LACEY LOWDOWN

Another 40 points (41 points to be precise) from Auckland Grammar centre Anzac Rissetto, his second in four days, accounted for St Kentigern College in Round 12 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier competition.

With two rounds of the regular season to play the result locked Grammar into third place on the competition ladder with an 8-4 record.

In the other games played on Monday wins for Mt Albert Grammar and Rosmini College (both have 11-1 records) assured those teams of the top two places with the final standing unlikely to be decided until the final round of games on August 10^th – MAGS currently hold top spot on points differential.

It was a two-point thriller when Auckland Grammar School and St Kentigern College met earlier in the season and it was another ding-dong battle at St Kent’s second time around with Rissetto proving the difference maker as the visitors won 80-76.

The consistent Max Shorter and Zac Chan shared a dozen points as St Kent’s shaded the opening frame 22-21.

Levic Kerr kept the St Kent’s score ticking over in the second quarter but a three from Connor Ngan and the increasing influence of Rissetto and Ilaisa Tela gave Grammar a 46-36 half-time advantage.

St Kent’s trimmed that lead by four points in the third quarter as Shorter, Shalom Broughton and Elliot Watson brought the hosts back into contention trailing 67-61 at the third break.

Defence dominated the closing minutes – Rissetto and Ngan doing just enough to subdue the St Kent’s challenge in a tight finish.

St Kentigern Head Coach Aaron Young was philosophical after the game.

“It was an exciting game and our boys did a great job fighting back in the second half, in the end it came down to a couple of plays.

“Anzac was a beast and had a huge impact on the game especially when Shalom Broughton got into early foul trouble.”

AGS 80 – A Rissetto 41, I Tela 16, C Ngan 7, T McCarthy 6, D Boyd 6

St Kentigern 76 – M Shorter 31, L Kerr 14, S Broughton 13, E Watson

Mt Albert Grammar kept hold of their top spot on the Premier ladder after a tight 63-55 victory at Westlake Boys.

MAGS were indebted to Sataan Tawera (22 points) and Ryan Laumatia (16 points) as the pair combined for 17 points in the final quarter to seal the win.

Josh Kooiman (18 points) continued his good form – a pair of threes taking Westlake to a narrow 12-10 opening quarter lead.

The two teams split 24 points in the second quarter – points from Dallas Clayton handy for Westlake as they retained a two-point lead (24-22) at the break.

Kooiman, Dylan Wilkie and Jackson Port all scored from beyond the arc for Lake in the third but it was MAGS that edged ahead (41-39) through a triple from Tawera and valuable points from Theo Hurdley at the back end of the period.

It remained a dog-fight in the closing minutes but Tawera and Laumatia saw MAGS home for a tenth straight win.

Westlake 55 – J Kooiman 18, C Atkinson 9, D Wilkie 8, J Port 7

MAGS 63 – S Tawera 22, R Laumatia 16, M Dorcil 9, C Aiono 6

Boston Schuster opened the scoring for St Peter’s College and with Jacob Errey and Whitihera Parata causing Rosmini some problems under the boards it was only a Taine Murray jump shot for Rosmini that separated the two teams at quarter time (19-17).

From there it was all downhill for the hosts with transition buckets from Joseph Hylton and Sean Murphy plus inside baskets from Mitch Dance suddenly separating the two sides (44-25).

Schuster broke the Rosmini scoring monopoly but Murray replied with the first three of the game on the stroke of half time – Rosmini ahead 55-27

Sam Glover scored the opening basket of the second half but buckets from Jason Mittef and Reimar Cruz ignited the Rosmini bench.

Point guard Jack Donnelly sparked the St Peter’s offence with a couple of scores but the Rozza lead had ballooned out to 84-40 at three-quarter time.

A Thomas Morgan shooting display – he made five triples – was the highlight of the fourth quarter.

Errey was outstanding in a losing cause but his points and those of his teammates had become a scarce commodity as Rosmini eased to the win that cemented them a top two spot on the table.

St Peters 54 – J Errey 18, I Franklin 14. W Parata 6, B Schuster 6

Rosmini 118 – T Murray 24, T Morgan 17, M Dance 14, M Williams-Dunn 12, J Hylton 10

The Rangitoto College versus Avondale College fixture was postponed to August 6^th.

