LACEY LOWDOWN

Number five ranked Rangiora High School shocked the #2 Middleton Grange Gators 86-68 in the Thomson Trophy Division One Playoffs, with a superb performance on both ends of the court in front of numerous onlookers.

A 9-0 run that was capped off by a Jack Exter three (38 points) turned a half time lead for the Gators into a lead that Rangiora would hold on to the rest of the game. Middleton Grange turned to a press in the final quarter and closed the gap to five points, but eventually let the visitors pull away. Middleton Grange had ten double-figure scorers in the game (Ben Carlile-Smith 15; Jimmy Williamson 14; Jonte Britten 12; Jarred Burnett 10; Trey Te Awa 10), but allowed Lachie MacFarlane to get 21 in the win to couple with Exeter’s big game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPRsQw8z-OI

Noa Price contributed 12 points, as well as being a massive defensive presence blocking shots, and had a tremendous highlight play (above).

After Cashmere Boys defeated St. Andrew’s 92-60, an elimination game between Christchurch Boys’ and the Shirley Boys’ High Spartans took place on Wednesday night -the winner gaining the right to host Rangiora, the loser’s season being over. Both teams had almost identical stats – their biggest lead being nine-points each, and largest scoring run being seven. But in the end CBHS escaped with a one-point 67-66 win after a dump off pass from Fletcher Arnold (11p, 7a) inside the final two seconds found Kurt Feneon at the rim (20p, 22r).

Jackson Pauling had 12 off the bench, and Nick Aucutt 11 for CBHS. For the Spartans Joel Jeffrey had 17p 15r, Noah Westwood had 14 points, and Josh Thomson added 10p 9r. Thanks to the NZ Broadcasting School you can watch the entire game here (#MaccasTT game start at 100 minute mark):

https://www.facebook.com/ThomsonAndWhelanTrophies/videos/225596708125021/?t=0

In the Whelan Trophy Competition St. Andrew’s wrapped up the #1 seeding after beating Kaiapoi 68-60, and will host both of the Division One semi-finals.

Christchurch Girls’ looked to have their game wrapped up with 7:30 remaining, and a 54-40 lead over Rangi Ruru. This is when the wheels fell off, as an 18-0 run for Lori McDaniel’s team saw them leave with a thrilling four-point victory. Sammy Arnold (15p 9r 6s) and Courtney Godinet (10p 8r) were ourstanding for CGHS, while Ashlee Strawbridge (19p 14r 5s) and Millie Knight (10p 12r) stood out for their opponents. This game was also streamed (at the link above).

Middleton Grange couldn’t quite shake off Ashburton until the final stages of their game, but had an 11-2 run which helped them build an insurmountable lead on the way to winning 65-56. Sophie Adams was excellent for the visitors with 23p, while Sofia Kennedy (18p), Sydney Murphy (12p) and Annabel Lapworth (12p) all helped the Gators to a win.

In Division Two of the Whelan Trophy Competition, Lincoln High lead for nearly the entire game against St. Margaret’s, but needed a Sophie Daly bucket to force overtime. Emily Evans scored the final four points in OT for St. Margaret’s (13p) as they left the Selwyn District with an 85-81 win. Kate Herman (35p) again stood out for Lincoln, with Samantha McCrone adding 21p. Eniselina Pale (25p), Madison Eder (19p), Alex Cooper (11p) and Liyah Faga-Ieti (11p) joined Evans in double figures for St. Margaret’s, who will next travel to #2 Ellesmere, while Lincoln will face off against #1 Avonside.

The #1 Avonside Lady Eagles had an easier go this time around against #6 Villa Maria, with Molly Cockburn (31p) helping lead them to a 82-58 win. Megan Shannon (17p) and Jennifer Kee (10p) also featured for Avonside. Georgia Knowles (16p) was joined by Molly Grafton (11p), Isabella Brunel (11p) and Casey Robinson (10p) in the scoring column for Kenny Perkins’ team.

All four #MaccasTT Division two semi-finalist’s won their games, and Ashburton and St. Thomas the right’s to home-court advantage before Finals’ Night, with the Papanui and Cathedral teams travelling.

From James Lissaman

Macca’s Week Eleven Results

Thomson Division Two

Papanui 75-60 Rangiora New Life

Linwood 110-72 Ellesmere

Ashburton 112-91 Kaiapoi

St. Thomas 84-64 Riccarton

Cathedral 82-64 Lincoln

Thomson Division One

Cashmere 92-60 St. Andrew’s

Rangiora 86-68 Middleton Grange

Christ’s 73-68 Burnside

St. Bede’s 88-82 Hillmorton

Christchurch Boys’ 67-66 Shirley Boys’

Whelan Division Two

St. Margaret’s 85-81 Lincoln (Overtime)

Avonside 82-58 Villa Maria

Marian 79-57 Papanui

Ellesmere 87-45 Hillmorton

Burnside 74-52 Te Pā

Whelan Division One

St. Andrew’s 68-60 Kaiapoi

Middleton Grange 65-56 Ashburton

Rangiora 64-34 Cashmere

Rangi Ruru 58-54 Christchurch Girls

 Upcoming Playoff Games – all Tuesday 21 August

Whelan Division II

4:45pm #3 St. Margaret’s @ #2 Ellesmere

5:15pm #4 Lincoln @ #1 Avonside

Whelan Division I

5:15pm #3 Christchurch Girls’ vs #2 Rangi Ruru (hosted at St. Andrew’s)

7:00pm #4 Kaiapoi @ #1 St. Andrew’s

Thomson Division II

5:15pm #3 Papanui @ #2 St. Thomas

6:00pm #4 Cathedral @ #1 Ashburton (at the EA Networks Centre)

Thomson Division I

6:00pm #3 Rangiora @ #2 Christchurch Boys’

7:00pm #4 Middleton Grange @ #1 Cashmere

Shalom Broughton (14) in action for NZ U17 recently

St Kentigern College have clinched fourth pace on the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier competition ladder after winning 96-75 at Avondale College on Wednesday.

