LACEY LOWDOWN

Tessa Talo-Tomokino

Remembering that Auckland Grammar beat Massey High last Monday there were further round eight wins in the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier competition for Westlake Girls, Mt Albert Grammar and Carmel College. on Friday night.

 Mt Albert Grammar scored a collective ten threes – five of them to Tessa Talo-Tomokino – as they beat St Kentigern College 81-63.

Harmony Rangi-Brown landed an early trey for Mt Albert and Jada Manase capped the first quarter scoring as they led 23-10 at quarter time.

St Kentigern guard Misaki Chen joined in the three-point fun with a brace – her ten points helping the visitors close to 40-32 at half-time.

Sharne Pupuke-Robati scored ten of her game high 22 points in the third period and with Talo-Tomokino landing three efforts from the land of plenty MAGS improved their position to lead 66-46 at three-quarter time.

Courtney Griffiths and Natasha Leishman ensured St Kent’s had slightly better of the fourth but further threes from Manase and Talo-Tomokino put the icing on a sixth win of the season for MAGS.

MAGS 81 – S Pupuke-Robati 22, J Manase 21, T Talo-Tomokino 19, M Va’ai 6

St Kentigern 63 – M Chen 21, C Griffiths 16, N Leishman 11, R Flay 5

Westlake, paced by a season best 21 points from Jess Moors and 19 points from Emme Shearer were far too good for St Mary’s winning 88-35.

Moors set the tone with seven early points as Westlake forged a 20-14 lead.

Safena Te Nana-Williams (15 points) scored eleven first half points for St Mary’s but the hosts trailed 41-22 at half-time.

The Westlake forwards, led by captain Sophie Dil, did a good job restricting the scoring output of Jazz Kailahi-Fulu (8 points). At the offensive end Tabitha Leyson and Mareta Davidson helped Westlake extend their lead to 63-26 at the last break.

Sam Woolford scored a brace of baskets early in the fourth quarter as Lake cruised to a sixth straight win.

St Mary’s 35 – S Te Nana-Williams 15, J Kailahi-Fulu 8

Westlake 88 – J Moors 21, E Shearer 19, M Davidson 8, T Leyson 8

Carmel College had to wait until the seventh round to gain their first win but now they have two after outlasting Rangitoto College in a tight affair 59-55.

As is often the case Tayla Dalton (34 points) was the chief source of points for Carmel but she also received excellent support on this occasion from Emily Broomfield (14 points).

Gracie Hasler-Ewins made the initial score for Rangitoto but Dalton and Izzy MacGregor ensured the first quarter was won 16-11 by hosts Carmel.

Charli Blackman and Broomfield extended Carmel’s advantage before Robyn Blackstock and Bella Elgar struck back for Rangitoto.

An Ella Moore triple made it a one-possession game before Dalton stretched the lead a fraction – 29-25 to Carmel at half-time.

The two teams exchanged baskets in the opening stages of the third frame prior to a Dalton And-1 play that moved Carmel into a double-digit lead (41-31).

Moore and Hasler-Ewins reduced the arrears but it was still 49-44 in favour of the home team at the three-quarter mark (49-44).

A neat inside move by Maania Spooner kept the margin at five points with five minutes to play (53-48) as neither team could forge a substantial lead.

A Spooner triple cut the margin to 55-51 and when Elgar made a baseline jumper it was a two-point game (55-53) with three minutes to play.

Unfortunately for Rangi Elgar fouled out on the next possession as she tried to prevent Broomfield making a basket.

Hannah Wentworth kept everyone on the edge of their seats, her basket once again reducing the margin to two points (57-55) with sixty seconds to play.

Carmel held their nerve in the last minute – Broomfield making a couple of free-throws to seal the win.

Carmel 59 – T Dalton 34, E Broomfield 14

Rangitoto 55 – I Elgar 14, G Hasler-Ewins 10, E Moore 10, M Spooner 8

Premier League Standings

8-0 AGGS

6-2 Mt Albert, Westlake

4-4 Massey

3-5 Rangitoto

2-6 St Mary’s, Carmel

1-7 St Kentigern

Senior A

Orewa 66 Avondale 54

A relatively truncated week of Canterbury High School Hoops action still produced some memorable games.