Premier Standings

11-1 Mt Albert, Rosmini

8-4 Auckland Grammar

5-6 Westlake

5-5 St Kentigern

3-9 St Peter’s

2-9 Rangitoto

0-10 Avondale

There were just two games played when the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier competition resumed on Friday.

In a top four match up Mt Albert Grammar needed a fourth quarter fight back to overcome Massey High before winning 74-68.

The two teams were shorn of a Shauna and a Sharne with both on New Zealand international duty at the U17 World Cup in Belarus.

Mt Albert, without Sharne Pupuke-Robati, made the better start ending the first quarter 17-13 ahead thanks to a brace of baskets apiece from Jada Manase and Moanekah Va’ai.

Massey edged a little closer in a free flowing second period as Ramona Fuiavaa, Terina Aratangi and Alyesha Schuster kept the score ticking over. Tessa Talo-Tomokino and Raykesha Fiatau were doing the same for MAGS – they led 38-36 at the interval.

Massey appeared not to be missing Shauna Povey as they outscored their visitors 20-10 in the third frame. Aratangi knocked down three triples in the period and Laticia Jost added a fourth as the hosts carried a 56-48 lead into the three-quarter break.

Fuiavaa scored 8 points for Massey in the final period but their scoring dried up from other sources. In contrast MAGS found scoring a good deal easier – with Manase scoring ten points and Talo-Tomokino six – Massey were outscored 26-12 in the final ten minutes.

The loss leaves Massey two wins behind third placed Westlake but two clear of fifth placed Rangitoto, the only other team with a realistic chance of claiming a semi-final spot. MAGS remain second, one win ahead of Westlake.

Massey 68 – R Fuiavaa 24, T Aratangi 14, L Jost 11, A Schuster 11

MAGS 74 – J Manase 22, R Fiatau 18, T Talo-Tomokino 17, M Kelly 8

Also in action at the U17 World Cup is Tayla Dalton and her presence was sorely missed by Carmel College who were well beaten by close neighbours Westlake 105-28.

The writing was on the wall early on as Westlake charged to a 24-9 opening quarter lead extended to 41-11 at half-time.

Emily Broomfield and Georgia Green scored all the Carmel points in the third stanza but they trailed 71-20 at the end of the period.

Westlake, led by 26 points from Emme Shearer, also had Makenzee Boucher, Jess Moors, Rosie Dil and Simone Barnard in double figures as they cruised to an eighth win of the season with only one game dropped in their last nine outings.

Carmel 28 – E Broomfield 10, G Green 9

Westlake 105 – E Shearer 26, M Boucher 14, J Moors 12, R Dil 12, S Barnard 10, S Woolford 10

The Rangitoto College versus Auckland Girls Grammar fixture was played before the school holiday break with AGGS winning 88-52.

The St Kentigern College against St Mary’s game was postponed until a later date.

Premier Standings

11-0 AGGS

9-2 MAGS

8-3 Westlake

6-5 Massey

4-7 Rangitoto

2-8 St Mary’s

2-9 Carmel

1-9 St Kentigern

The Auckland Secondary School’s Premier competition got underway again with a full round of games on Friday. The top three teams all recorded victories as St Kentigern College joined them in semi-final contention.

Anzac Rissetto was wearing singlet number thirteen and scored Auckland Grammar’s first thirteen points – it proved to be an unlucky omen for Rangitoto College. The New Zealand international centre powered his way to 40 points as Grammar won 95-69.

Grammar took a firm grasp of proceeding in the opening period to lead 26-8 and effectively sealed the deal in the second frame to lead 50-21 at half-time.

Ilaisa Tela complimented Rissetto with 17 points and Caleb Landon chipped in with nine.

Led by 31 points from Harry Payne and double figure contribution from Ethan Skelton and Ethan Mandeno, Rangi made a better showing in the second half but Rissetto had already done lasting damage.

Rangitoto 69 – H Payne 31, E Mandeno 12, E Skelton 11

AGS 95 – A Rissetto 40, I Tela 17, C Landon 9, I Nua 6, T McCarthy 6

Although both teams were deprived of a couple of starters the Rosmini College versus Westlake local derby was still a full-blooded affair played in front of the biggest crowd of the season at the Tom Gerrard Gym.

Taine Murray opened the scoring with a pair of baskets, Joe Wuthrich replied with a brace for the visitors.