The win means St Kent’s (7-7) edge Westlake Boys (6-8) out of play-off contention, a semi-final match up with regular season champions Mt Albert Grammar their reward.

The result also means that Avondale, despite having won two of their final four games, finish the season with the wooden spoon.

The game was still in the balance at three-quarter time with Avondale, after a strong third period, only 62-58 down.

However Zac Chan made three of his five triples in the fourth and the impressive Max Shorter (37 points) scored 11. With Shalom Broughton and Tom Chester combining for ten points St Kent’s dominated the final term (34-17) to book their first semi-final appearance since 2011.

Earlier, despite nine first quarter points from Jaga Mete, Avondale trailed 21-17 at the first break.

Armand Donaldson, Bradley McGregor, Keanu Eteru and Preston Karatau each made threes for Avondale in the second period but Levic Kerr, Broughton and Shorter piled on the points to give St Kent’s a 46-39 half-time lead.

Chan and Shorter were the only scorers for the visitors in the third as Jason Cullen and Michael Reddy helped Avondale close to within four points.

However St Kentigern held their nerve in the final period to seal their seventh win of the season and a trip to North Shore Events Centre on Friday night.

Avondale 75 – J Mete 16, A Donaldson 16, K Eteru 14, J Childs 6, P Karatau 6

St Kentigern 96 – M Shorter 37, S Broughton 24, Z Chan 18, L Kerr 15, T Chester 6

Final Standings

13-1 Mt Albert

13-1 Rosmini

8-6 Auckland Grammar

7-7 St Kentigern

6-8 Westlake

4-10 Rangitoto

3-11 St Peter’s

2-12 Avondale

St Marys forward Jazz Kailahi-Fulu

The Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier regular season title was decided last month but there was still plenty at stake in the final round of games on Friday.

Summarising the final four games:

Auckland Girls Grammar completed an unbeaten regular season winning 14 straight games.

Westlake Girls secured the runners-up spot.

Rangitioto College, despites a loss, gained the fourth semi-final place at the expense of Massey High (who also lost). Rangitoto lost their round five game to Massey 80-69 (-11) but beat them 69-53 (+16) in the return clash giving them a +5 differential after both teams finished with a 6-8 record.

St Kentigern College have the less desirable wooden spoon ‘title’.

The closest finish of the round was at St Kentigern College where the hosts took on Carmel College in the quest to avoid that wooden spoon.

Carmel looked destined for the basement spot when they found themselves 17 points down (60-43) with 1:30 left in the third period. However eight points in the closing 90 seconds of the quarter – seven of those to Tayla Dalton – propelled Carmel back into contention – 60-51 down with a quarter to play.

Kayla Robertson-Tekki restored St Kent’s double digit lead before Carmel reeled off a 11-2 run to tie the scores at 64 points apiece with five minutes to play.

Natasha Leishman went coast-to-coast for St Kent’s but Dalton with a left hander in traffic tied the scores again.

With four minutes to play Dalton picked up a controversial fifth foul – Carmel coach Gareth Teahan needing a timeout to discuss strategy with his leading scorer sidelined.

Courtney Griffiths put St Kent’s ahead but Broomfield tied proceedings again.

Robertson-Tekki gave the hosts a 70-68 advantage but Broomfield leveled the scores for the fourth time in the quarter.

Izzy Cattermole then made the crucial go-ahead basket for Carmel (72-70) with 2:30 to play – time for both teams to have a number of scoring opportunities but none would drop until Broomfield stepped to the free-throw line with two seconds on the clock – she made one to give Carmel an exciting 73-70 win.

St Kentigern 70

Carmel 73

(Individual scorers details not available).

Westlake secured the runners-up spot on the table with a solid 85-75 win at home to North Shore neighbours Rangitoto College – despite the result Rangitoto edged Massey out of fourth spot on points differential to book a place in the semi-finals.

Westlake point guard Tabatha Leyson scored the first five points before a Hannah Wentworth three made it 11-6 to the hosts.

Centaine Duckworth-Noon and Emma Pugh were enjoying an inside battle as a Rosie Dil three on the quarter-time buzzer took Lake to a 24-16 lead.

Leyson, as she had in the first, made early scores in the second period before Rangi closed to within two points (31-29) via scores from Robyn Blackstock and Gracie Hasler-Ewins.

Six points late in the period from Jess Moors meant Westlake carried a 44-31 half-time lead into the interval.

Wentworth, on her way to a season best equaling 28 points, made three triples in the third frame although Leyson, Moors and Makenzee Boucher matched that output collectively for Westlake

A Bella Elgar And-1 play kept Rangi in the hunt, trailing 63-55 at three-quarter time.

The two teams traded baskets in the final quarter – the closest Rangi got was within six points (79-73) after an Aroha Rogers score with two minutes to play.