Daniel Griebel only scored three points, but he made sure they would not be forgotten, winning the #McDs Thomson Trophy game for his Riccarton team 77-76 in overtime against Lincoln. Lincoln High had a  54-59 lead after three quarters, with Cody Wareham again scoring easily (31p). Jamie Atkinson and Kyle Koster both had 13p for Lincoln. Riccarton was paced by Cody Chapman’s 17p, with Owen Ou (14p) and Max Paulin (12p) also scoring well for the visitors.

Sean Lemon had a huge scoring output – 51 points – as his Ellesmere Boys’ team made up for a disappointing game last week in a resounding 101-53 win over Hornby, and will be favoured in their week seven matchup against Rangiora New Life.

Megan Shannon had a double-double for Avonside – 28 points and 11 steals! Molly Cockburn (19p) and Hayley Forster (16p) helped the Lady Eagles to a hard fought 75-48 win, where they only pulled away in the second half against Hillmorton.

Week seven is officially an empty week in Division Two of the Whelan Competition, but we have a deferred game to include here. There’s no Dowson Cup challenge, with Cashmere winning both of their matchups in week five. Our Thomson Trophy Game of the Week may be Marques Whippy’s final time coaching his Hillmorton team, so we expect emotions to be high when they host a Burnside team desperate for a win. Middleton Grange is an underdog in the Phil Burns Cup Challenge game against Rangi Ruru, while Ashburton has the longest trip of the night – heading to Rangiora in the Whelan Trophy Game of the Week.

From James Lissaman

Week Five Results

Whelan Division II

St. Margaret’s 91-30 Marian

Avonside 75-48 Hillmorton

Villa Maria 63-47 Papanui

Lincoln 20-0 Burnside (default)

Ellesmere 77-35 Te Pā

Whelan Division I

Kaiapoi 76-45 Cashmere

Rangi Ruru 92-58 Rangiora

Christchurch Girls’ 75-32 Cashmere

Thomson Division II

Papanui 91-86 Linwood

Ashburton 82-76 St. Thomas

Riccarton 77-76 Lincoln

Ellesmere 101-53 Hornby

Cathedral 85-63 Rangiora New Life

Thomson Division I

St. Andrew’s 76-70 St. Bede’s

Shirley 105-78 Burnside

Middleton Grange 85-58 Christchurch Boys’

Cashmere 83-54 Christ’s

Rangiora 86-76 Hillmorton

Cashmere 94-49 St. Andrew’s

Auckland Girls Grammar has their school ball on Friday so Massey High kindly agreed to a request to play their Auckland Secondary Schools Premier game on Monday night.

Unfortunately for Massey the Grammar team were not in the mood to reciprocate the goodwill as they ran out 80-54 victors.

Mele Latu got the game, played at Trust Stadium, underway with seven first quarter points as Grammar raced to an 18-6 lead.

Ramona Fuiavaa (11 first half points) knocked down a couple of threes for Massey in the second period but Tyla Tuala went one better and the reigning champions were almost out of sight at half-time with a 46-18 lead. Tuala had 12 points at the interval to lead all scorers.

Although Laticia Jost, Terina Aratangi and Shauna Povey (20 points) all made 3-point shots in the third they were of little consequence as Zhanay Hettig and Heeni Blakey piled on the points for Grammar – they led 69-29 at three-quarter time.

Massey took their tally of threes to ten in the final quarter but it was Grammar that was having a ball, albeit four days early.

AGGS 80 – M Latu 20, Z Hettig 18, E Tuaiti 14, T Tuala 13, H Blakey 10

Massey 54 – S Povey 20, R Fuiavaa 14, L Jost 8, T Aratangi 6

Premier League Standings 

8-0 AGGS

5-2 MAGS, Westlake

4-4 Massey

3-4 Rangitoto

2-5 St Mary’s

1-6 Carmel, St Kentigern

Carmel College marked the halfway point in Auckland Secondary Schools Premier League on Friday with their first win of the season. There were also victories for Auckland Grammar, Westlake Girls and Massey High.

In an exciting game in which the lead changed hands on numerous occasions Carmel eventually prevailed 73-68 on their home court against St Kentigern College.

