LACEY LOWDOWN

The penultimate round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade, played on Friday night, was overshadowed by the news that Westlake Girls High School have been deducted 30 competition points (10 wins) for playing an ineligible player.

With the deducted points and all 10 games awarded to their opponents, the defending titleholders find themselves at the bottom of the Premier standings meaning there will be new champions crowned later this month.

The decision, recently handed down by College Sport Auckland, also has major ramifications for the promotion-relegation games in 2025. A likely scenario is that the 2024 Senior A runners-up will have to face Westlake, the reigning national champions, in a one off winner takes all game in early 2025 – hardly a fair reward for whichever team it is that are striving for a cherished spot amongst Auckland’s elite high school teams next year.

It begs the question as to why College Sport Auckland took so long to hand down the punishment to Westlake given that scoresheets, with all player names, have been arriving at CSA headquarters since early May?

Speculation is rife but for now it’s back to the playing court where Manurewa High School, Senior A champions in 2023, have wrapped up the 2024 regular season Premier title and with it secured home advantage in the semi-finals in a couple of weeks’ time.

On Friday they defeated challengers St Kentigern College 72-59 with Taisha Tanira scoring 19 points and Bella Manu-Moore 17.

St Kent’s started well with inside scores from Kilani Tuineau and a three from Gigi Forster but 9 points from Manu-Moore propelled Manurewa to a 17-14 lead.

Charlie Yock replied with 9 points for St Kent’s but a triple from Taisha Tanira and more points from Manu-Moore took the hosts to a 39-32 half-time lead.

The third period, with Aynslee Kakapu scoring 7 points, was won decisively by Manurewa 20-11.

Tuineau took her tally to a game high 29 points but Manurewa were able to ease to a relatively comfortable win.

Manurewa 72 – T Tanira 19, Manu-Moore 17, Kakapu 9, E Tanira 9, Shirley Tuilimu 8

St Kent’s 66 – Tuineau 23, Yock 10, Rosie Ward 8, Gigi Forster 8

Northcote College moved into the play-off picture with a fourth consecutive win, a 102-74 victory against Takapuna Grammar School.

Northcote put the foot to the gas from the outset scoring 31 first quarter points – 15 of those from Lisa Gear – to open up a 13-point lead.

Natalja Burton, headed for a season best 29 points, scored 9 second quarter points but DJ Hannah made 8 in response and with Ema Lavemaau draining a triple the Northcote lead was 59-38 at half-time.

Despite being without Bailey Flavell (attending the Tall Ferns Selection Camp in California) Takapuna had the better of the third quarter with Burton and Bella Neville leading the way.

Trailing 76-60 at three-quarter time Neville knocked down her fifth triple of the game although Northcote answered with a threes from Misha Aitchison and Hannah as they eased to win number eight.

Northcote 102 – Hannah 31, Gear 27, Aitchison 16, Lavemaau 13, Lily Morgan 10

Takapuna 74 – Burton 29, Neville 15, Amy McKenzie 8, Brodie Webb 7

Mt Albert Grammar returned to winning ways with a big 98-50 home win against Rangitoto College.

MAGS were led by Sahara Katene and she scored 13 of her game high 30 points in the opening spell as the hosts opened up a 28-14 advantage.

Mela Andrews scored 8 points on the bounce for Rangi but triples from Peyton Uri, Summer Tawera and Katene helped the hosts pile on 57 first half points to lead by 30.

Eva Veale (21 points) led the Rangi effort in the second half but a trio of threes from Tawera highlighted a strong performance from MAGS.

MAGS 98 – Katene 30, Meiya Lemafa 16, Uri 14, Tawera 12, Nia Roberts 8

Rangitoto 50 – Veale 21, Andrews 13, Maddison Skelton 8, Moana Wynyard 4/10rebs

Westlake cast their tribulations to one side as they registered a 72-39 road win against Epsom Girls Grammar.

All five Westlake starters got on the scoreboard as they opened up a 23-3 lead before Epsom responded through Ivy Tino and Talia Vea, who made a welcome return to their ranks.

Up 42-17 at half-time Westlake put the game to bed with a dominant third spell (18-6) with Emme Schroeder scoring ten points and Honor Coates dropping her third triple.

A brace of threes from both Tino and Forbes delighted the home supporters but with Lily Fotu and Zenthia Stowers joining Schroeder in double figures Lake eased through the fourth to claim the win.

Epsom 39 – Forbes 16, Tino 11, Kiyara Te Amo 6

Westlake 72 – Schroeder 15, Stowers 14, Fotu 11, Coates 9, Imani Rasmussen 8

Standings:

10-3 Manurewa

8-4 Takapuna, St Kentigern

8-5 Northcote

7-6 Rangitoto

4-8 MAGS

3-10 Epsom

2-10 Westlake

* St Kentigern College v MAGS and Westlake v Takapuna to be played on Monday August 5

Auckland Grammar School have claimed the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade regular season title with a round to spare.