However baskets down the stretch from the Dil’s, Rosie and Sophie, ensured the runners-up spot for Westlake.

Rangitoto 75 – H Wentworth 28, I Elgar 13, G Hasler-Ewins 10, R Blackstock 6

Westlake 85 – J Moors 21, T Leyson 15, R Dil 12, E Shearer 11, M Davidson 10

Massey High went down 57-44 against St Mary’s in a loss that cost them a top four finish and a place in the semi-finals.

A St Mary’s victory didn’t look on the cards in the early stages with Ramona Fuiavaa scoring seven early points to propel Massey to a 16-7 quarter time advantage.

Jazz Kailahi-Fulu, returning to the St Mary’s lineup after New Zealand duties, led a strong response in the second period – the scores locked at 25 points each at the interval.

Fuiavaav and Shauna Povey took their personal tallies into double figures but it was St Mary’s that dominated proceedings to lead 43-32 at the last break. Safena Te Nana-Williams and Riana Matiseni both made key baskets in the quarter.

Massey’s scoring output improved a little in the fourth but the Kailahi-Fulu sisters Jazz and Zaaliyah ensured that St Mary’s would finish their first season in Prem’s on a high.

St Mary’s 57 – J Kailahi-Fulu 18, R Matiseni 13, Z Kailahi-Fulu 11, S Te Nana-Williams 10

Massey 44 – S Povey 17, R Fuiavaa 11, A Schuster 8

Auckland Girls Grammar completed an unbeaten regular season with a 69-51 win against Mt Albert Grammar but unfortunately I haven’t received a scoresheet to provide additional details.

AGGS will take on Rangitoto in semi-final action on Friday at NSEC with Westlake matching up with MAGS.

Final Premier Standings at end of regular season.

14-0 AGGS

11-3 Westlake

10-4 MAGS

6-8 Rangitoto

6-8 Massey

5-9 St Mary’s

3-11 Carmel

1-13 St Kentigern

Mt Albert Grammar have been crowned Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade regular season champions after defeating local rivals Auckland Grammar School 79-58 on Friday.

Mt Albert finished the regular season with an impressive 13-1 record having won twelve straight games.

MAGS claimed the Minor Premiership on point’s differential from Rosmini College who also finished with just one loss.

Unfortunately the individual scorers from the MAGS v AGS game is not available.

What is still unclear is which team will claim the fourth semi-final spot and which will finish with the wooden spoon.

The Avondale versus St Kentigern College fixture is still to be played (hopefully the two teams will meet on Monday) and the result of that game has a major bearing on the Premier standings.

A win for St Kentigern will see them edge Westlake out of fourth spot but a win for Avondale would see them avoid the wooden spoon as they hold points differential over St Peter’s if the two finish with a 3-11 record.

Current Standings with one game to play (St Kentigern v Avondale)

13-1 Mt Albert

13-1 Rosmini

8-6 Auckland Grammar

6-8 Westlake

6-7 St Kentigern

4-10 Rangitoto

3-11 St Peter’s

2-11 Avondale

Avondale hadn’t won a game eight days ago but now they have two victories to celebrate after they comfortably beat St Peter’s 96-68.

Once again they were paced by Jaga Mete (41 points) as he posted his second 40+ points haul of the season. He received excellent support from Jack Childs who recorded a season best 30 points.

Whititera Parata and Phoenix Lepolu got St Peter’s off to a solid start as they trailed by just a single point at quarter-time (23-22).

Mete and Armand Donaldson began to make inroads against the St Peter’s defence in the second, helping Avondale to 45-37 lead at the interval.

Parata made ten points in the third period but Mete and Childs dominated the scoring as Avondale increased their lead to 68-52 with ten minutes remaining.

Three triples from Childs in the last period – he made seven in the game – ensured a successful excursion for Avondale who could make it three wins in four games if they can overcome St Kent’s.

St Peter’s 68 – W Parata 20, P Leupolu 17, L Buckingham 9, I Franklin 6, O Arlove 6

Avondale 95 – J Mete 41, J Childs 30, A Donaldson 13, T Toyer 7

Having put on a shooting clinic against St Kentigern College last week Westlake Boys encountered a bout of the scoring yips in the North Shore derby at home to Rangitoto College going down 80-61.

Paora Winitana opened the scoring for Westlake but three consecutive baskets from Tommy Te Puni edged Rangitoto ahead 11-10.

Winitana and Jackson Port had the last say in the period – Westlake ahead 15-14 at quarter-time.

Obadaiah Paea and Ethan Skelton both made threes to give the visitors a 23-17 advantage. Dylan Wilkie made a triple for Westlake but they were finding baskets hard to come by and trailed 38-26 at half-time.

Harry Payne began to find his touch in the third period, the Rangi lead out to 47-31.

Ryan Reader connected from long range for Westlake but 14 points in the period from Payne gave Rangi a 56-43 advantage with ten to play.

Despite a triple from Tom Cowie Westlake’s shooting woes continued in the fourth quarter.

Rontel Russo and Logan McIntosh took the lead close to twenty points and when Payne converted an And-1 play Rangi led 71-50 with five to play.

An acrobatic score from Cowie excited the home crowd but it was only a consolation effort as Rangi eased through the final period to record their second win on the bounce.