Courtney Griffiths opened the St Kentigern scoring although the hosts replied immediately via Quaizden Stephano.

A series of turnovers proved costly for St Kentigern as they fell behind 10-4 but they recovered sufficiently to trail by just three points (17-14) at the quarter break.

St Kent’s gained their first lead of the game (19-17) courtesy of Emma Halliday early in the second quarter.

The St Kent’s scoring slowed to a crawl but unfortunately for Carmel theirs hit a wall – a Tayla Dalton long three eventually breaking the drought.

A repeat effort made it a one point game (23-22) – St Kent’s ahead 29-26 at half-time. Griffiths had seven points for the visitors – Dalton, on her way to 36 points, had thirteen for Carmel.

Emily Bloomfield opened the scoring for Carmel in the second half and when she scored another inside basket the scores were tied 35 points apiece.

Natasha Leishman scored eight points in the third, a quarter that St Kent’s led for all but the last twenty seconds of – the scores locked 47 points each with ten minutes to play after an Estelle Davidson And-1 play.

Renee Flay restored the St Kent’s advantage early in the final period but unfortunately for the visitors fouled out with seven minutes to play.

Broomfield snatched the lead back for Carmel but Kayla Robertson-Tekki (8 points in the quarter) gave St Kent’s the lead once again (59-57) with four minutes to play.

A series of free-throws followed – the scores locked at 66 apiece with 1:30 to play.

Broomfield made a crucial basket and when Dalton grabbed a steal and made a lay-up with 49 seconds left Carmel finally had some breathing space with a 71-66 lead.

Georgia Green iced the game from the foul line in front of an excited home crowd to register an important first win of the season for Carmel.

Carmel 73 – T Dalton 36, E Broomfield 11, E Davidson 7, G Green 6, Q Stephano 6

St Kentigern 68 – N Leishman 16, K Robertson-Tekii 14, C Griffiths 11, M Chen 8

Despite a game high 19 points from Mt Albert Grammar guard Jada Manase Auckland Grammar comfortably won the top of the table clash 65-43.

Sharne Pupuke-Robati got MAGS off to a reasonable start – nine points meant her team only trailed 13-11 at half-time.

The second quarter was a disaster for the hosts as Auckland, with Mele Latu in fine form, pulled away to lead 27-15 at half-time.

Manase scored ten points, including a couple of triples, in the third frame but Elianna Tuaiti and Heeni Blakey ensured Auckland maintained a decisive lead (43-32) at the three-quarter mark.

Six points each from both E Tuaiti and Zhanay Hettig ensured there would be no late comeback from MAGS as Auckland made it seven straight wins.

MAGS 43 – J Manase 19, S Pupuke-Robati 12, M Va’ai 5, R Fiatau 5

AGGS 65 – E Tuaiti 19, M Latu 18, Z Hettig 13, H Blakey 8

In the third game of the round  something of a shoot-out developed between two players who will next month be teammates at the fiba U17 World Cup.

St Mary’s College forward Jazz Kailahi-Fulu scored 27 points but it was Massey High that prevailed 63-58 with guard Shauna Povey making 30 points.

St Mary’s made a terrific start forging a 21-13 lead thanks to a balanced scoring effort including a triple from Alex Moore.

Massey bounced back in the second spell with a dozen points from Povey and a couple of handy contributions from Terina Aratangi to take a narrow 34-32 lead into the half-time break.

Leata Te Nana-Williams landed a triple for St Mary’s but Massey stretched their lead in the third stanza as Ramona Fuiavaa (twice) and Povey also landed from beyond the arc for a 51-42 advantage.

St Mary’s had the better of the final ten minutes as Jazz and Zaaliyah Kailahi-Fulu combined for ten points but it wasn’t quite enough to deny Massey a fourth win of the campaign.

Massey 63 – S Povey 30, T Aratangi 13, R Fuiavaa 9, A Schuster 6

St Mary’s 58 – J Kailahi-Fulu 27, A Moore 8, S Te Nana-Williams 6

Westlake High made a collective ten threes on their way to a solid 88-73 win at Rangitoto College despite Hannah Wentworth scoring a game high 28 points for the hosts.

