort but it wasn’t quite enough to see off the Saints challenge.

It doesn’t get any easier for Roskill as they visit Auckland Grammar next Friday while St Peter’s will entertain Sacred Heart.

Mt Roskill 64 – Seuiavatele 22, Kemen 13, Wai Tonga 9

St Peter’s 77 – Nola 24, Dallow 20, Spencer Carr 14, Bryan Marsters 7

Newly promoted Manurewa High School and Rangitoto College had mixed fortunes in Round 1 of the 2024 Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grade competition.

Manurewa hosted Mt Albert Grammar School and went down 72-55 to last season’s runners-up who were paced by Sahara Katene’s 22 points. Meiya Lemafa and Peyton Uri leant helping hands with 13 points each.

Emily Tanira top scored for Manurewa with 18 points while Taisha Tanira netted a dozen and Beautiful Campbell sunk 11.

Rangitoto College, under new coach Brooke Blair, enjoyed a return to the top flight with a resounding 78-36 victory against an under-strength Epsom Girls Grammar side.

Epsom relied heavily on the scoring threat of Ivy Tino and Mya Kingi, who impressed on debut, while Rangi enjoyed contributions from across the board with seven players scoring 6 points or more. The bouquets in this instance go to Sienna Maurice and Maddy Skelton who scored 18 and 16 points respectively.

St Kentigern College, led by Kilani Tuineau’s 29 points and Ashleigh Tuumaialui’s 15, proved too strong for Takapuna Grammar, protecting home court with a 76-55 win.

Takapuna guard Bailey Flavell posted the highest individual score of the round with 31 points while Amy McKenzie chipped in with 11.

Westlake Girls successfully overcame the challenge of a spirited display from Northcote College. Northcote only trailed by 5 points (68-63) with five minutes to play before the defending champions registered an 84-72 win.

Lily Fotu (20 points) impressed for Westlake as did forward Imani Rasmussen who tallied 19. All the Northcote starters played strong hands led by skipper DJ Hannah’s 17 points and Lily Morgan’s 16.

Epsom Girls Grammar 36 – Tino 15, Kingi 11 Rangitoto College 78 – Maurice 18, Skelton 16, Eva Veale 11, Payton Laurence 9, Zoe Magiera 8, Mela Andrews 7, Kyree Rakena 6

St Kentigern College 76 – Tuineau 29, A Tuumaialui 15, Jorja Dixon 9, Jenette Tuumaialui 6 Takapuna Grammar 55 – Flavell 31, McKenzie 11

Westlake Girls High 84 – Fotu 20, Rasmussen 19, Emma Schroeder 14, Kodee Williams-Sefo 8, Katie Moors 7, Brennah Latoalevi-Nosa 6 Northcote College 72 – Hannah 17, Morgan 16, Lisa Gear 11, Ema Lavemaau 9, Misha Aitchison 8, Abby Allan 6

Manurewa High 55 – E Tanira 18, T Tanira 12, B Campbell 11, Shirley Tuilimu 8 Mt Albert Grammar 72 – Katene 22, Lemafa 13 Uri 13, Emina Tiatia 7, Lara-Poppy Coker-Lemalie 7

No fewer than four head coaches took charge of their teams for the first time in Friday night’s opening round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boy’s Premier Basketball competition, and a fifth was pacing the sideline for his first Premier game.

Martin Windsor has overseen the Mount Roskill Grammar School Boys programme for the past six years but the visit to Westlake Boys was historic for him, the team and the school with Roskill having last played in Prems back in 1995!

However they will have to wait a little longer for their first win in the top grade in almost 30 years after going down 96-79 at Westlake Boy’s High.  

Josh Reeves took charge of St Peter’s College as they strolled up Mountain Road for the central city derby against Auckland Grammar School. Grammar proved too good winning 98-70.

There had to be a first time winner at St Kentigern College with Josh Davis in charge of the hosts for the first time and Sonny Tuaputa, the trusted assistant to Matt Lacey for the last seven years, now holding the reins at Rosmini College.

It was Rosmini that claimed the spoils with a solid 99-78 victory.

Sione Maama made it a winning debut as Head Coach at Sacred Heart College as his charges saw of the challenge of Mt Albert Grammar winning 84-66.

Sam Snowdon drained 7 threes on his way to 37 points and with Jamie Vile posting 21 Heart made it a perfect start to the season.