Westlake 61 – T Cowie 12, J Kooiman 11, P Winitana 11, E Clark 6

Rangitoto 80 – H Payne 26, O Paea 14, T Te Puni 12, L McIntosh 7

Shalom Broughton scored a season high 32 points and with Levic Kerr also impressing with 24 points St Kentigern College pushed Rosmini all the way before eventually going down 89-78.

NZ U17 teammates Broughton and Mitch Dance were out of the gates early with both scoring a dozen in the opening ten minutes – Rosmini ahead by the smallest of margins 21-20.

Max Shorter came to the fore in the second as St Kent’s opened up a 44-41 half-time lead.

Broughton made a late triple at the back end of the third frame but it was a period dominated by the visitors.

Tyler Martin and Thomas Morgan provided some needed spark off the bench for Rosmini. Morgan, in good form of late, scored 8 points in the period and with Martin and Marvin Williams-Dunn knocking down threes Rosmini opened up a 67-57 lead at the three-quarter mark.

Kerr and Broughton continued to apply pressure on the Rosmini defence and add to their points tally but 8 more points from Morgan and contributions from Williams-Dunn and Taine Murray got Rosmini over the line – but only just.

St Kentigern 78 – S Broughton 32, L Kerr 24, M Shorter 12

Rosmini 87 – M Williams-Dunn 17, T Morgan 17, T Murray 13, M Dance 12

As was the case with the Thomson Trophy, Division Two in the Whelan Competition also featured a three-way tie for first place. After using the FIBA classification procedures, Avonside Lady Eagles finished first, Ellesmere second and Lincoln in third place.

Molly Cockburn led the way for Avonside with 24 points, and needed every one of them to come away with a 70-57 win, as Kenny Perkin’s Villa Maria team was only five points down late in the fourth quarter. Megan Shannon (15) and Bella Digby (14) also scored well for the Lady Eagles, while Casey Robinson (20) and Molly Grafton (13) headlined the Villa Maria effort. These two teams will face off against each other next week as well in a quirk of the draw, with Villa Maria qualifying in sixth place.

Lincoln High was too strong for Te Pā o Rākaihautū, beating them 60-16 to finish third. Four players had exactly ten points each for Lincoln: Mandy Herman, Sophie Withell, Maria Mendoza and Samantha McCrone.

Middleton Grange held all of the Rangiora players under ten points each as they won 64-40, as a 19-2 start essentially decided the game. Sofia Kennedy (21) was well supported by Maia Williamson (12) and Fia Lai Kong (11). This win locks the Gators into fifth place for 2018.

Rangi Ruru had a 66-49 win over Kaiapoi as they built a ten point lead in the second quarter, and never let the visitors get closer than that the rest of the way. Ashlee Strawbridge (19) was key in the win, with Connie Taylor (11) and Bailey Chamberlain (10) chiming in. Helen Mathews (19) and Sinead McConchie (17) scored well for Kaiapoi, but will now be locked into fourth place for semi-final night.

With no Thomson Trophy Division One games, Ashburton and St. Thomas locked up home semi-finals in Division Two, whilst Papanui and Cathedral College will be the two teams travelling for a chance to play in the Grand Final.

Whelan Division One has one more round before their playoffs begin, as does the Thomson Division Two competition. Thomson Division One and Whelan Division Two both have the top six teams involved in Quarter-Finals, with the three winning teams progressing, as well as the highest seeded losing team.

On August 15 the NZ Broadcasting School will be live-streaming two fantastic games from Cowles Stadium (free entry as well). A top four Whelan Matchup between Rangi Ruru and Christchurch Girls’ is scheduled to tip off at 6:30pm, with a boys’ Quarter-final matchup between the Shirley Boys’ High Spartans and Christchurch Boys’ following (scheduled to tip at 8:00pm).

From James Lissaman

Macca’s Week Ten Results

Thomson Division Two:

Linwood 96-86 Riccarton

St. Thomas 91-39 Rangiora New Life

Cathedral 97-48 Hornby

Ashburton 116-56 Lincoln

Papanui 86-79 Kaiapoi

Whelan Division One:

Middleton Grange 64-40 Rangiora

Christchurch Girls’ 66-48 Kaiapoi

Ashburton 86-50 Cashmere

St. Andrew’s 69-57 Rangi Ruru

Rangi Ruru 66-49 Kaiapoi

Whelan Division Two:

Ellesmere 90-38 St. Margaret’s

Lincoln 60-16 Te Pā

Hillmorton 55-49 Papanui (overtime)

Avonside 70-57 Villa Maria

Marian 80-68 Burnside

Westlake Boys put themselves in the box seat to claim the remaining Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grade semi-final place with a 100-84 home victory against St Kentigern College on Monday night.

Westlake’s victory was built around their ability to make perimeter shots. They set the tone for a fine shooting display by making six straight threes to open their scoring and in all made a mesmerizing 17 shots from beyond the arc.

Tom Cowie, Josh Kooiman and Dylan Wilkie combined for those first 18 points from deep as the hosts grabbed a 32-20 quarter time lead – 8 points for Shalom Broughton for the visitors.

Tom Chester, Alex McNaught and Zac Chan demonstrated that they could also score from deep but Kooiman knocked down his third treble of the second period to extend the Westlake advantage to 51-33.

Kooiman was forced to the bench after logging his third foul but it did little to slow the Lake scoring momentum, more threes from Wilkie, an And-1 play from Joe Wuthrich and a floater from Cowie sent the hosts into a decisive 63-37 half-time lead.