Having lost at Westlake Boys High in overtime earlier in the season Grammar made no mistake on their home court as a strong second half performance, led by Jackson Kiss (32 points), propelled them to an 83-69 victory.

Oscar Neville, Harper Wilson and Troy Supple enabled Westlake to finish the first quarter with a 23-20 lead and after back-to-back threes from Jack Pauga they led 31-26 midway through the second period.

However, AGS then put together a 10-4 run to head into the half-time break with a narrow 36-35 advantage.

The third stanza was all about Brigham Hakaraia and Kiss. The duo combined for 20 points in the spell as the AGS advantage climbed into double figures.

A Harper Wilson baseline jumper on the three-quarter time buzzer kept the Westlake hopes alive although their deficit was still nine points (58-49) with ten minutes remaining.

New Zealand U17 international Kiss then proceeded to put together an individual highlights package as the AGS lead climbed towards twenty points in the early stages of the fourth. Roman Maafu, Carver  Gibson and Sol Anderson added to the entertainment as Grammar eased through the final quarter to seal top spot on the Prems ladder.

AGS 83 – Kiss 32, Lawson Pryor 12, Maafu 11, Hakaraia 8, Ryan Hunt 7

Westlake 69 – Troy Supple 11, Troy Wentworth 10, H Wilson 10, Noah Rasmussen 9, Pauga 9, Neville 8

Rosmini College edged ahead of Westlake Boys into second place on the ladder following an 84-63 away win at Mt Roskill Grammar.

Bart Jackowski and Jameer Reed scored 8 points each as Rosmini had the better of the opening ten minutes to lead 23-19.

Tino Seuiavatele and Zach Keman were in good scoring touch for Roskill although Jackowski and Chris Wyllie were performing equally as well for Rosmini as they reached the turn 43-32 ahead.

Threes from Wai Tonga, Seuiavatele and Keman were matched by Wyllie, Jackowski and Xavier Wells as the Rosmini lead grew to 67-46 with ten minutes to play.

Will Thornley put the finishing touches to the Rosmini victory in the closing minutes.

Mt Roskill 63 – Seuiavatele 24, Keman 19, Silas Toala 5, Ian Bresquar 5

Rosmini 84 – Jackowski 21, C Wyllie 19, Reed 9, Hunter Johns 7, Thornley 6

St Kentigern College strengthened their grip on the fourth play-off spot with an 86-70 win against Sacred Heart College.

Sacred Heart were the quickest out the blocks as 8 points from Cam Stewart plus three triples from Sam Snowdon helped them to a 25-20 quarter time lead.

The tide turned in the second period as Heart were kept to 9 points and with Ari Taylor, Noah Heke and Finn Jorgensen providing the offensive weaponry St Kent’s were 39-34 ahead at half-time.

Snowdon dropped his fifth three while Jamie Vile and See Ieremia found ways to the basket as the two teams went toe-to-toe in the third. At the other end Cooper Lepou and Hunter Te Ratana combined for 21 points to enable St Kent’s to take a 62-56 lead into the last break.

Jason Columbus scored 5 points for Heart in the final period but it was one St Kent’s had the better of as Hunter Te Ratana worked his way to 30 points while brother Cooper showed some nice touches in the closing minutes.

Sacred Heart 70 – Snowdon 23, Stewart 14, Vile 13, Ieremia 7

St Kentigern 86 – H Te Ratana 30, Lepou 15, Heke 11, Jamie Griffin 8, C Te Ratana 7

In the other game St Peter’s College defeated Mt Albert Grammar School 82-51, a victory that is believed to be St Peter’s first win over MAGS at senior level.

Spencer Carr was again in good form for the Saints with 22 points while Gus Dallow scored 19, Mario Nola 14 and Bryan Marsters 8.

Full details of the game were unavailable at the time of publishing.

Standings:

12-1 AGS

10-2 Rosmini

10-3 Westlake

7-6 St Kentigern

6-7 St Peter’s

3-9 MAGS

3-10 Sacred Heart

0-13 Mt Roskill

*Mt Albert Grammar v Rosmini College fixture to be played on Monday August 5th.

In Round 12 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade, played on Friday night, Westlake Girls continued their dominance at the top of the ladder with a convincing home win against Mt Albert.

Westlake, back in NZ after a historic bronze medal at the ISF World School Basketball Championships in Macao, China chalked up an 85-35 win against MAGS.