Rangitoto opened the game with a 7-0 run but were hauled in by Westlake who entered the quarter time break ahead 23-17 with Jordyn Maddix making two of her six triples in the spell.

Robyn Blackstock scored six points and Wentworth nailed a pair of triples but eight points from Emme Shearer either side of the quarter break and a three from Jess Moors on the stroke of half-time gave Westlake a 44-40 half-time lead.

Maddix completed her half dozen treys in the third stanza and Mareta Davidson chimed in with six points to counter Wentworth’s consistent scoring to ensure Lake led 65-58 at three-quarter time.

Gracie Hasler-Ewins and Bella Elgar tried to cut the deficit but Emma Pugh had other ideas leaving Moors to land Westlake’s tenth triple and carry Westlake to a fifth straight victory.

Rangitoto 73 – H Wentworth 28, I Elgar 15, G Hasler-Ewins 14, R Blackstock 10

Westlake 88 – J Maddix 24. E Shearer 14, M Davidson 12, J Moors 10, E Pugh 10

Premier Standings

7-0 AGGS

5-2 Mt Albert, Westlake

4-3 Massey

3-4 Rangitoto

2-5 St Mary’s

1-6 Carmel, St Kentigern

Senior A Results

Avondale v Botany Downs – result not known

Mt Roskill 66 Birkenhead 52

Pakuranga v Epsom – result not known

Diocesan 44 Orewa 75

Senior A Standings

6-0 Epsom

5-1 Botany

5-2 Mt Roskill

3-3 Pakuranga

3-4 Birkenhead

2-4 Avondale

2-5 Orewa

0-7 Diocesan

Round seven of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier League on Friday marked the halfway mark of the regular season. It also saw victories for Mt Albert Grammar, St Peter’s College, Westlake Boys and Rosmini College.

Tall Black Tohi-Smith Milner was in attendance at Carmel College to see his former college Rosmini win an entertaining encounter against St Kentigern College 89-76.

The win was built around a polished performance from point guard Marvin Williams-Dunn who scored a team high 23 points.

Rosmini had the better of the opening exchanges leading 15-9 at the mid point of the opening period and 21-15 at quarter time.

Forward Reihana Maxwell-Topia scored the first four points of the second quarter – Shalom Broughton (24 points) replied with a brace of baskets for St Kentigern.

Jayden Boucher gave Rosmini a double digit lead but Max Shorter (31 points) reduced that with a triple plus an And-1 play (33-27).

Broughton was causing Rosmini plenty of problems under the boards, his put back making it a one point game, before Shorter’s third triple of the opening half gave St Kentigern their first lead of the game (37-35).

A pair of Williams-Dunn threes repaired some of the damage before his jump shot gave the hosts a narrow 47-46 lead at half-time. The Rozza guard had 16 points at the break – Shorter 20 points for St Kent’s.

Rosmini peeled off a brisk 13-0 run (seven points from Kainoa Lepou) to open the second half necessitating a timeout from St Kent’s coach Aaron Young.

The run was halted at fifteen points when Broughton scored a brace of baskets. A tumbling drive from Boucher made the Rozza lead 66-50 but then earned a prolonged rest as he fouled out with thirteen minutes to play.

St Kent’s guard Zac Chan landed a trey on the three-quarter time buzzer but his team trailed 72-57 at the last break.

Sean Murphy scored with a high arching floater and Taine Murray from a drive to extend the lead to 78-60 before Shorter, the game’s leading scorer, took his personal tally into the thirties for the fourth time this season.

Joseph Hylton took the Rozza lead into the twenties before St Kent’s forward Levic Kerr made a couple of nice inside buckets

Point guard Alex McNaught typified the St Kentigern commitment with his poise and non-stop effort but it was Rosmini that emerged with the win to stay top of the table.

Rosmini 89 – M Williams-Dunn 23, K Lepou 18, R Maxwell-Topia 16

St Kentigern 76 – M Shorter 31, S Broughton 24, L Kerr 12

Mt Albert Grammar remain hot on the heels of Rosmini after beating Auckland Grammar 68-50.

Chayse Pinono and Clarke Aiono got Mt Albert off to a good start as they led 16-10 at quarter time.