Broughton in transition, Levic Kerr in the low post and the slashing Alex Shorter edged St Kent’s a little closer in the third stanza but they were still in a big hole at the three-quarter mark trailing 83-57.

Shorter and Chan combined for thirteen straight points and at 87-67 with 6:30 to play Lake coach Zac Fitzgerald needed a timeout.

Cowie and Wilkie responded immediately – from the three point line of course – this time it was St Kent’s coach Aaron Young that needed a timeout.

The ever improving Kerr made a couple of neat inside baskets but Cowie and the outstanding Wilkie who made a season best 29 points, including seven triples, put the result beyond doubt.

St Kentigern look as if they will now have to defeat both Avondale College (on Wednesday) and Rosmini College (on Friday) in their remaining two games to pip Westlake for the fourth play-off spot.

Westlake now prepare for a North Shore derby against Rangitoto.

Westlake 100 – D Wilkie 29, T Cowie 18, P Winitana 17, J Kooiman 15, J Wuthrich 11

St Kentigern 84 – M Shorter 29, S Broughton 18, L Kerr 18, Z Chan 9

After the excitement of their victory against Westlake on Friday, Avondale College were brought crashing back to earth at Rangitoto College beaten 112-68.

Games aren’t won in the first quarter but trailing 34-11 at the first break meant Avondale had a lot to do to redress the balance after Harry Payne had dropped 19 points in those first ten minutes.

Rangitoto continued the charge in the second period with Obadaiah Paea joining Payne in double figures as they established a 57-30 half-time lead. Jaga Mete led the Avondale effort with ten points at the break.

Ethan Mandeno and Ben Spencer-Powell got in on the scoring act in the third period as the lead ballooned out to 82-49.

Michael Reddy and Jack Childs gave the Avondale score a degree of respectability in the final quarter but Rangitoto cruised to their third win of the season ahead of their trip to Westlake on Friday.

The defeat means that Avondale will have to win their final two games to have any chance of avoiding finishing the season with the wooden spoon.

Rangitoto 112 – H Payne 33, O Paea 22, E Skelton 17, E Mandeno 16, T Te Puni 13

Avondale 68 – J Mete 22, T Toyer 10, P Karatau 9, M Reddy 6, J Childs 6

Premier Standings

12-1 Mt Albert, Rosmini

8-5 Auckland Grammar

6-7 Westlake

6-6 St Kentigern

3-10 St Peter’s

3-10 Rangitoto

1-11 Avondale

In the Girls Premier competition St Mary’s won the battle of the Saints against St Kentigern 71-34.

With one round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade regular season to play, the top four placing’s are still not decided and neither is the wooden spoon.

Massey High and Rangitoto College will both go into the final game with their semi-final hopes still alive and Westlake Girls and Mt Albert Grammar will enter the last fixture with the runners-up place still to play for.

The one certainty is that Auckland Girls Grammar School, after recording win number thirteen, are one victory away from a regular season clean sweep. They proved far too good for Carmel College winning a one-sided game 99-14.

Mele Latu and Eliana Tuaiti were the main architects of the AGGS win. Latu (34 points) demonstrated her all-round ability with six threes to compliment her inside game and Tuaiti constantly found teammates in open space for easy baskets as well as scoring 27 points herself.

They will face a more serious examination when they play MAGS on Friday whilst Carmel will have to re-group for a bottom of the table clash against St Kentigern.

AGGS 99 – M Latu 34, E Tuaiti 27, H Blakey 19, L Tuaiti 10

Carmel 14 – E Broomfield 4

Shauna Povey scored a game high 21 points on her return from New Zealand U18 international duty but it wasn’t enough to prevent Massey High School going down 83-61 at home to Westlake Girls.

Westlake, with five players in double figures, chalked up their tenth win of the season ahead of the North Shore derby with Rangitoto College next Friday.

Emme Shearer helped Westlake to an 18-10 opening lead and threes from Tabitha Leyson and Jess Moors increased the advantage to a significant 38-20 at half-time.

Triples from Laticia Jost and Ramona Fuiavaa increased the Massey scoring rate but Westlake were in no mood to relinquish the initiative leading 59-38 with a quarter to play.

Povey and Maya Taingahue shared 18 points in the last period but Rosie Dil and Piper Manolas bettered that tally as they accumulated a collective 20 points to steer Westlake to victory.

Massey 61 – S Povey 21, M Taingahue 13, Y Tevao 8

Westlake 83 – E Shearer 16, R Dil 15, T Leyson 14, J Moors 14, P Manolas 12

Another player that had been with the New Zealand team at the U17 World Cup in Belarus was Sharne Pupuke-Robati and she scored 19 points to compliment a season high 21 points from Moanekah Va’ai as Mt Albert Grammar School beat St Mary’s College 74-58.

Half a dozen first quarter points from Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu and Leata Te Nana-Williams helped St Mary’s edge the opening ten minutes 17-15 but MAGS dominated the second period to lead 40-26 at half-time.

A triple from Va’ai and multiple scores from Tessa Talo-Tomokino and Pupuke-Robati established that advantage.

Riana Matiseni, Daneka Manese and Kailahi-Fulu reduced the MAGS lead in the third period – St Mary’s trailing 53-46 at three-quarter time.

MAGS re-established control in the fourth, a pair of late threes from Va’ai sealing a tenth win of the season ahead of the match up with rivals Auckland Girls Grammar next Friday.