Mitch Dance scored off a delightful pass from Kainoa Lepou, Rosmini out to a 15-4 lead and Westlake coach Zac Fitzgerald require a timeout.

Kooiman landed a three on the resumption but Sean Murphy answered with the same number. Kooiman landed another trey prior to further triples from Marvin Williams-Dunn and Lepou – Rosmini ahead 29-14 at quarter time.

Transition baskets from Murray and Lepou followed a Paora Winitana score – 38-20 the lead for the hosts.

Kooiman was having an outstanding first half – 15 points to lead all scorers at the break – his back-to back threes repaired some of the damage inflicted by Lepou and Reimar Cruz but Rozza were in control at half-time leading 53-35.

Rosmini maintained their 20+ points buffer ahead 65-43 six minutes into the third. Jackson Port and Kooiman dropped threes and Campbell Atkinson a spinning inside move to trigger a Westlake mini-revival but they still trailed 72-55 at the end of the frame.

Lepou and Williams-Dunn pounced on a couple of sloppy Westlake turnovers – 81-59 three minutes into the fourth period – the result never in doubt despite late scores from Dylan Wilkie and Winitana.

Rosmini 88 – M Dance 18, T Murray 16, M Williams-Dunn 14, K Lepou 12

Westlake 70 – J Kooiman 18, J Wuthrich 13, P Winitana 13, D Wilkie 9

The battle of the Saints was won by St Kentigern College, Max Shorter (32 points) going past the thirty points mark for the fifth time to pace his team to an 80-63 win at St Peter’s College after they had trailed early on.

Boston Schuster made ten first quarter points for St Peter’s who made a promising start to lead 19-15 after ten minutes.

Tom Chester made a triple late in the first half for St Kent’s but Schuster and Whititera Parata gave the hosts a 35-28 half-time lead.

St Kent’s made a move after the interval as Shorter reeled off 13 points to take his team into the lead (49-48).

Another move, this one of greater significance, came in the final ten minutes as St Kent’s outscored the home team 31-15. Jacob Errey and Max Halpin did their best to stem the tide but St Kent’s forwards Shalom Broughton and Levic Kerr shared 23 points to dominated the closing minutes.

The victory moves St Kentigern into equal fourth place on the ladder with Westlake – the two teams with five wins apiece.

St Peter’s 63 – J Errey 18, B Schuster 18, M Halpin 7, L Buckingham 7, W Parata 7

St Kent’s 80 – M Shorter 32, S Broughton 19, L Kerr 11, Z Chan 8

A balanced scoring effort highlighted Mt Albert Grammar’s 86-70 win at Avondale College as seven players contributed six points or more.

Preston Karatau, on his way to a game high 23 points, knocked down a couple of early triples for Avondale but 10 points from Sataan Tawera gave MAGS a 22-13 lead at quarter time.

Armand Donaldson scored eight second quarter points for the hosts but Ryan Laumatia and Manu Dorcil helped MAGS stretch out to a 49-31 lead at half-time.

Avondale were kept to 11 points in the third quarter, Clarke Aiono adding to their troubles as the MAGS lead reached 67-42 at the last break.

Karatau made his fifth three of the game and Javhir Toyer contributed handy points as Avondale finished strongly although never threatening the lead of the Premier table toppers.

Avondale 70 – P Karatau 23, A Donaldson 16, T Toyer 16

MAGS 86 – R Laumatia 17, S Tawera 17, M Dorcil 14, C Aiono 12

Premier Standings

10-1 Mt Albert, Rosmini

7-4 Auckland Grammar

5-5 Westlake

5-4 St Kentigern

3-8 St Peter’s

2-9 Rangitoto

0-10 Avondale

The Whelan Top Four has now been found, with a tiebreaker being needed for the final position.

Kaiapoi was the big winner on the night in the McDonald’s Whelan Trophy Competition, winning by 27 points over their North Canterbury Neighbours from Rangiora.

Equally important for Kaiapoi’s hopes, Christchurch Girls’ knocked out Middleton Grange 65-52. Despite being down 21-12 at the end of the first quarter, the Gators used balanced scoring from Annabel Lapworth (12), Katie Jo Van den Bogaert (11), Sofia Kennedy (10) and Fia Lai Kong (10), to jump ahead 43-45 at the end of three quarters. CGHS’ Olivia McIntyre (30), Sammy Arnold (13) and Violet Eaton (12) helped spark an 11-0 run to retake the lead, and hung on to finalise their place in the Top Four.