The defending champions, led by Emma Schroeder’s 31 points, were 48-13 to the good at half-time and went on to win comfortably.

The victory means Westlake have wrapped up the regular season title with three games to play.

Westlake 85 – Schroeder 31, Zenthia Stowers 15, Charlotte Mawston 12, Imani Rasmussen 10, Lily Fotu 7

MAGS 52 – Ioane 9, Lara Cocker-Lemalie 8, Amelia Nathan 5, Peyton Uri 5

Manurewa look assured of a top-4 finish after a 66-53 victory over Epsom Girls.

Bella Manu-Moore scored 14 of her team high 19 points in the first half as Manurewa forged a 37-24 lead.

Draun Forbes and Kiyara Te Amo led a strong second half response from Epsom but double figure efforts from Lola Kakapu and the Tanira sisters Taisha and Emily carried Manurewa to a seventh win.

The Epsom loss means that they are consigned to a seventh or eighth place finish this season. Therefore they will have to play a promotion/relegation game next season to maintain Prems status in 2025.

Manurewa 66 – Manu-Moore 19, Kakapu 13, T Tanira 12, E Tanira 10

Epsom 53 – Forbes 23, Te Amo 9, Kiki Reti 6

A strong second half performance propelled Rangitoto College to a 73-69 North Shore derby win over Takapuna Grammar,

Grammar, with Amy McKenzie and Mania Watson to the fore, were comfortably placed at half-time leading 44-28.

Takapuna were held to 7 points in the third and with Eva Veale, on her way to a game high 27 points, leading the way Rangi were within striking distance at three-quarter time trailing 51-47.

A Maddison Skelton score took Rangi into the lead before a brace of threes from Watson restored the Takapuna advantage.

However it was short lived as the inside presence of Moananui Wynyard, coupled with the efforts of Bella Anderson and Veale allowed Rangi to hold of the hosts down the stretch.

Takapuna 69 – McKenzie 26, Watson 18, Natalja Burton 13, Amelia Glenn 9

Rangitoto 73 – Veale 27, Anderson 12, Wynyard 11, Skelton 8

There was also a come from behind victory at St Kentigern College came from 51-43 down at three-quarter time to snatch a 67-66 win.

Misha Aitchison couldn’t have timed her effort any better as she scored all her 8 points – including a pair of threes – in the fourth. DJ Hannah also drained a pair of triples, the Northcote skipper leading from the front with 10 points down the stretch.

The Northcote victory was achieved despite the scoring effort of the round coming from St Kent’s forward Kilani Tuineau who tallied 34 points. Charlie Yock was also in double figures with 13 points while Lisa Gear and Hannah were the double digit scorers for the visitors.

St Kent’s 66 – Tuineau 34, Yock 13, Manawa Rogers 9, Jeanette Tuumaialu 6

Northcote 67 – Hannah 30, Gear 22, Aitchison 8, Lily Morgan 7

Standings:

11-0 Westlake

7-4 Takapuna

7-5 Manurewa

6-5 St Kentigern

6-6 Rangitoto

5-7 Northcote

2-9 MAGS

2-10 Epsom

*Mt Albert Grammar v St Kentigern College to be rearranged

*Takapuna Grammar v Westlake Girls to be rearranged

Jackson Kiss, Hunter Te Ratana, Jameer Reed and Gus Dallow returned to action as the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade regular season title race continued. The top three teams all won their Round 12 fixtures while St Kentigern College moved a step closer to locking in a top four berth with victory over Mt Roskill Grammar.

Sacred Heart guards Sam Snowdon and Jamie Vile combined for 52 points but a more balanced scoring effort, with five players in double figures, carried Auckland Grammar to a 92-65 victory.

Grammar welcomed back Jackson Kiss after his outstanding efforts at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey and he, along with Lawson Pryor, scored 10 points in the opening period as Grammar built a 30-18 lead.

Vile had an identical number for Heart in the second but Grammar were almost out of reach with a 52-32 half-time lead.

Snowdon and Vile kept the points ticking over but Sol Anderson, Carver Gibson and Roma Ma’afua-Moerua carried the visitors through the second half without any major alarms.

Sacred Heart 65 – Vile 31, Snowdon 21

AGS 101 – Kiss 15, Anderson 14, Gibson 14, Ma’afu-Moerua 12, Pryor 10

Westlake maintained the pressure on AGS at the head of the table with a 97-62 home win.

Lucas Cartwright drained a couple of early threes for the visitors although Lake stamped their authority on proceedings with a 28-14 opening salvo.

A Nic Bamford three was cancelled out by a Dayton Simkin trey but eight second quarter points from Oscar Neville carried Westlake to a 52-29 interval lead.