Auckland struggled at the offensive end only able to muster 21 points by half-time. MAGS weren’t at their fluent best either but did have a ten-point advantage at the interval.

Athletic forward Ilaisa Tela, coming off a thirty points game in the previous round against Rosmini, scored ten points for Auckland in the third period. Ryan Laumatia scored half a dozen for MAGS to keep his team ahead 50-37 at the three-quarter point.

Pinono and Laumatia scored six points each in the final period and although Tela matched that he had little support on the night as MAGS eased to their sixth win in seven outings.

MAGS 68 – R Laumatia 16, C Pinono 15, T Hurdley 12, S Tawera 7

AGS 50 – I Tela 22, T McCarthy 7, I Nua 7, D Boyd 6

A season high 28 points from Luke Buckingham propelled St Peter’s College to a convincing 89-64 win at Avondale College.

St Peter’s made a flying start forging a healthy 22-11 opening quarter lead – Buckingham and Whititera Parata prominent.

Keanu Eteru and Armand Donaldson provided some Avondale resistance but triples from Buckingham and Isaiah Franklin pushed the visitors advantage to a substantial 45-22 at half-time.

Preston Karatau and Donaldson (both with 19 points) made a double figure contribution to Avondale’s improved performance in the third but three straight baskets from Parata maintained the St Peter’s advantage at the three-quarter mark (65-43).

In the final frame Buckingham took his tally of threes to five, Sam Glover also landed from beyond the arc and Phoenix Leupolu scored eight of his 22 points as St Peter’s had little problem protecting their lead to record a third win of the season.

Avondale 64 – P Karatau 19, A Donaldson 19, K Eteru 11, K Hiini-Neilson 8

St Peter’s 89 – L Buckingham 28, P Leupolu 22, W Parata 14

In the northern derby Rangitoto guard Harry Payne scored 14 points in the opening quarter but visitors Westlake Boys were well served by Paora Winitana and led 24-21 after ten minutes.

Rangi were outscored 27-12 in the second period as Josh Kooiman made 11 points, including three baskets from beyond the arc, to give Westlake a 51-33 lead at half-time.

The home team came back strongly in the third with Hanseul Nam knocking down a couple of triples. Sam Mennenga and Winitana, who scored a season best 19 points, kept the score moving for Lake but their lead was reduced to 67-54 at three-quarter time.

Rangi guard Logan McIntosh scored a dozen fourth quarter points but a couple of triples from Dylan Wilkie and eight points from the southpaw Mennenga saw Westlake home for a fourth win of the season.

Rangitoto 74 – H Payne 24, L McIntosh 18, H Nam 10, E Mandeno 5

Westlake 87 – P Winitana 19, S Mennenga 19, D Wilkie 12, J Kooiman 11, T Cowie 9

League Standings

7-0 Rosmini

6-1 Mt Albert

4-3 St Kentigern, AGS

3-4 Westlake, St Peter’s

1-6 Rangitoto

0-7 Avondale

Senior A Results

Massey 96 Macleans 90

Western Springs 80 Birkenhead 61

Pakuranga v Kelston – result not known

Liston 91 Northcote 62

In the McDonald’s Whelan Trophy Middleton Grange hosted Cashmere and had a monster 36 points game from Katie Jo van den Bogaert, as well as 20 from Annabel Lapworth. Samantha Irvine (13p) and Rachel Pullan (16p) were both back from the BBNZ U19 tournament, but not able to help their Cashmere team to a win, dropping the game 84-54.

Lincoln continued their improved showing in the Whelan Trophy winning 73-55 over newcomers Marian College. Kate Herman had 21 points, while 13 was the number for both Sophie Withell and Samantha McCrone. For Marian, Hannah Malaysay and Mckenzie Hansen both had 14, and Brie-Ellen Harding scored 10.

Middleton Grange faced Cashmere in the Thomson Trophy Competition too, and kept things interesting throughout the game, but were unable to get closer than nine points in the final quarter, going down 83-68. Thomas Webley led Cashmere with 28, and fellow starters Nic Wenmoth and Tom Russ-Hofmans scored 12 and 11 respectively. Ben Carlile-Smith had 25 for the Gators, who had 11 points each from Jed Rea and Ah-Li Fenika.