MAGS had made the better start forging a 24-18 lead before Heart completely bossed the second quarter to take a 48-30 lead into the main break.

The young MAGS team were well served by Dante Tapula’ala, Mose Leiasamaivao and Lucas Cartwright but were outgunned by Snowdon and Co in this one.

Sacred Heart 84 – Snowdon 37, Vile 21, Cameron Stewart 9, Max Haaraia 6

Mt Albert Grammar 66 – Tapula’ala 20, Mose Leiasamaivao 16, Cartwright 11, Mikey Moses 10

Despite having a couple of starters absent Auckland Grammar stamped their authority on proceedings in the opening quarter against St Peter’s, surging to a 28-13 lead. St Peter’s had the better of the second spell but still trailed 46-38 at half-time.

With skipper Ryan Hunt scoring 18, Lawson Pryor making 20, Jackson Kiss 17 and Sol Anderson 13 Grammar retained control in the second half.

Mario Nola led the way for the Saints with 14 points – Gus Dallow and Bailey Smith also made double digit contributions.

Auckland Grammar 98 – Pryor 20, Hunt 18, Kiss 17, Anderson 13, Brigham Hakerara 8, Taye Thomson 7

St Peter’s College 70 – Nola 14, Smith 11, Dallow 10, Spencer Carr 9, Bryan Marsters 8

On their return to the top flight Mt Roskill Grammar looked as if they may be on the end of a hiding when they trailed 33-12 after ten minutes at Westlake as Noah Rasmussen and Troy Supple dominated the glass and the points in the opening exchanges. Rasmussen was on his way to a career high 38 points – the highest individual score of the opening round.

To their credit Roskill steadied thereafter going toe to toe with Lake throughout the remainder of the contest.

Haisem Osman and Josh Wadams led the way for Roskill while Daley Pohio, on debut, made a strong impression for the hosts.

Shout out to Westlake for producing a game day programme and hanging (long overdue) championship banners to mark their five National Championship successes (2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013).

Westlake Boys High 96 – Rasmussen 38, Supple 24, Pohio 12

Mt Roskill Grammar 79 – Osman 19, Wadams 17, Pepe Seuiavatele 12, Wai Tonga 11

Despite 26 points from St Kentigern guard Cooper Lepou, Rosmini College were able to forge a 99-78 victory at St Kent’s.

St Kent’s trailed by just 5 points at three-quarter time (71-66) before Rosmini pulled away in the closing stages with Jameer Reed and Liam Bates contributing 18 of their 27 fourth quarter points.

The Te Ratana brothers tallied 27 points for the hosts while the Wyllie’s, Josh and Chris, registered 39 for Rosmini.

St Kentigern College 78 – Lepou 26, H Te Ratana 14, C Te Ratana 13, Noah Heke 8

Rosmini College 99 – J Wyllie 21, Reed 19, Bates 19, C Wyllie 18, Bart Jackowski 14

The promotion-relegation games to decide the make-up of the Boy’s and Girl’s Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grades were played on Friday night.

Two new teams will compete in the Girl’s Premier Grade while Mt Roskill Grammar School (pictured) will replace Rangitoto College after a thrilling 75-73 win in the Boy’s decider.

The winning basket was made by Alfred Kerr with the last play of the game – joy for Roskill and despair for Rangitoto.

Rangitoto 73 – Max Mudford 26, Michael Ropotini 21, William Cheng 17

Mt Roskill 75 – Haisem Osman 16, Alfred Kerr 15, Wai Tonga 14, Ezra Ogbuze 10, Zachan Kemen 10

In the other Boy’s play-off encounter St Peter’s College remain in premier grade after seeing off the challenge of Liston College with a comfortable 96-63 victory.

There was better news for Rangitoto College with the senior girls returning to Premier Grade after a one-sided 121-23 win against Baradene College. Rangitoto are promoted alongside Manurewa High School who replace St Mary’s College for the 2024 season commencing after the April school holidays.

Rangitoto 121 – Sienna Maurice 22, Kyree Rakena 20, Maddie Skelton 18, Eva Veale 14, Mela Andrews 13, Zoe Magiera 9

Baradene 23 – Odile Dolan 9, Talia Uluinayau 4

Westlake Girls High School defeated Mt Albert Grammar School 90-61 to win the Zone 1 National Championships Qualifying Tournament, at Eventfinda Stadium on Saturday evening. In so doing Westlake have completed the double of winning the Auckland Premier Grade title and the Qualifying Tournament for the second successive year.