Rangi Ruru and St. Andrew’s join Kaiapoi and Christchurch Girls’ when they battle for semi-final seedings in term Three.

In Division II, Ellesmere welcomed Megan Ellis (Middleton Grange 2017) to their line-up, and dealt Avonside their first defeat of the season, 63-58 – setting up a very interesting last few rounds with four teams (Avonside, Ellesmere, Lincoln, St. Margaret’s) all tied at 6-1. Lincoln High got there by virtue of a comprehensive 83-30 win over Papanui. Kate Herman led the way with 22 points, while her sister Mandy had 14. Samantha McCrone also had a twenty-point game (21) for the winners.

In the Thomson Trophy Ihaia Kendrew had another big scoring week with 36 against the Gators. Hillmorton were able to stay close to Gators through the first half – only down 48-44, with Ihaia Cox-Winiata’s and Jacob Milne’s 10 scoring ten points each. Ben Carlile-Smith (27) with Trey Te Awa (14) and Harry Roth (12) extended the Gators’ lead to 11 after three quarters, and then pushed it out to 18 at the final buzzer, 92-74.

Round Nine at the beginning of term three sets up some compelling games, with Cashmere, Middleton Grange and Shirley Boys’ all guaranteed to make the quarter-finals, only three spots remain to be claimed. Christchurch Boys’, Christ’s College, Rangiora, and St. Andrew’s are all in contention for the final three spaces, with one team guaranteed to be disappointed.

Rangi Ruru and Cashmere High retained the Phil Burns’ and Dowson Cups respectively, with only Rangi Ruru needing to physically take the court against Cashmere to defend the cup. There are no games scheduled over the school holidays, or week one of term three, so Tuesday July 31 is the next date for our competitions to back in earnest.

From James Lissaman

Week Eight Results

Whelan Division II
Ellesmere 63-58 Avonside

Lincoln 83-30 Papanui

Villa Maria 54-25 Marian

Hillmorton 62-33 Burnside

Whelan Division I
St. Andrew’s 76-47 Cashmere

Rangi Ruru 77-41 Cashmere

Kaiapoi 77-48 Rangiora

Christchurch Girls’ 65-52 Middleton Grange

St. Andrew’s 81-57 Ashburton

Thomson Division II
St. Thomas 92-59 Linwood

Ashburton 86-65 Ellesmere

Lincoln 78-76 Rangiora New Life

Riccarton 101-76 Hornby

Cathedral 103-76 Kaiapoi

Thomson Division I
Shirley Boys’ 75-64 Rangiora

Christ’s 85-69 St. Andrew’s

Middleton 92-74 Hillmorton

Cashmere 20-0 Burnside (default)

Rangitoto College entertained Auckland Girls Grammar School on Monday night in a game brought forward from the first week of next term.

A change of date or not it didn’t make any difference to Auckland’s run of success as they racked up their eleventh consecutive victory of the season winning 88-52.

Bella Elgar and Hannah Wentworth scored all of Rangitoto’s points in the opening quarter but with each of their starters featuring on the scoresheet Grammar headed into the first break with a 25-14 lead.

Rangi had the better of the second period – Elgar and Gracie Hasler-Ewins to the fore – as they closed to 35-30 at half-time.

Zhanay Hettig, on her way to a season best 31 points, was instrumental in Grammar reasserting their superiority in the third quarter. She had a dozen points in the period and Elianna Tuaiti half that as the defending champions moved out to 59-40 at the three-quarter time.

Hettig carried on her merry scoring way in the fourth and aided by Heeni Blakey and Mele Latu, recently named in the Junior Tall Ferns extended squad, Grammar had little trouble keeping their unbeaten record intact. For Rangitoto a string of wins are essential as they now find themselves two wins behind fourth placed Massey High having played a game more, with a top four play-off berth hanging in the balance.

All teams now have a break before competition resumes after the school holidays on July 27^th.