Week six is officially an empty week in the Whelan Competition, but we have a few deferred games to include here. Cashmere may have the Dowson Cup up for grabs twice, first against Christ’s College in a rematch of last year’s final on Tuesday night, then again on Thursday against a sneaky-good St. Andrew’s team. Our game of the week is picked to be Middleton Grange at Christchurch Boys’ High on Tuesday night.

From James Lissaman

 Week Five Results

Whelan Division II
Papanui 68-51 Burnside

Lincoln 73-55 Marian

Villa Maria 54-37 Te Pā

Ellesmere 50-45 Hillmorton

Avonside 77-54 St. Margaret’s

Whelan Division I
Middleton Grange 84-54 Cashmere

St. Andrew’s 72-58 Christchurch Girls’

Kaiapoi 60-52 Ashburton

Thomson Division II
St. Thomas 88-53 Ellesmere

Linwood 101-72 Hornby

Ashburton 78-56 Cathedral

Papanui 85-75 Riccarton

Kaiapoi 76-67 Rangiora New Life

Thomson Division I
St. Andrew’s 95-59 Burnside

Shirley 104-74 St. Bede’s

Cashmere 83-68 Middleton Grange

Christchurch Boys’ 87-62 Hillmorton

Rangiora 80-67 Christ’s

Upcoming Games – all Tuesday 19 June unless noted. Picks are underlined:

Whelan Division II

(5:15pm Monday 18 June) Marian @ St. Margaret’s

5:15pm Avonside @ Hillmorton

5:15pm Burnside @ Lincoln

5:15pm Papanui @ Villa Maria

7:00pm Ellesmere @ Te Pā o Rākaihautū (hosted at Linwood College)

Whelan Division I

5:15pm Kaiapoi @ Cashmere

5:15pm Rangi Ruru @ Rangiora

(5:15pm Thursday 21 June) Cashmere @ Christchurch Girls’

Thomson Division II

5:15pm Papanui @ Linwood

6:00pm Ashburton @ St. Thomas

7:00pm Ellesmere @ Hornby

7:00pm Riccarton @ Lincoln

7:00pm Cathedral @ Rangiora New Life (hosted at Mega)

Thomson Division I

5:15pm Burnside @ Shirley

7:00pm Christ’s @ Cashmere (Dowson Cup Challenge)

7:00pm Middleton Grange @ Christchurch Boys’ (Game of the Week)

7:00pm Rangiora @ Hillmorton

7:00pm St. Andrew’s @ St. Bede’s

(6:00pm Thursday 21 June) St. Andrew’s @ Cashmere

The Sixth Round of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Competition was played on Monday. Auckland and Mt Albert Grammar Schools, Westlake Girls High and Rangitoto College all got the W’s.

Two teams with a 3-2 record met on the North Shore where Westlake Girls High entertained Massey High and it was Westlake that emerged with the victory, but only just, 65-61

The first two quarters were of contrasting styles. Jordyn Maddix and the Emma’s, Pugh and Shearer scored six points apiece as Westlake led 24-12 at the quarter-time break.

Laticia Jost and Alyesha Schuster landed threes as Massey had the better of the second period although they still trailed 37-31 at half-time.

Kataleena Leslie opened the second half scoring, Mareta Davidson replying for Westlake on the next play.

A Terina Aratangi three narrowed the Massey deficit to 39-36 and soon after a Shauna Povey trey gave Massey a 41-39 lead.

Jess Moors hit back from beyond the arc for Westlake – an And-1 play from Rosalie Dil restoring the home team’s lead.

Ramona Fuiavaa scored close to the third break but five quick points from Shearer made the margin 54-46 in favour of the home team at the three-quarter mark.

 Pugh and Makenzee Boucher made the Westlake advantage a dozen and when Shearer scored inside with three minutes to play the hosts still had a healthy 65-55 lead.

A pair of Povey free-throws reduced the margin to eight points and that became six when Jost scored with 90 seconds to play.

Povey took her tally to 20 points with a minute to play and it was 65-61 with Westlake looking anxiously over their shoulders.

Neither side could find the basket in the closing sixty seconds – Westlake hanging on for a fourth straight victory and outright third place on the Premier ladder.

