LACEY LOWDOWN

13 February 2023

Amiee Book with 13 points was one of two Fresno State (1-13) players in double figures in a 61-54 loss to Colorado State. Book now has 1,202 career points – 8^th all time on the Kiwi list of Division I scorers.

Helen Matthews tallied 9 points (4/7FG) as Wofford (7-3) defeated Western Carolina 83-62. The junior guard now has 500 career points, the seventh Kiwi amongst active players to reach the milestone.

Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points as Washington State were beaten 73-57 at #7 Utah.

Ashlee Strawbridge scored a team high equaling 11 points for New Mexico State (7-6) but it was in a 90-57 thumping at the hands of Utah Tech.

Tayla Dalton scored 9 points and Jade Kirisome 7 as St Mary’s (6-9) overcame Santa Clara for an 89-79 win. Hats off to the St Mary’s administration in recognizing the game as a Waitangi Day celebration.

Next up for St Mary’s is a clash with former Harbour team mate Emme Shearer and Portland.

Grace Hunter, passing 400 NCAA career points in the process, scored 9 points as Cal State Bakersfield (3-12) slipped to a 66-55 loss at the hands of Long Beach State.

BYU snapped a three game losing streak in defeating Loyola Marymount 67-42. There were 9 points for Arielle Mackey-Williams and 6 for Kaylee Smiler in the win.

Dani Bayes scored 8 points as Boise State fell 76-63 to Mountain West Conference leaders UNLV.

———————-

Kruz Perrott-Hunt scored 15 points (3/6 3PG) but couldn’t prevent South Dakota (6-8) losing 72-67 to South Dakota State.

A big double-double from Callum McRae, his eighth d-d of the season, helped Sacramento State (6-8) to a convincing 70-54 win against Northern Colorado. McRae finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

In a game featuring Kiwis on opposing sides UC Riverside’s Flynn Cameron scored 11 points but UC Irvine’s (9-3) Akiva McBirney-Griffin left with the smile, 4 points (2/2FG) and an 83-64 victory from the Big West Conference clash.

In another game featuring two Kiwis Sam Mennenga scored 9 points for Davidson (4-8) in a narrow 73-71 loss to Fordham (8-4) – Zach Riley with an assist for the victors.

Tobias Cameron tallied 7 points and 4 each in assists and rebounds as Abilene Christian (5-7) slipped to a 77-62 loss to Sam Houston.

No 10 ranked Marquette (12-3) enjoyed an 89-75 win against Georgetown with Ben Gold scoring 7 points on 3 from 5 shooting.

February 6

A game high 25 points from Charlisse Leger-Walker – 4 from 9 from beyond the arc – catapulted Washington State (6-6) to a 70-60 home win against California Berkeley. The Tall Ferns guard has edged past her former Waikato and St Peter’s School teammate Kendell Heremaia on the all-time list of kiwi scorers in Women’s NCAA Division I basketball.

Heremaia (Fordham University 2017-22) scored 1,291 career points with CL-W now up to 1,295 points.

Tara Manumaleuga put together a fine shooting display despite Texas Christian (0-11) losing 77-65 to Oklahoma State. Manumaleuga finished with a career high 19 points shooting 7 from 11 from the field, 3 of 4 threes and 2 out of 3 freebies.

Grace Hunter, with 10 points, was the only Cal State Bakersfield (3-9) player in double figures in the 56-42 loss to UC San Diego.

Kaylee Smiler scored 9 points and Arielle Mackey-Williams 7 as BYU (7-5) were beaten 52-49 by San Diego.

McKenna Dale was close to a double-double totaling 9 points and 9 rebounds as Virginia (3-10) fell 60-51 to Pitt. Dale also had a brace of steals and blocks.

Emme Shearer’s 8 points (and 5 assists) in Portland’s (12-1) 80-68 win at Santa Clara has carried her beyond 600 career points.

Dani Bayes also scored 8 points – adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists – as Boise State (7-5) defeated Fresno State (1-11) 66-61. Amiee Book scored 5 points for Fresno State.

——————————–

Tobias Cameron was a perfect 5 from 5 from the field, totaling 15 points, as Abilene Christian got the better of California Baptist to win 87-71.