The third was something of a three-point shoot-out as Simkin, Cartwright and Logan Wood were successful for MAGS while Troy Wentworth, Noah Rasmussen and Bamford returned fire for the hosts.

Rasmussen and Cartwright chalked up 20-point games but with a 74-52 three-quarter time lead Westlake were able to ease their way to victory – a late triple from Troy Supple capping the performance.

Westlake 97 – Rasmussen 22, Supple 14, Wentworth 13, Neville 11, Tai Rhodes 9

MAGS 62 – Cartwright 20, Simkin 10, Wood 9, Mikey Moses 8

St Peter’s guard Gus Dallow and Rosmini College forward Jameer Reed, returning to their respective teams after enjoying success at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey, were involved in a thriller which was eventually won 96-87 by Rosmini in overtime.

Trailing 75-66, after a Sunny Nair triple, with a little over three minutes to play in regulation St Peter’s mounted a stirring comeback in the closing minutes.

When Bailey Smith converted an And-1 play St Peter’s had strung together eight unanswered points to close within one. Then a Hunter John’s make was countered by a Spencer Carr triple to tie proceedings at 77 points apiece.

After Rosmini free-throws Carr drained an even deeper three to give the Saints an 80-79 lead with just 11 seconds remaining. A likely Saints win was then thwarted by Reed as his one from two from the charity stripe sent the game into overtime.

Bart Jackowski, taking his tally to 34 points, and Reed went on to boss the additional five minutes – combining for 14 points – to carry the hosts to a hard fought victory.

It was 18 points apiece at quarter time, 42-38 in favour of Saint Peter’ at the half and 60-57 to Rosmini at the three-quarter mark as both teams enjoyed spells in the lead.

Nair, Jackowski and Reed kept Rosmini in the ascendancy in the fourth before Carr – 14 of his game high 36 points coming in the final quarter – almost stole the win.

Carr, outstanding throughout, was well supported by Smith, Dallow, Montana Ekeroma and Mario Nola.

Rosmini 96 – Jackowski 34, Reed 23, Johns 14, Nair 10

St Peter’s 87 – Carr 36, Smith 15, Nola 10, Dallow 10, Ekeroma 10

Hunter Te Ratana returned to the St Kentigern sidefollowing his fine efforts at the FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey and scored his teams opening 5 points as they racked up 36 opening quarter points – three triples from Noah Heke amongst that barrage.

Lincoln Tupa’i Samuel and Tino Seuiavatele scored 8 points apiece for Roskill as they closed the opening half 51-25 behind.

Heke and the Te Ratana’s (Hunter and Cooper) kept the points flowing in the third period as St Kent’s enjoyed an 83-57 lead with a quarter to play.

A couple of triples from Wai Tonga were a feature of the last period which, to their credit, Roskill won 24-14.

St Kent’s 97 – Heke 22, H Te Ratana 16, Ari Taylor 13, C Te Ratana 12, J Griffin 11

Mt Roskill 81 – T Seuiavatele 25, W Tonga 15, Zach Keman 10, L Tupa’i Samuel 8

Standings:

11-1 AGS

10-2 Westlake

9-2 Rosmini

6-6 St Kentigern

5-7 St Peter’s

3-8 MAGS

3-9 Sacred Heart

0-12 Mt Roskill

*Mt Albert Grammar v Rosmini College postponed to August 5th.

Round 11 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade, played on Monday night, again featured just three games with Westlake Girls High away at the ISF World School Basketball Championships in Macao, China.

Westlake deserve massive congratulations for taking out the bronze medal at the event.

They recorded wins against Chile, Hong Kong, Macao and India in pool play followed by a quarter final victory over Bulgaria.

Lake were then beaten 64-40 by France in the semi-finals before claiming bronze with a 64-35 demolition of Hong Kong.

Now back to the Premier Grade where St Kentigern College returned to winning ways, Northcote College made it successive victories and Epsom Girls chalked up win number two.

The individual performance of the round was on display at Rangitoto College where St Kentigern forward Kilani Tuineau posted a career high 40 points in a 73-69 win.

Tuineau put Rangi on notice with 15 first quarter points and with Charlie Yock adding 8 St Kent’s were off to a flyer with a 25-12 lead.

Takapuna made the necessary adjustments in the second period and with Eva Veale leading the way the deficit was just 7 points (35-28) at half-time.

Yock and Tuineau continued to punish the Rangi defence in the third frame as they combined for all but one of St Kent’s 17 points. However at the other end Veale, Mela Andrews and Moananui Wynyard were causing headaches for St Kent’s enabling Rangi to take a 54-52 advantage into the three-quarter time break.