MAGS, with Jorjia Fiu nailing a triple and Wai Clarken in good scoring touch, had parity at the end of a fast flowing opening quarter – the scores locked at 21 points apiece.

Clarken and Fiu each made a brace of scores in the second but with Elin Vincent and Amy Pateman dropping triples and Zenthia Stowers piercing the MAGS defence, Westlake had a 40-30 lead by half-time.

Phoenix Kaipo nailed a triple for MAGS before Westlake skipper Rebecca Moors amassed 15 third quarter points to carry her team to a commanding 71-43 lead at three-quarter time.

Westlake had little trouble negotiating their way through the final frame and will now look forward to defending their National title in Palmerston North at the end of the month.

Westlake 90 – Moors 27, Lily Fotu 14, Pateman 13, Emma Schroeder 13, Stowers 8

MAGS 61 – Clarken 33, Fiu 11, Kaipo 5

Joining Westlake and MAGS at Nationals will be fellow Prems teams Epsom Girls Grammar, Takapuna Grammar and Baradene College. They will be joined by Senior A champions Manurewa High School who it is believed will be making their first ever trip to the National champs.

Other Results – Top 6 teams all qualifying for Nationals.

3^rd/4^th Playoff: Manurewa High 62 Takapuna Grammar 44

5^th/6^th Playoff: Epsom Girls Grammar 54 Baradene College 48

7^th/8^th Playoff: Northcote College 86 Rangitoto College 68

Rosmini College defeated Mt Albert Grammar School 66-51, to win the Zone 1 National Championships Qualifying Tournament, at Eventfinda Stadium on Saturday evening.

The two teams had met in the Auckland Prems Final the previous week, a game in which MAGS prevailed 79-78, but this time around it was Rosmini that triumphed in a relatively low scoring game.

Rosmini were paced by Zion Anderson (21 points) and Jameer Reed (15 points) while for MAGS, Romani Keith-Peraua tallied 16 points, Harri Coker-Grey 13 and Kade Cartwright 11.

Rosmini made the better start chalking up 27 first quarter points to lead by 13 with Harlan Roudon and Reed making some telling scores.

Coker-Grey produced 8 second quarter points but MAGS fell further behind as Anderson’s 8 points and a Chris Wyllie triple meant the Rosmini lead was 46-29 at half-time.

Neither side could find their offensive fluency in the third although Coker-Grey’s buzzer beater reduced the margin by two points (56-41) with ten minutes to play.

Wyllie made the opening score of the fourth period but then the Rosmini shooting went ice cold as MAGS put together a scoring run and when Louis Uri made a trade mark inside basket the Rosmini lead was down to eleven points (60-49) with just under 5 minutes to play.

Rosmini found a response through Reed and when Anderson came up with an athletic finish the Rosmini advantage was back to 15 points and the championship title secured.

Rosmini 66 – Anderson 21, Reed 15, Bart Jackowski 8, C Wyllie 7, Roudon 6

MAGS 51 – Keith-Peraua 16, Coker-Grey 13, Cartwright 11, Louis Uri 8, Dante Tapulaaia 3/9rebs

The final day of the tournament, one in which an unprecedented number of Premier teams failed to qualify for Nationals, sorted out the remaining qualifying spots for the secondary schools showpiece event in Palmerston North beginning September 25.

Prems teams St Peter’s College, Sacred Heart College and previous winners Westlake Boys and Rangitoto College will not be travelling to the Manawatu at the end of the month. 

Congratulations to Dilworth School, Mt Roskill Grammar and Pukekohe High School on securing places alongside Auckland Grammar, St Kentigern College and the two grand-finalists.

Other Results (the top seven teams qualifying for Nationals):

3^rd/4^th Playoff: Auckland Grammar 87 Dilworth 59

5^th/6^th Playoff: St Kentigern College beat Mt Roskill Grammar in overtime 88-87

7^th/8^th Playoff: Pukekohe High beat Northcote College 78-71

Manurewa High School claimed the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Senior A Championship with an exciting 74-71 victory over Rangitoto College at Trusts Arena on Thursday the first defeat of the season inflicted on Rangi.