A couple of Kiwis were in opposition as Davidson College grabbed a much needed 93-78 win against Massachusetts. Tafara Gapare scored 4 points for UMass but that was trumped by Davidson starter Sam Mennenga who posted 14 points on 6 from 9 shooting.

Callum McRae also scored 14 points – and added 8 rebounds and 4 assists – as Sacramento State suffered an agonizing 82-76 overtime loss at Idaho.

James Moors was in good form for Colorado State (2-9) despite an 88-79 loss at Utah State. Moors finished with 13 points making 5 from 8 shots whilst also tallying a team high 7 rebounds and a couple of blocks.

Flynn Cameron scored 8 points as UC Riverside (8-4) slipped to a 64-58 loss against Cal State Fullerton.

Recapping that Kruz Perrott-Hunt has moved into elite company after scoring a team high 18 points in South Dakota’s 86-72 loss to North Dakota.

His fourth point in the game brought up the senior guard’s 1,000^th career point – only the fifth Kiwi to reach that mark in Men’s NCAA Division I basketball. 

He joins fellow Tall Blacks Kirk Penney, Tai Webster and Craig Bradshaw, plus current collegiate player Callum McRae, in the 1,000 points club.

Top 10 scorers (NZ Men) in NCAA Division 1 Basketball:

1,454 in 127 games, Kirk Penney (University of Wisconsin Badgers, 1999-2003)

1,146 in 116 games, Callum McRae (UC Riverside 2018-22 & Sacramento State 2022-present)

1,116 in 127 games, Tai Webster (University of Nebraska Huskers, 2013-17)

1,114 in 123 games, Craig Bradshaw (Winthrop University Eagles, 2003-7)

1,014 in 102 games, Kruz Perrott-Hunt (University of South Dakota (2019-present)

973 in 133 games, Rob Loe (University of St Louis Billikens, 2010-14)

945 in 125 games, Mark Dickel (UNLV, 1996-2000)

941 in 117 games, Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa (Sacramento State University, 2016-20)

850 in 115 games, Flynn Cameron (DePaul Univ, 2018-20 & UC Riverside 2018-present)

785 in 63 games, Isaac Fotu (University of Hawaii, 2012-14)

February 4

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the women’s Basketball Coaches Association have named Charlisse Leger-Walker as a mid-season finalist for the 2023 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award for the second season running.

The Award goes to the top shooting guard in NCAA Women’s basketball. KL-W is averaging 19.2 points and 4.9 assists per game for the Washington State Cougars.

The Cougars (5-6) found the going too tough against the #2 ranked team in the nation losing 71-38 to Stanford. KL-W had the satisfaction of top scoring and leading the rebounding for the Cougs but it was just 8 and 6 against the Pac 12 Conference leaders.

Also in the Pac 12 Charlotte Whittaker scored 4 points as third placed Colorado (8-3) claimed a 63-53 win against Oregon.

Emme Shearer, one of the leading 3-point shooters in the West Coast Conference made 5 from 7 from deep for a career high equaling 21 points – and grabbed 8 rebounds – as Portland (11-1) overcame a 16-point deficit to defeat San Francisco 83-80 in overtime.

Amiee Book top scored for Fresno State (1-10) in their 74-59 loss to Air Force. Book scored 14 points (4/7FG) taking her career total to 1,174 and up to 9^th on the all-time list of NZ Women’s Division I scorers. 22 more points will take Book past the 1,195 scored by Micaela Cocks (University of Oregon Ducks, 2006-10).

Passing 100 points for the season Ashlee Strawbridge scored 13 points (6/11FG) as New Mexico State (7-3) edged past California Baptist 62-61, the winning basket made with just 7 seconds to play.

McKenna Dale was one rebound shy of a double-double tallying 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in Virginia’s (3-9) loss to North Carolina. 

Dani Bayes passed the 200 points mark for the season in scoring 11 points as Boise State (5-5) defeated San Diego State 62-57. The freshman guard made all three of her 3-point attempts and overall was 4 from 6 from the field.

Jade Kirisome scored 8 points, Tayla Dalton 6 and Amy West a couple as St Mary’s (5-7) won 62-55 at Pepperdine.

Grace Hunter totaled 7 points and 4 rebounds as Cal State Bakersfield (3-8) won a very low scoring contest against UC Riverside 43-39.

————

Flynn Cameron knocked down 5 of 7 threes on his way to 19 points as UC Riverside (8-3) lost an overtime thriller to CS Bakersfield 82-76.