Andrews and Veale scored half a dozen each in the final quarter but down the stretch Manawa Rogers, Mischa McLister and Rosie Ward made important contributions as St Kent’s sealed the road win.

St Kent’s 73 – Tuineau 40, Yock 15, McLister 7

Rangitoto  69 – Veale 26, Andrews 22, Maddison Skelton 9, Wynyard 6

At Northcote College the hosts put together a strong fourth quarter performance to outlast Manurewa High for a 77-66 victory.

Northcote led by just four points at three-quarter time (56-52) but were looking nervously over their shoulder as the Shirley Tuilimu (26 points) inspired visitors looked ready to pounce.

However a brace of threes from Misha Aitchison plus 11 points from Lisa Gear propelled Northcote to a 21-14 fourth quarter effort to seal success.

Northcote won all four quarters but the first three were extremely tight. The opener was won 17-15, the second 20-19 and the third 19-18.

For Northcote Gear was in full throttle with 23 points, DJ Hannah scored 20, Aitchison 16 and Lily Morgan 10 points.

After Tuilimu’s 26 points Taisha Tanira was the other Manurewa player in double figures scoring 14 points.  

Northcote 77 – Gear 23, Hannah 20, Aitchison 16, Morgan 10, Ema Lavemaau  6

Manurewa 66 – Tuilimu 26, T Tanira 14, Bella Manu-Moore 7, Waimihi Hetaraka-Brown 7, Emily Tanira 6

In the third game of the round Epsom Girls Grammar prevailed 54-52 against Mt Albert Grammar in a contest that could have gone either way.

Six opening quarter points from Meiya Lemafa helped MAGS take the opening period 14-12 before a triple from Samantha Jose and 11 points from Draun Forbes enabled Epsom to carve out a 31-24 half-time advantage.

Only 15 points were scored in the third but with Epsom carrying a 38-32 lead into the fourth the pace quickened.

Peyton Uri knocked down a three for MAGS with Kiyara Te Amo – making her fourth three of the contest – returning in kind for Epsom.

Baskets from Phoenix Kaipo and Gianna Tiatia brought MAGS right back into the contest with the difference just a single point.

Overtime looked a distinct possibility until Savana Feite chose an opportune time to make her only basket of the game – a three – to win a thriller for Epsom.

Epsom 54 –Forbes 22, Te Amo 14, Kiki Reti 5, Jose 5

MAGS 52 – Lemafa 14, Uri 14, E Tiatia 9, Kaipo 7, G Tiatia 6

Standings:

10-0 Westlake

7-3 Takapuna

6-5 Manurewa

6-4 St Kentigern

5-6 Rangitoto

4-7 Northcote

2-8 MAGS

2-9 Epsom

*Mt Albert Grammar v St Kentigern College postponed to term 3.

*Takapuna Grammar v Westlake Girls postponed to term 3

Round 10 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade, played on Monday night, featured just three games with Westlake Girls High currently playing at the High School World Championships Tournament in Macao, China .

Northcote College secured a valuable win with a 67-55 home victory over Epsom Girls Grammar School.

A triple from Ema Lavemaau and 6 points from DJ Hannah took Northcote to a 20-12 early lead.

Epsom counter punched through Kyra Tuihalangingie, Draun Forbes and Kasmira Faapaiaga but Northcote made five triples in the second as Abby Allan, Hannah and Misha Aitchison connected from deep – Northcote ahead 45-32 at the interval.

The third period was won decisively by the hosts 15-5 and although Epsom came back strongly in the final frame scores from Lisa Gear and Lavemaau enabled Northcote to secure the win.

Northcote 67 – Lavemaau 18, Hannah 16, Aitchison 11, Lily Morgan 8, Gear 6

Epsom 55 – Tuihalangingie 13, Forbes 12, Te Amo 12, Faapaiaga 6

Backing up after helping Harbour Breeze win the inaugural Women’s Tupu League trophy in Tauranga the previous day Amy McKenzie and Bailey Flavell led the Takapuna Grammar scoring as they won a high scoring encounter at Mt Albert Grammar 103-94.

Flavell finished with 32 points and McKenzie 21 while Sahara Katene was outstanding for MAGS finishing with 45 points.

Katene scored 13 in the opening period and with Meiya Lemafa scoring 7 the hosts were 27-22 ahead at quarter time.

An even second period followed with MAGS carrying a 51-46 lead into the half-time break.

Takapuna made their move in the third with threes from Flavell, Mania Watson and Amelia Glen helping them win the spell 26-15 to lead by 8 points headed for home.

Katene posted 20 points, including three triples, in the fourth but Takapuna matched that number courtesy of Flavell and Natalja Burton. Free throws down the stretch from McKenzie and Mariah Parker closed out win number seven with Takapuna maintaining second spot on the ladder as a result.