Westlake 65 – E Pugh 18, E Shearer 15, J Maddix 10, J Moors 7, R Dil 7

Massey 61 – S Povey 20, T Aratangi 15, A Schuster 8, K Leslie 8

A second thirty plus points haul of the season from Sharne Pupuke-Robati (32 points) ensured Mt Albert Grammar reverted back to winning ways with an 80-52 win at St Mary’s.

Riana Matiseni landed an early three for St Mary’s but a pair of the same from Jada Manase gave MAGS a 22-13 quarter time lead.

A third triple from Manase opened the MAGS scoring in the second frame but Jazz Kailahi-Fulu scored seven points for St Mary’s who narrowed the gap to 42-28 at half-time.

Safrina Te Nana-Williams chipped in with seven second-half points for the hosts but Tessa Talo-Tomokino and Pupuke-Robati accumulated 14 points and 18 points respectively in the half to ease MAGS to a comfortable win.

St Mary’s 52 – J Kailahi-Fulu 12, S Te Nana-Williams 11, L Te Nana-Williams 9, R Matiseni 8

Mt Albert 80 – S Pupuke-Robati 32, T Talo-Tomokino 18, J Manase 13, M Va’ai 5

St Kentigern College entertained Rangitoto College and it was the hosts that had slightly better of the opening quarter (19-18) with Gabby Umaga making six points.

Over the next twenty minutes it was Rangitoto that dominated as Bella Elgar (25 points) and Hannah Wentworth (23 points) both posted their best returns of the season.

The pair combined for 17 points in the second stanza as the visitors forged a 39-30 half-time lead.

Natasha Leishman (15 points) scored half a dozen points in the third for St Kent’s but a balanced scoring effort from Rangi increased their advantage to 62-45 at the three-quarter break.

Khanye-Lii Munro-Nonoa kept the score moving for St Kent’s but a pair of threes from Ella Moore helped secure a third victory of the season for Rangitoto.

St Kentigern 60 – N Leishman 15, C Griffiths 9, G Umaga 9, K Munro-Nonoa 9

Rangitoto 76 – I Elgar 25, H Wentworth 23, C Noom-Duckworth 8, R Blackstock 6, E Moore 6

It can be daunting at the best of times when your team is winless, sitting at the bottom of the ladder and taking on the defending champions. For Carmel College the challenge became doubly difficult with their leading scorer Tayla Dalton sidelined with injury and unable to take the court against Auckland Girls Grammar.

It was easy pickings for AGGS who scored the first 31 points of the game and went on to win 102-15.

Zhanay Hettig (27 points) and Elianna Tuaiti (24 points) led the scoring barrage for the unbeaten reigning champions.

Although outclassed Carmel can be commended for their effort and Estelle Davidson deserves a mention for leading their scoring with eight points.

Carmel 15 – E Davidson 8, G Green 3

AGGS 102 – Z Hettig 27, E Tuaiti 24, M Latu 15, H Blakey 14

Premier League Standings

6-0 AGGS

5-1 Mt Albert

4-2 Westlake

3-3 Massey, Rangitoto

2-4 St Mary’s

1-5 St Kentigern

0-6 Carmel

Senior A Results

Birkenhead 64 Orewa 62 AOT

Diocesan 38 Botany Downs 96

Epsom 63 Avondale 44

Mt Roskill 62 Pakuranga 37

In Round Six of the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier competition there were wins for Rosmini College, Mt Albert Grammar, St Kentigern College and Westlake Boys.

Despite 31 points from Auckland Grammar forward Ilaisa Tela Rosmini prevailed 93-68 at the Tom Gerrard Gymnasium on Monday night.

A fast paced opening saw Rosmini build a position of strength by quarter time to lead 32-14 – Taine Murray 11 points in the period.

Jayden Boucher took the Rosmini lead to twenty (39-19) four minutes into the second quarter but with Teacum McCarthy providing good support to Tela, Grammar prevented the lead increasing dramatically. Kainoa Lepou converted a baseline drive to conclude the first half action with the hosts 54-31 in front.

Reihana Maxwell-Topia and Murray joined Tela and McCarthy in double figures at the break.