MAGS 74 – M Va’ai 21, S Pupuke-Robati 19, T Talo-Tomokino 13, M Kelly 12

St Mary’s 58 –18, S Te Nana-Williams 9, L Te Nana-Williams 8, R Matiseni 8

Rangitoto College were well served by the trio of Bella Elgar, Gracie Hasler-Ewins and Hannah Wentworth as they beat St Kentigern College 62-53 to keep their top four aspirations alive.

St Kentigern’s Tash Leishman was to the fore early on but Elgar scored 11 first quarter points as Rangitoto built a 21-13 lead.

Wentworth continued the Rangitoto scoring momentum in the second period as the hosts led 33-20 at half-time.

St Kent’s reduced the deficit in the third period with Khanye-Lii Munro-Nonoa and Leishman cutting the lead to ten points (46-36).

Misaki Chen scored a triple to lift St Kent’s comeback chances but Rangitoto closed out their sixth win of the season with Wentworth making a couple of telling threes late in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.

Rangitoto 62 – H Wentworth 17, I Elgar 17, G Hasler-Ewins 9, M Spooner 6

St Kentigern 53 – N Leishman 16, M Chen 11, K Munro-Nonoa 8, R Flay 7,

Premier Standings

13-0 AGGS

10-3 MAGS, Westlake

6-7 Massey, Rangitoto

3-9 St Mary’s

2-11 Carmel

1-11 St Kentigern

The penultimate full round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grade regular season competition on Friday night saw wins for the two top sides Rosmini College and Mt Albert Grammar School.

There was also a first win of the season for Avondale College, with their defeat of Westlake Boys opening the door for St Kentigern College to move into fourth place on the Premier ladder.

It was an emotional night at Avondale College with Doe Williams back on the home floor to make a presentation on Senior Night.

He and the largest crowd of the year witnessed a standout individual performance from Jaga Mete in a fine team performance as Avondale came from behind in the dying seconds to clinch their first win of the season against Westlake Boys.

Mete scored a Premier Grade season best 46 points but it was his final three that mattered. Tom Cowie had sunk a couple of pressure free throws to give Westlake a 99-98 lead with thirteen seconds left on the clock. Mete proceeded to make a spinning lay-up and convert the ensuing additional free throw after being fouled and with little time left on the clock Westlake were unable to get off a game tying shot.

The tone was set for a high scoring affair in the opening period when Westlake ran up 34 points to lead by eight – Dallas Clayton leading the way with nine points.

Westlake were held to less than half of that number in the second period and with Mete making 14 points in the quarter Avondale closed the gap t 49-45 at half-time.

Armand Donaldson scored nine points for the hosts in the third period but Paora Winitana, on his way to a season high 22 points, scored ten of those in the third to give Westlake a 73-68 lead at three-quarter time.

The tension mounted in the final period but the scoring pace didn’t slacken.

Dylan Wylkie made three of his six triples in the fourth quarter and with Cowie and Josh Kooiman also landing from deep it appeared as if Westlake would hang on for the win.

However Mete and Avondale were not to be denied.

Mete made 18 points in the final ten minutes, Tavhir Toyer chipped in with seven and Avondale, after a run of ten straight defeats, finally had a victory to cherish.

Avondale 101 – J Mete 46, T Toyer 21, A Donaldson 21, K Eteru 6

Westlake 99 – P Winitana 22, D Wylkie 18, T Cowie 17, J Kooiman 14

After Westlake’s loss the door was ajar for St Kentigern College to move into fourth place on the Premier table.

St Kent’s didn’t just push the door open they kicked it down surging to an emphatic 96-62 away win on the back of a game high 26 points from Shalom Broughton and a Premier career best 23 points from Levic Kerr.

Logan McIntosh and Harry Payne scored early points for Rangitoto but Broughton scored eleven points to carry St Kent’s to an 18-15 lead.

The visitors ran away with the second period (24-10) with Kerr and Broughton sharing sixteen points.

Ethan Mandeno led a Rangitoto fight-back after half-time but the home side still trailed 58-44 at three-quarter time.

A further revival was quickly extinguished by St Kents – Max Shorter, Alex McNaught, Zac Chan, Gabriel Nolan and Tom Chester all made threes in a 38 points fourth quarter scoring blitz to carry the visitors to a sixth win of the season and a semi-final berth in sight.

Rangitoto 62 – E Mandeno 16, H Payne 13, L McIntosh 11, O Paea 11

St Kentigern 96 – S Broughton 26, L Kerr 23, M Shorter 13. Z Chan 9

They were teammates at the U17 World Cup in Argentina last month but Anzac Rissetto and Mitchell Dance had a battle royal at Auckland Grammar. Neither gave an inch as they battled away for supremacy in the paint. Rissetto ended with 26 points and Dance 30 points – both had their periods of ascendancy in an eye catching encounter but away from that match up Rosmini put on a dominant display winning 117-77

Ilaisa Tela made some nice inside baskets for Grammar but Rosmini, despite finding some early foul trouble, led 26-16 at quarter time with Dance, Marvin Williams-Dunn and Taine Murray consistently finding ways to the basket.

An 8-2 Rosmini run was broken by Tela but when Joseph Hylton stretched the visitors lead to 40-22 Grammar Head Coach Lindsay Tait needed a timeout.