Rangitoto 52 – H Wentworth 14, I Elgar 13, G Hasler-Ewins 10

AGGS 88 – Z Hettig 31, E Tuaiti 16, H Blakey 12, M Latu 11, L Tuaiti 10

Premier Standings

11-0 AGGS

8-2 MAGS

7-3 Westlake

6-4 Massey

4-7 Rangitoto

2-8 Carmel, St Mary’s

1-9 St Kentigern

Last Friday in the tenth round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Girl’s competition the top four teams were matched against the bottom four and the results were predictable – wins for Westlake Girls, Massey High, Mt Albert Grammar and Auckland Girls Grammar.

Massey High had little trouble disposing of Carmel College winning 97-46.

The game did throw up a slightly odd statistic as Carmel guard Tayla Dalton scored all her team’s points in both the opening and third quarters.

She scored nine points in the opener although Shauna Povey matched that, as Massey burst out to a 25-9 lead.

Forward Qaizden Stephano, on her way to a season best 14 points, scored ten of those in the second frame but threes from Yzabelle Tevao and Povey helped Massey to a 46-25 half-time lead.

Dalton’s eleven points in the third counted for little as Massey piled on another twenty eight points – Ramona Fuiavaa and Terina Aratangi joined Povey and Tevao in double figures.

Alyesha Schuster also moved into double-digit points as Massey bossed proceedings from start to finish.

Massey 97 – S Povey 22, Y Tevao 19, A Schuster 13, R Fuiavaa 12, T Aratangi 11

Carmel 46 – T Dalton 21, Q Stephano 14, E Davidson 6

Mt Albert Grammar were also comfortable winners. A couple of triples from Moanekah Va’ai and a dozen points from Sharne Pupuke-Robati propelled Mt Albert to a 25-11 opening quarter lead against Rangitoto College.

More threes from Tessa Talo-Tomokino and Jada Manase (she totaled five in the game) extended the MAGS lead to 50-19 at the break.

Hannah Wentworth twice converted from beyond the arc either side of half-time and Bella Elgar chipped in with useful points for Rangitoto but MAGS were out of sight at half-time leading 64-30 and a couple of competition points safely in the bag.

Mt Albert 88 – S Pupuke-Robati 26, J Manase 17, M Va’ai 11, T Talo-Tomokino 10, R Fiatau 10

Rangitoto 48 – H Wentworth 16, I Elgar 11, M Spooner 5

A less than full strength St Kentigern side were overwhelmed at Westlake Girls going down 123-38.

Westlake opened up a 30-14 first quarter lead and cruised thereafter as Emme Shearer, Jordyn Maddix and Jess Moors each collected twenty-point hauls.

Renee Flay scored in double figures for St Kent’s in response.

Westlake 123– J Moors 28, E Shearer 24, J Maddix 21, M Davidson 12

St Kentigern 38 – R Flay 11, G Umaga 8, C Griffiths 8

The closest contest of the round saw Auckland Girls Grammar beat St Mary’s College 85-63. It was a game in which Elianna Tuaiti, often the provider, turned scorer as she amassed a season high 28 points.

St Mary’s made a decent start trailing by just a single point (16-15) at the quarter mark.

Tuaiti scored nine points in the second as AGGS took control to lead 46-30 at half-time – Riana Matiseni scored 11 first half points for St Mary’s.

Safena Te Nana-Williams and Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu added to St Mary’s tally but it wasn’t enough to challenge the defending champions. Tuaiti scored another dozen points in the third and with Mele Latu and Heeni Blakey providing assistance AGGS eased to their tenth win of the season.

AGGS 85 – E Tuaiti 28, M Latu 13, H Blakey 12, Z Hettig 11

St Mary’s 63 – R Matiseni 17, Z Kailahi-Fulu 13, S Te Nana-Williams 11

Premier Standings

10-0 AGGS

8-2 MAGS

7-3 Westlake

6-4 Massey

4-6 Rangitoto

2-8 Carmel, St Mary’s

1-9 St Kentigern

Senior A Girls

Mt Roskill 59 Epsom 68

Orewa 54 Botany Downs 53

Avondale 58 Birkenhead 88

Diocesan 30 Pakuranga 70

Senior A Standings

10-0 Epsom

7-3 Mt Roskill, Botany Downs

6-4 Birkenhead

4-6 Orewa, Pakuranga

2-8 Avondale

0-10 Diocesan

There were wins for Auckland Boys Grammar, Rosmini College and Mt Albert Grammar in the tenth round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grade.

Mt Albert continued its good run of form with a hard fought 62-57 home win against Rangitoto College.