The game featured two outstanding scoring performances by Bella Manu-Moore (33 points for Manurewa) and Eva Veale (35 points for Rangitoto) although ultimately it was Manu-Moore’s 14 fourth quarter points that decided the contest.

The first half was a tale of contrasting fortunes for both teams. Manurewa scored the first 13 points of the game and led 24-12 at quarter time with Emily Tanira and Shirley Tuilimu in good scoring touch.

The tide turned in the second quarter as Veale found her scoring touch and when Madison Skelton nailed a three-pointer Rangitoto had a 38-32 lead.

The third period was split 24 points apiece with Manu-Moore and Beautiful Campbell doing the damage for Manurewa while Veale and Mela Andrews kept Rangi in the lead.

At the mid-point of the fourth quarter Wai Hetaraka-Brown gave Manurewa their first lead since early in the second period and from there the teams went basket for basket. 

Inside the last two minutes Andrews would make it a two point game and then Veale a one-point margin.

However Manurewa’s dominance on the boards was highlighted by their final two scores of the game with Manu-Moore crashing the offensive boards on both occasions for put back baskets – match and championship winning plays.

Rangitoto 71 – Veale 35, Andrews 12, Skelton 11

Manurewa 74 – Manu-Moore 33, E Tanira 15, Campbell 7, Tuilimu 6 

The Boy’s Senior A Final was equally exciting with Liston College defeating Mt Roskill Grammar School 60-58 in a game that was in the balance until the last play of the game.

Liston edged the opening quarter 14-11 and in a tense opening half increased their advantage to 31-23 at the main break with Dhon Lao scoring 12 points for Liston.

Haisem Osman gave Manurewa a 35-33 lead as they had much the better of the second quarter. With Mitchell Greenaway scoring 11 points in the period Roskill were 43-39 ahead at the three-quarter time mark.

A couple of Daniel Greenaway scores kept Roskill ahead (48-45) but they were outscored through the middle stages of the fourth and trailed 54-53 with under four minutes to play after a Lao basket.

A transition basket from Osman gave Roskill a narrow 55-54 lead before a banked three from Rasheed Ieremia, with 2:45 on the clock, restored the Liston lead (57-55).

A Ronnie Juan free-throw increased the lead to three only for Ngawaka Rakete to cut it to one with 41 seconds to play.

Both teams created scoring opportunities in the closing seconds but it was successful free-throws from Lao and Ieremia that sealed the win and the title for Liston.

Mt Roskill 58 – M Greenaway 17, D Greenaway 10, Osman 9, Rakete 7, Ryan Aramoana 7

Liston 60 – Ieremia 20, Lao 15, Jeydin Ale 8, Juan 7

Westlake Girls High School claimed their third successive Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade Championship with a 92-68 Grand Final victory over Mt Albert Grammar School at Trusts Arena on Thursday.

Amy Pateman scored a game high 31 points with her fellow Westlake starters all making big contributions. Rebecca Moors sailed close to a double-double with 20 points and 8 rebounds, Lily Fotu scored 15 points, Emma Schroeder 12 and Zenthia Stowers 10.

Wai Clarken led the way for MAGS with 20 points, Jorjia Fiu tallied 16 and Phoenix Kaipo chipped in with 9 points.

Westlake got off to a fast start and when Fotu landed from deep MAGS, trailing 16-6 needed a timeout.

Clarken connected from beyond the arc on the resumption but the Westlake lead, with Fotu contributing 8 points, was 24-12 at the quarter mark.

MAGS made a strong move through the early stages of the second period – a steal and layup from Emina Tiatia, following scores from Clarken and Meiya Lemafa meant the Westlake lead was reduced to two points (32-30).

However Westlake would then construct a 16-2 finish to the half as Moors, Schroeder and Fotu scored a brace of baskets apiece – Westlake ahead 48-32 at half-time.

Stowers transition baskets extended the Westlake lead before a smart in bounds play by Fiu and triples from Clarken and Nia Roberts provided the MAGS supporters with some hope.

Pateman and Moors put an end to that as Westlake closed the quarter with a 70-51 lead.

That advantage climbed beyond thirty points early in the fourth and although MAGS pegged back the deficit the Westlake victory was sealed long before the final whistle.

Westlake 92 – Pateman 31, Moors 20/8rebs, Fotu 15, Schroeder 12, Stowers 10

MAGS 68 – Clarken 20, Fiu 14, Kaipo 9, E Tiatia 6