MAGS 94 – Katene 45, Lemafa 13, Peyton Uri 10, Lara Cocker-Lemalie 9, Phoenix Kaipo 7

Takapuna 103 – Flavell 32, McKenzie 21, Burton 20, Watson 13

Manurewa High defeated Rangitoto College 67-47 but unfortunately I did not receive the scoresheet from that game only the scorers for Rangi.

The win keeps Manurewa in third spot on the ladder with Rangitoto slipping to fifth place.

Manurewa 67

Rangitoto 47 – Maddison Skelton 10, Payton Laurence 9, Mela Andrews 9, Bella Anderson 7

The Westlake Girls v St Kentigern College game was played last week with Westlake winning 85-55.

Game report here: https://laceylowdown.com/2024/06/20/westlake-beat-st-kents-in-girls-prems/

At the World High School Championships Westlake Girls opened their campaign with a 100-26 win against a Chilean school team. Imani Rasmussen (23pts), Charlotte Mawston (18pts), Lucy Dawson (12pts) and Emma Schroeder (11pts) were the leading scorers.

Standings:

10-0 Westlake

7-3 Takapuna

6-4 Manurewa

5-4 St Kentigern

5-5 Rangitoto

3-7 Northcote

2-7 MAGS

1-9 Epsom

*Mt Albert Grammar v St Kentigern College fixture postponed to term 3.

Round 10 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade, played on Monday night, featured just three games after the Mt Albert Grammar v Rosmini fixture was postponed.

All three completed games were won decisively with Auckland Grammar, Westlake Boys and St Peter’s clear winners.

Fueled by Noah Rasmussen’s 28 points Westlake Boys chalked up another big win with a 110-70 home success against St Kentigern College.

A fast start has been a feature of Westlake’s success this season and it was on show again in this one as they ran up 27 points in the first ten minutes to lead by 12.

The second period was even higher scoring with Lake taking it out 32-23. Daley Pohio scored 11 points in the period and Troy Wentworth 8 for the hosts while for St Kent’s Ollie Bainbridge and Charlie Hughes had 8 points apiece at the half.

Hughes, Cooper Lepou and Reuben Spooner dropped threes for St Kent’s in the third but a combined 18 points from Rasmussen and Troy Supple took the Westlake lead out to 85-58 and win number nine was in the book as Westlake eased through the final period.

Westlake 110 – Rasmussen 28, Pohio 20, Supple 18, Wentworth 11, Oscar Neville 9, Malakhai Jewell-Joyner 9

St Kentigern 70 – Hughes 17, Bainbridge 16, Lepou 11, Jamie Griffin 9, Noah Heke 6, Kolo Liku 6

Also with nine wins at the head of the table are Auckland Grammar after they recorded a 101-67 road win at Mt Roskill Grammar with Roman Ma’afu-Moerua and Lawson Pryor scoring 23 points apiece.

In a close opening spell Sarangan Sutheswaran scored 8 points as Roskill stayed within four points of the joint league leaders.

Lincoln Tupa’i Samuel, Haisem Osman and Ian Bresquar knocked down threes for Roskill in the second but it was a quarter that belonged to AGS as Roera Tipene, Lawson Pryor, Carver Gibson and Roman Ma’afu-Moerua got amongst the points – Auckland ahead 53-35 at half-time.

Triples from Ryan Hunt and Kaia Wharemate helped Auckland extend their lead to 77-52 at three-quarter time enabling them to ease through the final spell.

Mt Roskill 67 –  Osman 12, Sutheswaran 8, Silas Toala 8, Tino Seuiavatele 8, Ezra Osbuze 8

AGS 101 – Ma’afu-Moerua 23, Pryor 23, Gibson 18, Jackson Couper 8

Also with an away victory were St Peter’s College as they won 91-63 at Sacred Heart although it wasn’t until the second half that they were able to assert some dominance.

St Peter’s won a tight opening quarter (21-18) and were ahead 45-37 at half-time with Spencer Carr leading the way with a dozen points. Nine points from Sam Snowdon and triples from Justin Lacsi and Tyler Taffs meant Heart were well in the hunt at that stage.

Another three from Taffs and valuable points from Jamie Vile kept the score moving for the hosts but driven by Carr, and with assistance from Bryan Marsters and Alex Davis, St Peter’s were able to gain control and extend their lead to 68-52 at three-quarter time.

Heart were unable to put a dent in the deficit in the fourth as St Peter’s notched win number four.