Callum McRae’s 16 points (6/8FG) and 8 rebounds were not enough to grab Sacramento State (5-5) a win – Eastern Washington the victors 82-63.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt, after scoring 15 points, is just 4 points short of 1000 career points. Those points came in South Dakota’s (6-6) 71-62 win over North Dakota State.

Tobias Cameron played a big part in Abilene Christian (4-6) defeating Seattle 83-68. The senior guard mustered 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a brace of steals.

In just his third game for Long Island Ahmed Essahaty was thrust into the starting line-up and didn’t disappoint scoring 10 points, on 5 from 9 shooting. The Wellingtonian guard helped Long Island to their first North East Conference win of the season as they defeated Sacred Heart 74-70.

Akiva McBirney-Griffin had 10 points and 6 rebounds as UC Irvine defeated UC San Diego 76-60.

Tafara Gapare scored 5 points as Massachusetts slipped to a 70-59 defeat at the hands of George Mason.

16 January

In NCAA Division I weekend action eighty Kiwis scored in double figures with Charlisse Leger-Walker, Olivia Williams and Helen Matthews leading the way.

Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 17 points to help secure Washington State (3-3) an 85-84 overtime win at Oregon. L-W, who added 7 rebounds, 6 assists and a block, moved past the 300 points mark for the season – 310 to be exact at 20.7ppg.

Olivia Williams top scored with 15 points (3/6 3PG) as Big West Conference leaders UC Irvine (4-0) defeated Rochelle Fourie’s California State Northridge 69-62.

Wofford (2-1) eked out a 55-51 win against UNC Greensboro with Helen Matthews scoring a team high equaling 15 points (6/9FG) to accompany 5 rebounds.

Ella Brow made 3 from 5 triples on her way to 14 points as Southern Methodist (3-2) won an overtime contest with East Carolina 68-66. The freshman also had a career high 8 assists to go with 6 rebounds a block and a steal.

Grace Hunter also scored 14 points in California State Bakersfield’s (1-5) 62-50 loss to UC San Diego.

Jade Kirisome scored 10 points as St Mary’s Gaels (3-3) pinched a 67-63 away win at neighbours San Francisco.

There were 9 points apiece for Kaylee Smiler and Arielle Mackey-Williams as BYU (5-2) defeated Pepperdine 63-52 for a fifth straight win.

Dani Bayes added 5 rebounds to 5 points as Boise State (2-2) went down 55-42 to San Diego State.

Unbeaten teams Portland (now 6-1) and Gonzaga met in a West Coast Conference heavyweight clash with the Zags getting the win 73-66. Emme Shearer scored 5 points for Portland.

Other Women’s Scores:

Fresno State (1-5) 71 (Amiee Book 4 points) Air Force 68

Virginia (3-4) 66 (McKenna Dale 2pts, 2rebs, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block) Boston College 50

Texas Christian (0-5) 70 (Tara Manumaleuga 2pts, 1 steal, 1 rebound) Oklahoma State 80

In Men’s NCAA Division I play Sam Mennenga’s 13 points – his 17^th double digit outing in 18 games – couldn’t prevent Davidson (2-3) slipping to a third straight Atlantic 10 defeat going down 67-65 to George Mason.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt tallied 10 points but South Dakota (3-3) were well beaten by South Dakota State 

Nine of each – points and rebounds – for James Moors as Colorado State (2-4) won a thriller against Nevada, Las Vegas 82-81.

Tobias Cameron had 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists as Abilene Christian (1-4) slipped up against Tarleton State going down 72-63.

Younger brother Flynn Cameron also tallied 9 points as UC Riverside (5-1) won 65-64 for a first win in 25 attempts at UC Santa Barbara. The young Tall Black flirted with a double-double as he also had 9 assists.

Eight points, 10 rebounds and a block for Callum McRae as Sacramento State (5-1) edged Northern Arizona 59-56.

Tafara Gapare scored 6 points and added a block, a steal and 4 rebounds as Massachusetts (2-3) beat Rhode Island 75-65.

December 23

Wrapping up the NCAA Division I pre-Xmas games two form players – Charlisse Leger-Walker and Tobias Cameron – grab the headlines.