An eighth straight win looked as if it would be a formality when MAGS led 37-23 at half time but Ethan Mandeno and Logan McIntosh led a strong Rangitoto second half effort.

McIntosh scored 15 of his team high 19 points after the interval as the Rangitoto deficit was reduced to ten points (49-39) at three-quarter time.

Mandeno chipped in with nine points in the half but Chayse Pinono and Clarke Aiono helped the hosts limp over the line but it wasn’t the most convincing of Mt Albert performances.

Early on, threes from Pinono and Sataan Tawera helped the hosts to an 18-11 first quarter lead.

The pair combined for 15 second quarter points as MAGS, despite the efforts of Obadaiah Paea and Hanseul Nam, improved their advantage in the second period.

Rangi clawed their way back into the contest in the second half but it wasn’t enough to thwart the efforts of the 9-1 league leaders.

MAGS 62 – C Pinono 19, S Tawera 13, N Wilson 9, C Aiono 6

Rangitoto 57 – L McIntosh 19, E Mandeno 15, E Skelton 9

Rosmini also boast a 9-1 record entering the school holiday break after recording a very comfortable 114-63 win at Avondale College.

Avondale had no answer to Rosmini’s pressure defence coughing up a number of turnovers as they fell behind 36-15 in the first ten minutes -Sean Murphy and Terence Abdon into double figures in that time.

Threes from Murphy, Jayden Boucher and Taine Murray, who scored a season best 27 points, stretched the visitors lead to 52-24 at half-time.

Jack Childs and Jaga Mete moved the score along for Avondale in the third but Rosmini, courtesy of Tyler Martin and Joseph Hylton, quickened the pace further- 89-39 ahead with a quarter to play.

Preston Karatau finished with a flurry of points for Avondale but his team were no match for the reigning Schick National Champions.

Avondale 63 – J Mete 17, J Childs 15, P Karatau 13, A Donaldson 8

Rosmini 114 – T Murray 27, S Murphy 18, T Martin 14, T Abdon 13, J Hylton 11

Phoenix Leupolu got St Peter’s College off to a terrific start at Auckland Grammar draining 16 first quarter points as his team flew out to a 27-21 lead.

Ilaisa Tela (14 first half points) and Teancum McCarthy reeled in the visitors, St Peter’s falling behind 50-46 at half-time despite the continued efforts of Leupolu.

Isaiah Franklin made a couple of baskets but St Peter’s slipped further behind in the third frame – Stefan Bigio and Connor Ngan converting from the charity stripe at the end of the period to give Grammar a ten points buffer (73-63).

Leupolu chalked up a season best 29 points but the combined 50 points from Tela and McCarthy proved too much for St Peter’s – Grammar third on the ladder with six wins.

Auckland Grammar 88 – I Tela 27, T McCarthy 23, L Haku 12, C Ngan 11

St Peter’s 77 – P Leupolu 29, W Parata 17, J Errey 12, I Franklin 11

The St Kentigern College v Westlake Boys fixture will be played after the school holidays.

Premier Standings

9-1 Mt Albert, Rosmini

6-4 Auckland Grammar

5-4 Westlake

4-4 St Kentigern

3-7 St Peter’s

2-8 Rangitoto

0-9 Avondale

Senior A Results

Northcote 107 Macleans 101

Massey 95 Birkenhead 90

Jess Moors scored 20 points for Westlake

In round nine of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier competition played on Monday night Auckland Girls Grammar beat Westlake Girls High in overtime and there were also wins for Massey High, Mt Albert Grammar and Rangitoto College.

Auckland Girls Grammar remains unbeaten but only just after a come from behind overtime effort to see off Westlake 68-62.

When Piper Manolas gave Westlake a 43-37 lead in the middle of the final quarter an upset win looked on the cards but back-to-back efforts from Mele Latu meant it was 43-42.

A Merita Davidson baseline jumper maintained the Lake lead (48-44) with 3:20 to play only for the consistent Latu and Zhanay Hettig to tie the score with 2:30 to play.

Latu again, this time with a triple, gave Grammar a 51-48 lead with ninety seconds left on the clock.

Emme Shearer and Hettig exchanged baskets before a desperation effort from Jordyn Maddix, as the shot clock expired, made it a one point game (53-52) in favour of Grammar with under 30 seconds left.