Sacred Heart 63 – Taffs 13, Snowdon 12, Will Harris 10, Vile 7, Cam Stewart 7

St Peter’s 91 – Carr 23, Davis 14, Marsters 14, Mario Nola 9, Louis Galpin 7

Standings:

9-1 Westlake, AGS

7-2 Rosmini

5-5 St Kentigern

4-6 St Peter’s

3-6 MAGS

2-8 Sacred Heart

0-10 Mt Roskill

*Mt Albert Grammar v Rosmini College postponed to August 5th.

Following Round 9 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade competition Westlake Girls High will head to the High School World Championships Tournament in China in a good frame of mind after defeating Manurewa High School for a tenth straight victory this season.

In other results Epsom Girls Grammar won their first game of the season and Rangitoto College defeated Northcote College.

Westlake Girls registered a 70-50 home win although visitors Manurewa High School gave a really good account of themselves against the defending champions.

Emma Schroeder had 9 opening quarter points for Westlake but half a dozen from Bella Manu-Moore meant the margin was just five points (17-12) at quarter time.

The Westlake lead then grew to 32-21 at half-time with Shyloh Udomsak and Kodee Williams-Sefo playing strong hands.

Threes from Manu-Moore and Emily Tanira ensured that Manurewa kept pace with their hosts during the third period – the teams headed into the final frame with Westlake ahead 49-36.

Manurewa, with Taisha Tanira scoring 8 fourth quarter points, kept plugging away but strong play from Charlotte Mawston and triples from Williams-Sefo, Udomsak and Schroeder finally saw off the Manurewa challenge.

Westlake 70 – Schroeder 17, Mawston 16, Udomsak 9, Williams-Sefo 8, Brydie McMillan 6

Manurewa 50 – T Tanira 15, Manu-Moore 14, E Tanira 12

Epsom Girls Grammar can finally celebrate a win after defeating Takapuna Grammar 64-39.

Ironically the victory was achieved without head coach Jelena Vučinič and captain Draun Forbes. Both, along with the Takapuna duo of Bailey Flavell and Amy McKenzie, were on duty at the Women’s Tupu League play-offs in Tauranga.

Epsom started well forging a 14-9 quarter one lead and they would build on that throughout as Takapuna struggled at the offensive end.

Kiyara Te Amo was in double figures by half-time with the Epsom lead 32-26.

Despite strong performances from the Taka duo of Natalja Burton and Mania Watson the Epsom advantage grew steadily in the second half with Mya Kingi and Ivy Tino scoring regularly.

Epsom 64 – Te Amo 18, Tino 17, Kingi 10, Kiki Reti 6

Takapuna 39 – Burton 14, Watson 12, Amelia Glen 6

In the closest game of the round Rangitoto College did just enough to defeat Northcote College as they ran out 79-67 winners on their home court.

Rangitoto were out the gate the quickest – a pair of triples apiece from Maddison Skelton and Sienna Maurice took them to a 23-16 lead after ten minutes.

Northcote steadied the ship in the second with DJ Hannah – on her way to a game high 24 points – and Ema Lavemaau combining for 13 points enabling the visitors to turn around with a deficit of just eight points (38-30).

Threes from Hannah, Abby Allan and Misha Aitchison sparked Northcote in the third but points from Eva Veale – headed for a team high 21 – and Maurice were enough to keep Rangi in the ascendancy (58-47) at the last break.

Lisa Gear and Lily Morgan buckets kept Northcote in the hunt but 7 fourth quarter points from Aitchison and a late three from Laurence guided Rangitoto to the win, one that keeps their top four aspirations alive.

Rangitoto 79 – Veale 21, Maurice 18, Skelton 14, Laurence 7, Mela Andrews 7

Northcote 67 – Hannah 24, Gear 14, Morgan 9, Allan 7, Lavemaau 7

Standings:

10-0 Westlake

6-3 Takapuna

5-4 Manurewa, St Kentigern, Rangitoto

2-6 MAGS

2-7 Northcote

1-8 Epsom

*Mt Albert Grammar v St Kentigern College fixture postponed to term 3.

In the most significant game of Round 9 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade Auckland Grammar School protected home court to defeat Rosmini College.

Both teams boasted 7-1 records headed into the game but it was Auckland Grammar that would prevail and completing the double over their rivals they won 80-64.

Following an evenly contested first quarter AGS pulled away in the second period to lead 42-30 at half-time with Brigham Hakaraia, Bobby Neels and Roera Tipene leading the way for the hosts.

Led by skipper Chris Wyllie, Bart Jackowski and Josh Wyllie Rosmini narrowed the gap in the third to enter the final period 60-54 adrift.

Rosmini were restricted to just 8 points in the final frame while for AGS it was Neels and Roman Ma’afu-Moerua that applied the finishing touches to a strong performance.