Rissetto made a couple of inside baskets after the resumption but Rozza responded with back to back threes from Williams-Dunn and Dance.

The half ended with Connor Ngan and Kainoa Lepou exchanging athletic drives – 57-35 to Rosmini.

Ngan and Daniel Boyd made threes early in the third frame and when Rissetto went coast-to coast it was Rosmini’s turn to call a timeout with their lead trimmed to 61-45.

Another Williams-Dunn triple and three straight baskets from Taine Murray carried Rosmini to an 84-61 lead at three-quarter time.

Hylton and Sean Murphy fuelled another strong Rosmini run early in the fourth – late points from Rissetto and Teacum McCarthy doing little to stop Rosmini moving to 12-1 and their hopes of a Minor Premiership still alive.

AGS 77 – A Rissetto 26, I Tela 16, C Ngan 13, D Boyd 6, T McCarthy 6

Rosmini 117 – M Dance 30, M Williams-Dunn 26, T Murray 23, S Murphy 13, J Hylton 12

Sataan Tawera and Ryan Laumatia were quickly into their work at St Peter’s College helping Mt Albert Grammar to a 20-13 lead.

There were lean pickings for St Peter’s in the second quarter –Phoenix Leupolu landed a triple but his team could only muster nine points in the period. Manu Dorcil landed a three for Mt Albert and with scoring contributions across the board led 36-22 at half-time.

Whititera Parata led a St Peter’s recovery in the third frame – he had 11 points in the quarter. However Dorcil, Tawera and Laumatia kept MAGS in the ascendancy – ahead 56-38 at the last break.

Leupolu knocked down three straight baskets for St Peter’s but MAGS had little trouble in marching to their eleventh straight win ahead of the clash with traditional rivals Auckland Grammar next Friday.

St Peter’s 51 – W Parata17, P Leupolu 15, I Franklin 9, B Schuster 6

MAGS 73 – S Tawera 19, R Laumatia 15, M Dorcil 14, N Wilson 8

Premier Standings

12-1 Mt Albert, Rosmini

8-5 Auckland Grammar

6-5 St Kentigern

5-7 Westlake

3-10 St Peter’s

2-10 Rangitoto

1-10 Avondale

On Monday August 6^th Westlake Boys will entertain St Kentigern College in a fixture that may well determine the fourth semi-final place and Avondale College, with three games to play in five days, will visit Rangitoto College.

Division One of the Thomson Trophy Playoffs are now set

A three-way tie for fourth spot eventuated between Christchurch Boys’ High, Rangiora High, and St. Andrew’s College, after each of the teams won on Tuesday night. After using the FIBA classification procedures, Christchurch Boys’ finished in fourth place, Rangiora fifth, and St. Andrew’s in sixth.

Cashmere High finished their unbeaten regular season to finish first, and a guaranteed spot in the semi-finals (and will hold onto the Dowson Cup the rest of the year). Shirley Boys’ finished third after the game of the week battle with CBHS.

Middleton Grange finished second and used a gigantic 32-5 run in the third quarter to eliminate Christ’s College from the playoffs. Gators had five double-figure scorers (Ah Li Fenika 15; Jarred Burnett 14; Trey Te Awa 11; Jedidiah Rea 11; Harry Roth 10) with Christ’s College having similar scoring outputs, but only three players above ten points (Will De Geest 14; Mason Whittaker 13; Aiden Palmer 13).

Division Two of the Thomson Trophy Competition had a barnburner eventuate between Ellesmere High School and Lincoln with both teams battling to try to force their way into the playoffs.

The top three are all but assured (St. Thomas and Ashburton are both 7-1; Papanui 6-2).

Ellesmere looked to be cruising, up 57-45 at halftime. A 22-2 run in Lincoln’s favour turned the tide before the visitors managed a tough fight-back – snatching the lead late in the fourth quarter. Back to back three-point buckets for Lincoln’s Kyle Koster (25 points) saw them tie, and then take the lead, as they went on to win 98-96. Cody Wareham top scored with a huge 43-point game for Lincoln, but was outdone individually by Ellesmere’s Sean Lemon (57 points), who had support from Matthew Riches (20 points).

In the Whelan Trophy Competition, Avonside, Ellesmere and Lincoln are all tied for first equal in Division II at 7-1, with St. Margaret’s just behind in fourth place at 6-2. The Avonside Lady Eagles easily won against Papanui on Tuesday after a slow start, but finished off the game on a 36-2 run to win by the convincing score of 95-34. Molly Cockburn led the way with 23 points, and had four other double-figure scorers join her in the win (Bell Digby 19; Megan Shannon 18; Kyla Lynch-Brown 11; Cynthia Patea 10). Paige McIlraith top scored with 13 for Papanui and Izzy Orr had 12.

Lincoln High built a 28-10 first quarter lead against St. Margaret’s and despite being tested numerous times, never relinquished it as they hung on to win 60-54. Samantha McCrone scored 15, while both Mandy Herman and Sophie Withell had 10 each for Lincoln. Alex Cooper knocked in 24 points for St. Margaret’s with 24.

On August 15 the NZ Broadcasting School will be live-streaming two fantastic games from Cowles Stadium (free entry as well). A top four Whelan Matchup between Rangi Ruru and Christchurch Girls’ is scheduled to tip off at 6:30pm, with a boys’ Quarter-final matchup between the Shirley Boys’ High Spartans and Christchurch Boys’ following (scheduled to tip at 8:00pm) – we’ll have more details on this next week along with all of the other matchups.