Inexplicably Westlake were gifted possession after a Grammar turnover.

The hosts had 12 seconds to make the winning play following a timeout but the effort from Maddix hit the rim and was safely secured by Tyla Tuala who after being fouled calmly walked the length of the floor and scored with both free throws.

The game appeared to be over with just two seconds to play. However Westlake coach Bronwen Davidson had wisely kept a timeout up her sleeve and on the resumption Moors dropped a long three to force the game into overtime.

The additional five minutes lacked the excitement of the previous period as Latu and Elianna Tuaiti took control. Latu scored 11 points in those five minutes and Tuaiti controlled the tempo – Grammar the win!

Maddix and Moors did all the Westlake scoring as they led 12-9 after quarter one. Both defences dominated proceedings, Westlake in the ascendancy 26-20 at the interval.

Laetitia Tuaiti made the opening score of the third frame although the in-form Moors replied on the next possession. Hettig made a couple of baskets either side of a Manolas triple before Blakey scored of yet another assist by Elianna Tuaiti to make it a one point game at the three-quarter break, 36-35 in favour of Westlake.

From there the excitement was just beginning.

Westlake 62 – J Moors 20, J Maddix 12, E Shearer 11, P Manolas 9

AGGS 68 – M Latu 25, Z Hettig 14, E Tuaiti 9, T Tuala 8

After Rangitoto College had taken a 16-14 lead into the quarter-time break St Mary’s College, thanks to the efforts of Leilani Robertson and Jazz Kailahi-Fulu, outscored their hosts in the second period to lead 36-32 at half-time.

Rangitoto wrestled back the initiative in the third frame as Bella Elgar, and Maania Spooner posted six points each and headed to the fourth quarter with a 54-49 lead.

Safena Te Nana-Williams finished with a game high 23 points after posting 13 of those in the last period. Triples from Elgar and Ella Moore helped Rangi build on their advantage and close out a fourth win of the season.

Rangitoto 74 – I Elgar 17, H Wentworth 16, M Spooner 12, G Hasler-Ewins 10

St Mary’s 66 – S Te Nana-Williams 23, J Kailahi-Fulu 19, L Robertson 8, R Matiseni 7

Mt Albert Grammar racked up thirty-nine first quarter points on their way to a 98-61 home win against Carmel College.

The scoring pace eased in the second period, the two teams splitting twenty-eight points, with MAGS ahead 53-32. Sharne Pupuke-Robati led all scorers with 15 points at the break – Emily Broomfield led the Carmel effort with 10 points.

Georgia Green and Estelle Davidson moved into double figure scoring for Carmel but MAGS pulled further away in the third period to lead 82-45.

Raykesha Fiatau and Moanekah Va’ai posted good numbers before both coaches gave their bench players some valuable playing time.

Mt Albert 98 – S Pupuke-Robati 24, M Va’ai 15 T Talo-Tomokino 14, R Fiatau 14,

Carmel 61 – E Davidson 16, E Broomfield 14, G Green 11, I MacGregor 7

Massey High travelled to St Kentigern College and departed with the spoils winning 84-61 with Terina Aratangi scoring a season best 23 points.

Natasha Leishman, on her way to a team high 20 points had eight of those at quarter time but St Kentigern trailed 29-21 at that stage.

It all went wrong for St Kent’s in the second period when they could only muster four points. Threes from Ramona Fuiavaa, Laticia Jost and Shauna Povey piled on the agony for St Kent’s as they trailed 52-26 at half-time.

Renee Flay and Courtney Griffiths got St Kentigern back on track in a third period shaded by the hosts although Massey still led 64-41 at three-quarter time.

Leishman and Aratangi made double figure contributions for their respective teams in the fourth stanza as Massey chalked up a fifth win of the season.

St Kentigern 61 – N Leishman 20, R Flay 10, C Griffiths 10

Massey 84 – T Aratangi 23, S Povey 17, R Fuiavaa 11, L Jost 10

Premier Standings

9-0 AGGS

7-2 MAGS

6-3 Westlake

5-4 Massey

4-5 Rangitoto

2-7 St Mary’s, Carmel

1-8 St Kentigern

Senior A Results

Birkenhead 99 Diocesan 49

Epsom 84 Orewa 51

Pakuranga 30 Botany Downs 71

In round nine of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier competition played on Monday night Mt Albert won the top of the table clash against Rosmini, Westlake beat Auckland Grammar and Rangitoto dropped eighteen threes against St Peter’s.