AGS 80 – Ma’afu-Moerua 17, Neels 15, Hakaraia 15, Lawson Pryor 12, Ryan Hunt 8
Rosmini 64 – C Wyllie 24, J Wyllie 15, Jackowski 12, Mattie Dalton 6

Westlake Boys kept abreast of Auckland Grammar at the top of the table with a resounding 135-72 home win against Sacred Heart.

Setting the tone for the contest Westlake ran up 35 points in the opening quarter and were 72-42 ahead at the interval.

Westlake, led by 31 points from forward Troy Supple and 27 from shooting guard Andre Bautista, had double figure contributions from six players.

Jamie Vile (12 points) and Cameron Stewart (9 points) were the best for Sacred Heart in a losing cause.

Westlake 135 – Supple 31, Bautista 27, Nick Banford 12, Oscar Neville 11, Daley Pohio 11, Noah Rasmussen 10

Sacred Heart 72 – Vile 12, Stewart 9, Lennox Sila 8, Aslan Valika 8, Max Hakaraia 8

The Mt Albert winning sequence came to a halt at three victories after going down 83-59 to St Kentigern College who are now two wins clear of the chasing pack in fourth spot.

Combining for 16 points the Coopers, Te Ratana and Lepou, got St Kent’s off to a flyer – ahead 26-16 at the end of quarter one.

The margin increased to 51-30 at half-time as the Cooper’s, Charlie Hughes and Noah Heke each made triples.

Mose Leiasamaivao scored 9 third quarter points and Lucas Cartwright repeated the dose in the fourth but MAGS were unable to put their opponents under any significant pressure.

St Kentigern 83 – Lepou 20, Heke 15, Te Ratana 14, Hughes 12, Ollie Bainbridge 12

MAGS 59 – Leiasamaivao 18, Cartwright 16, Mikey Moses 14, Tarquinis Schwalger 6

In the final game of the round St Peter’s College won all four quarters as they recorded a 75-52 home win against Mt Roskill Grammar.

St Peter’s enjoyed an even spread of scoring in establishing a 16-10 quarter time advantage.

Led by Tino Seuiavatele Mt Roskill enjoyed their most productive spell in the second period to trail by just seven points (34-27) at half-time.

However, with Spencer Carr leading the way St Peter’s dominated the third frame (20-9) to ease out to a game winning 54-36 lead.

St Peter’s 75 – Louis Galpin 11, Bryan Marsters 11, Bailey Smith 10, Carr 9, Montana Ekeroma 8, Xavier Raumati-Greenhalgh 8

Mt Roskill 52 – Seuiavatele 15, Haisem Osman 10, Wai Tonga 7

Standings:

8-1 Westlake, AGS

7-2 Rosmini

5-4 St Kentigern

3-6 MAGS, St Peter’s

2-7 Sacred Heart

0-9 Mt Roskill

Good luck to the Auckland contingent of the New Zealand U17 team preparing for the FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey. The tournament commences on June 29^th with Jameer Reed [Rosmini], Hunter Te Ratana [St Kent’s], Jackson Kiss [AGS] and Gus Dallow [St Peter’s] the Prems players in the 12 player squad.

In a fixture brought forward, due to their imminent departure to the World School Basketball Tournament in China, Westlake Girls High defeated St Kentigern College 85-55 on Wednesday night.

The scoreline doesn’t do justice to the St Kentigern effort as they were well in the contest at three-quarter time.

However, trailing 59-52 at that point, St Kent’s ran out of steam and were held to just three points in the final ten minutes as the hosts pulled clear with a 26-point flourish.

It was St Kent’s that made the early running – a brace of threes from Charlie Yock and 10 points from Kilani Tuineau gave them a 21-16 quarter time lead.

Jeanette Tuumaialu scored 6 points for St Kent’s in the second period but 7 points from Shyloh Udomsak edged Westlake to a 34-33 half-time lead.

Tuineau closed in on her 20-point haul but 6 points from Lily Fotu and 5 from Imani Rasmussen meant the margin was out to 7 points at that three-quarter mark.

From there it was all Westlake with Brydie McMillan going on to a season best 15 points.

The game also showcased the potential of young forwards Imani Rasmussen and Kilani Tuineau with the pair leading the scoring and rebounding count for their respective teams.

Westlake 85 – Fotu 18, Rasmussen 17, McMillan 15, Udomsak 8, Charlotte Mawston 8, Emma Schroeder 7

St Kentigern 55 – Tuineau 20, Yock 12, Tuumaialu 12, Jorja Dixon 5

Standings:

9-0 Westlake

6-2 Takapuna

5-3 Manurewa

5-4 St Kentigern

4-4 Rangitoto

2-6 MAGS, Northcote

0-8 Epsom