Marvin Williams-Dunn scored off a Joe Hylton pass to open the second half scoring, Hylton scoring himself on the next possession.

Trent Garrett made a tough baseline jumper before three straight Murray drives increased the Rosmini lead to 66-39 six minutes into the third – Grammar Coach Lindsay Tait needing a timeout.

A Reimar Cruz three maintained the Rozza momentum (69-39) – another triple from Sean Murphy on the stroke of three-quarter time kept Rosmini in control, ahead 75-45.

Grammar, or to be more accurate Tela (15 points in the fourth quarter), had the better of the closing stages but Rozza’s overall domination was never threatened as they recorded a sixth straight win.

Rosmini 93 – T Murray 18, M Williams-Dunn 16, J Hylton 14, R Maxwell-Topia 12, R Cruz 10

Auckland Grammar 68 – I Tela 31, T McCarthy 17, four players x 4 points each.

Mt Albert Grammar (5-1) claimed outright second place on the Premier League ladder with a 71-47 victory against St Peter’s College.

Six points apiece from Clark Aiono and Nate Wilson gave MAGS the upper hand at quarter time with a 19-12 lead.

St Peter’s replied strongly through Isaiah Franklin and Luke Buckingham in the second period and carried a narrow 31-30 lead into the half-time break.

Chayse Pinono knocked down a three early in the third quarter as MAGS steadily built an advantage to lead 50-40 with ten minutes to play.

Foul trouble, particularly to captain Whititera Parata, didn’t help the St Peter’s cause. Regular scores from MAGS guards Pinono, Sataan Tawera and Ryan Laumatia didn’t assist either as the hosts dominated proceedings in the second half.

Jacob Errey scored eight of St Peter’s last ten points in the game but it wasn’t enough to stop MAGS recording a fourth straight wins.

Mt Albert 71 – C Pinono 15, S Tawera 14, R Laumatia 13, N Wilson 12, C Aiono 9

St Peter’s 47 – I Franklin 13, P Leupolu 10, J Errey 10, L Buckingham 5

St Kentigern College produced a balanced scoring display to edge out Rangitoto College 87-81. Shalom Broughton (17 points) led the scoring list as St Kent’s had seven players record 9 points or more. For Rangitoto Harry Payne top scored with 28 points.

Tom Chester made three triples in the opening frame and with Broughton and Shorter finding their way to the hoop St Kentigern led 27-22 after ten minutes.

Rangitoto guard Ethan Skelton joined in the three-point shot making fun in the second quarter but St Kent’s pulled away further as Elliot Watson and Levic Kerr made timely baskets. The hosts 55-39 to the good at half-time.

Logan McIntosh scored nine of his points in the third, a period edged by Rangi who trailed 73-61 at the last major break.

Payne and Obadaiah Paea combined for 15 points in the fourth but Zac Chan made the final seven points for St Kent’s to help them to a fourth win of the season.

St Kentigern 87 – S Broughton 17, A McNaught 15, L Kerr 11, M Shorter 10,

Rangitoto 81 – H Payne 28, L McIntosh 14, E Skelton 14, O Paea 10

Eight first quarter points from Westlake forward Sam Mennenga propelled the hosts to a 22-18 lead against Avondale College.

Keanu Eteru, Armand Donaldson and Jaga Mete kept the score ticking over for Avondale but a three from Ethan Clark and more good work from Mennenga gave Westlake a 42-32 lead at half-time.

It was a different story in the third as a pair of threes from Preston Karatau and nine points from Mete meant it was a one point game at three-quarter time (56-55).

Donaldson led the effort in the fourth as Avondale tried desperately to gain a first win of the season but Tom Cowie, Jackson Port (two triples apiece) and Mennenga ensured a second win of the season for Lake.

Westlake 84 – S Mennenga 24, T Cowie 16, J Port 10, J Wuthrich 9

Avondale 72 – J Mete 25, A Donaldson 16, K Eteru 12, P Karatau 10

Premier League Standings

6-0 Rosmini

5-1 Mt Albert

4-2 St Kentigern, Auckland Grammar

2-4 St Peter’s, Westlake, Rangitoto

0-6 Avondale

Senior A

Kelston 94 Massey 104

Birkenhead 56 Northcote 82