From James Lissaman.

Macca’s Week Nine Results

Thomson Division One:

St. Andrew’s 80-63 Hillmorton

Christchurch Boys’ 87-76 Shirley

Rangiora 73-65 Burnside

Middleton Grange 98-52 Christ’s

Cashmere 121-65 St. Bede’s

Thomson Division Two:

St. Thomas 87-76 Papanui

Cathedral 77-53 Riccarton

Lincoln 98-96 Ellesmere

Kaiapoi 88-80 Linwood

Ashburton 74-45 Hornby

Whelan Division One:

Rangiora 62-56 Ashburton

St. Andrew’s 72-68 Christchurch Girls’

Middleton 92-50 Cashmere

Whelan Division Two:

Hillmorton 50-42 Villa Maria

Ellesmere 67-45 Burnside

Lincoln 60-54 St. Margaret’s

Avonside 95-34 Papanui

Marian 89-50 Te Pā

Keen to see more live music at Premier games

Auckland Girls Grammar School wrapped up the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grade regular season title with two rounds to spare on Monday. In addition Westlake Girls moved into second spot on the ladder and Rangitoto College rejuvenated their chances of a top four place. St Mary’s College proved too good for Carmel College in the fourth game played in Round 12.

Auckland Girls Grammar are on track for an unbeaten regular season campaign after easing past St Kentigern College 81-34.

Misaki Chen connected with an early three for St Kentigern but half a dozen points from Elianna Tuaiti helped AGGS to an early 21-13 lead.

A combination of defensive pressure and consistent buckets from Heeni Blakey and Tyla Tuala took Grammar further ahead – another triple from Chen helped the hosts but they trailed 42-21 at half-time.

Elianna Tuaiti continued her good work and Mele Latu chipped in with half a dozen points as the lead for the defending champions blew out to 64-25 at three-quarter time.

Courtney Griffiths scored a pair of baskets for St Kent’s in the fourth quarter but Tuala took her tally to a season best 20 points as AGGS took their record to 12-0 with two games to play in the regular season.

St Kentigern 34 – M Chen 8, C Griffiths 6, N Leishman 6

AGGS 81 – E Tuaiti 24, T Tuala 20, H Blakey 15, M Latu 8

A season best 16 points from Gracie Hasler-Ewins and 14 points apiece from Bella Elgar and Hannah Wentworth carried Rangitoto to an important win at Massy High.

The two teams tied the opening period (15 points apiece) before Rangitoto enjoyed the better of the second period to lead 34-26 at half-time.

Hasler- Ewins and Laticia Jost were the leading scorers for each team at the break with nine points apiece.

Alyesha Schuster and Ramona Fuiavaa knocked down threes for Massey in the third frame but the visitors remained ahead (46-35) at the end of the third quarter.

Rangitoto further extended their advantage in the closing minutes – triples from Wentworth and Ella Moore plus seven points from Elgar doing the trick.

Rangitoto are now just one win behind Massey with two rounds to play in the fight for fourth spot and a semi-final berth.

Massey 53 – A Schuster 13, L Jost 9, R Fuiavaa 7, T Aratangi 7

Rangitoto 69 – G Hasler-Ewins 16, H Wentworth 14, I Elgar 14,

Westlake Girls High beat Mt Albert Grammar 78-60 in a dress rehearsal for their upcoming semi-final. The two are locked in second spot on the ladder with 9-3 records and are certain to meet again later in the month when a place in the Premier Final will be at stake.

Piper Manolas got Westlake off to a fast start as they opened up an 18-12 lead in the first ten minutes.

Jess Moors, Emme Shearer and Rosalie Dil each knocked down triples in the second period as Westlake moved to a 40-23 advantage at the interval.

Jada Manase and Monica Kelly led the MAGS response after half-time but Westlake were still in control at three-quarter time with a 60-41 lead.

Manase and Tessa Talo-Tomokino made threes but Moors and Mareta Davidson ensured minimum damage was done to the Lake lead in the closing stages.

Westlake 78 – J Moors 17, E Shearer 15, P Manolas 12, M Davidson 8

MAGS 60 – M Kelly 14, J Manase 13, T Talo-Tomokino 12, R Fiatau 9

St Mary’s entertained Carmel with both teams having registered two wins apiece before the game. It was the hosts, perhaps spurred on by the school band playing at each interlude that made it a third win with a 74-43 victory.

St Mary’s shaded the opening quarter 17-14 with Safena Te Nana-Williams and Emily Broomfield prominent.

The hosts pulled away to lead 47-20 at half-time as Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu and Riana Matiseni posted points.

Estelle Davidson and Georgia Green made scores for Carmel in the third and a better defensive effort put the brakes on the St Mary’s scoring.

However Saints pulled away again in the last quarter with Taumaia Malolo and S Te Nana-Williams scoring a brace of baskets each.

More live bands at Premier games please!

St Mary’s 74 – Z Kailahi-Fulu 15, R Matiseni 12, S Te Nana-Williams 12, T Malolo 9

Carmel 43 – E Broomfield 11, E Davidson 8, I MacGregor 7, K Linstrom 6

Premier Standings

12-0 AGGS

9-3 MAGS, Westlake

6-6 Massey

5-7 Rangitoto

3-8 St Mary’s

2-10 Carmel

1-10 St Kentigern