Mt Albert Grammar demonstrated that they are title contenders beating previously unbeaten Rosmini College.

Mt Albert had only scored 42 points at the three-quarter mark (leading 42-39) but exploded for 34 points in the final period to beat Rosmini 76-63.

Ryan Laumatia, having been kept quiet by Rosmini up until that point ,scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth. Aided by a couple of threes from Sataan Tawera and 8 points from Nate Wilson MAGS closed out the game for a seventh straight win.

Rosmini had earlier restricted MAGS to just 7 points in the opening quarter and with Terence Abdon scoring ten points led 27-22 at half-time.

Jayden Boucher dropped a three for the visitors in the third but Wilson and Rishon Royce edged MAGS ahead in the third frame.

Taine Murray scored 13 fourth quarter points for Rozza but it didn’t help them from slipping to a first loss of the season.

 Mt Albert 76 – N Wilson 17, R Laumatia 17, C Pinono 11, R Royce 11

Rosmini 63 – T Murray 22, J Boucher 12, T Abdon 12

A commanding fourth quarter performance from Westlake Boys decided the contest against Auckland Grammar. Westlake led 59-55 at the three-quarter mark but with Sam Mennenga dominant inside and Dylan Wilkie scoring from the perimeter the home side piled on 32 points in the final ten minutes to push the winning margin out to an unlikely 19 points – 91-72 it finished.

After Westlake had taken an 18-13 lead into the first quarter break rival forwards Mennenga (14 points in the first half) for Lake and Ilaisa Tela for Grammar dominated the scoring in the early stages of the second period before Wilkie and Connor Ngan intervened with a trey apiece.

A Trent Garrett inside basket got Grammar within two points (32-30) but Westlake closed the half with a Wilkie three, a 10-2 run and a 42-32 lead at half-time.

Scores from Joe Wuthrich and Paora Winitana kept Lake ahead but Ngan’s speed and penetration was troubling the home defence – eleven third quarter points from the diminutive guard helping Grammar close to 59-55 with ten minutes to play.

Lain Haku made a triple in the fourth but it was slim pickings for Grammar as they were outscored 32-17 in that period.

Wilkie made his sixth three of the game, Ethan Clark and Winitana chipped in with contributions but it was fourteen points from the outstanding Mennenga that proved the difference.

Westlake and Grammar are now tied for second on the Premier ladder with identical 5-2 records.

Westlake 91 – S Mennenga 28, D Wilkie 22, J Kooiman 11, J Wuthrich 10

Grammar 72 – C Ngan 23, I Tela 15, L Haku 9, D Boyd 8, T McCarthy 8

Rangitoto College scored a startling eighteen (that’s correct 18) threes to beat visitors St Peter’s College 108-85 in a high scoring encounter.

How many shots from beyond the arc did they put up I can hear you asking? Thirty-two is the answer at a heady 56%.

The “Big E’s” did most the damage with Ethan Mandeno connecting with 7 from 11 (64%) and Ethan Skelton making 5 from 9 (56%) – the pair amassing a combined 57 points.

Daniel Powell (3), Hanseul Nam, Obadaiah Paea and Logan McIntosh (with one apiece) joined in the three-point exhibition to give Rangi their second win of the campaign.

The writing was on the wall from the opening quarter when Rangi racked up eight from beyond the arc to take a 35-21 lead.

Spare a thought for Whititera Parata (25 points), Phoenix Leupolu (21 points) and Isaiah Franklin (17 points) who on another night may have made winning contributions but in the end could do little to stop the Rangitoto onslaught.

Rangitoto 108 – E Mandeno 34, E Skelton 23, O Paea 16, L McIntosh 15

St Peter’s 85 – W Parata 25, P Leupolu 21, I Franklin 17, J Errey 6

The St Kentigern College v Avondale College fixture was postponed until after the July school holidays.

Premier Standings

8-1 Mt Albert, Rosmini

5-4 Westlake, AGS

4-4 St Kentigern

3-6 St Peter’s

2-7 Rangitoto

0-8 Avondale

Senior A

Birkenhead 46 Liston 80

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Pakuranga 52 Macleans 72