More on Cameron’s performance later but first the sizzling form of Leger-Walker continues. She scored 20 points, making 5 from 10 threes, as Washington State defeated A&M Corpus Christi 75-49. It was the 30^th occasion, in 66 career games, that Leger-Walker has scored 20 points or more  – she also tallied 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.

There were plenty of Kiwis present as Portland entertained BYU in a West Coast Conference fixture but it was largely one way traffic in favour of Emme Shearer (9 points), Melika Samia (2 points) and Flo Dallow (redshirting) as Portland triumphed 67-45. 

Arielle Mackey-Williams scored 8 points for BYU.

Mackey-Williams scored 15 points (6/10FG) – her third double figure outing of the season – as BYU enjoyed a bounce back win defeating Monmouth 70-50. Kaylee Smiler almost matched that number with 14 points to go with 3 rebounds, 6 assists, a pair of blocks and a steal.

Grace Hunter scored a season high 14 points to help Cal State Bakersfield to a 54-41 win against Pacific. Playing a team high 35 minutes the combo guard also came up with 3 steals, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Dani Bayes also scored 14 points, on 6 from 9 shooting, as Boise State got the better of Texas A&M Commerce 75-66. The freshman guard, in her 13^th consecutive start, added 3 rebounds an assists and a steal. 

Helen Matthews scored 12 points, passing 400 career points in the process, as Wofford secured a 79-67 win against UNC Asheville. Matthews also corralled 7 rebounds in the victory.

Olivia Williams made 3 from 4 threes on her way to 11 points as UC Irvine defeated Grand Canyon 64-51. The sophomore guard added a brace of assists and steals plus 3 rebounds.

Yzabelle Tevao top scored for Chicago State with 11 points but the Cougars were well beaten by Green Bay going down 92-42.

Ella Brow scored 9 points (4/8FG) as Southern Methodist defeated Incarnate Word 57-44. Brow added 5 rebounds a couple of assists and steals.

Tara Manumaleuga scored 8 points as Texas Christian routed Nicholle 75-32.

Amiee Book filled the stats line with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a block and a steal but Fresno State were outclassed by UCLA going down 82-48.

Virginia, after 11 straight wins to start the season, suffered a 70-56 loss at Duke. McKenna Dale had 4 points, 3 rebounds, a couple of steals and a block in the defeat.

Other Women’s Results:

Chicago State 51 (Yzabelle Tevao 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 block) Florida Atlantic 63

New Mexico State 90 (Ashlee Strawbridge 4pts, 4rebs, 2 blocks, 1 steal) Northern New Mexico 42

Houston Christian 34 (Lauryn Mapusua 5 points, 2 rebounds) Texas 96

La Salle 55 (Emilee Tahata 2 points) Villanova 81

St Mary’s 45 (Amy West 3pts, Tayla Dalton 2pts, Jade Kirisome 2pts) USC 71

In men’s Division I play Tobias Cameron and Abilene Christian inflicted some pain on Howard Payne with a commanding 113-52 victory. Cameron enjoyed a season best 18 points on 7 from 10 shooting including 4 from 6 triples. He also had 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. 

Davidson were pipped 73-70 by Northeastern with Sam Mennenga a point shy of a double-double. The Tall Black forward finished with 9 points, 10 rebounds and a couple of steals. Mennenga heads into the Christmas break with 599 career points.

Davidson will open Atlantic 10 Conference play with a visit in-form Fordham on December 28. Fordham are 12-1 after an 80-77 overtime win against Virginia Military Institute. Zach Riley knocked down a three with 1:58 to play to give Fordham a 78-75 lead and finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds an assists and a block.

Once again in double-double territory was Callum McRae despite Sacramento State falling 59-49 to Cal State Fullerton. McRae scored 10 points leaving him just 9 short of 1,000 career points whilst pulling down a monster 14 rebounds – the third occasion in this campaign he has pulled down 14 boards.

Tafara Gapare had 5 points, 7 rebounds, a couple of assists and a block as Massachusetts  defeated Dartmouth 68-57 in their last non-conference game of the season.

Other Men’s Results:

Virginia 64 (Taine Murray 2 points, 1 rebound) Miami 66

UC Riverside 76 (Flynn Cameron 1 points, 5rebs, 5 assists, 3 steals) Portland 65

Hartford 53 (Tom Webley 4 points, 1 rebound) San Francisco 85

Merry Xmas.