Category Archives: Tall Blacks

Mar 11 2017
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

Saturday’s action from College Conference Tournaments

After more Division 1 College Conference play-off action on Saturday (NZ time) it is ironical that the two Kiwi international players left standing, Tai Wynyard and Jacinta Beckley, are unlikely to take the court for their teams for differing reasons.

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Beckley fractured her hand in a game in early February and is still not cleared to suit up for the Seattle Redhawks who will face New Mexico State in the final on Sunday.

The Redhawks beat Utah Valley in the Western Athletic Conference semi-final at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas 61-60.

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Wynyard has been unable to force his way into the Kentucky Wildcats playing rotation seeing little court time of late. Despite this Kentucky defeated Georgia 71-60 in the quarter-final of the Southeastern Conference Championships.

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Katelin Noyer and Fresno State Bulldogs fell at the final hurdle of the Mountain West Conference Championships losing 66-53 to Boise State in the final on Saturday. It had been a dream run for the 7th ranked Bulldogs with a couple of wins against higher ranked opposition in the quarter’s and semi’s but they were comfortably beaten by 4th ranked Boise State.

Tessa

Like fellow Tall Fern Krystal Leger-Walker earlier in the week, Tessa Boagni suffered the agony of a single point defeat as Cal State Northridge Matadors was beaten 61-60 by Long Beach State on Saturday. The loss was at the semi-final stage of the Big West Conference Tournament.

Trailing by eight late in the game, CSUN mounted a furious rally over the final four minutes of action but fell one point short in their comeback effort against the 49ers.

Boagni was excellent from the foul line converting all 7 of her attempts as she scored 11 points and added 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a block and an assist.

Mar 10 2017
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College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

Noyer conference final bound but Salt and Le’Afa defeated

There were three Kiwi senior internationals in US college play-off action on Friday with a win and a pair of losses to report.

 

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It was good news for Katelin Noyer. In a game that saw 13 lead changes and four ties Fresno State prevailed 53-51 as the seventh-seeded Bulldogs caused another upset. 48 hours after upsetting No 2 Wyoming on Wednesday they beat No 3 UNLV, in the semifinals of the 2017 Mountain West Women’s Basketball Championship.

Noyer, in her first season with Fresno, came off the bench to contribute 2 points and 2 rebounds. Fresno State will now prepare for the final against Boise State on Saturday.

It wasn’t such good news for the two Tall Blacks in action on Friday, both having relatively quiet games, as their two teams exited their respective conference championships.

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Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa scored just 5 points (1/4FG, 2/2FT) as

Sacramento State Hornets exited the Big Sky Conference Championships at the quarter-final stage beaten convincingly, 89-70, by Eastern Washington.

The Wellingtonian guard has had a fine first season but this wasn’t his or the Hornets day as they struggled against the more fancied (seeded No 2) Eastern Washington.

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It was also a disappointing day for Jack Salt and the Virginia Cavaliers. The Cavs, ranked sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference, were beaten by No3 Notre Dame 71-58 in a quarter-final tie in Brooklyn. The Kiwi centre didn’t score with his only shot in 11 minutes of action but did secure 4 rebounds.

It’s not all over for the Cavaliers as they will make their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance later in the month.

Mar 09 2017
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College Hoops, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

Webster and Leger-Walker exit but Noyer, Salt, and Boagni advance

There was plenty of action on Thursday involving Tall Blacks and Tall Ferns in NCAA Division 1 conference championships.

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Tai Webster scored in double figures for the 30th time in 31 games this season but Nebraska Huskers seeded 12 in the Big Ten Conference went down in overtime to Penn, 76-67, in the first round of the conference championships. Webster finished with 12 points as the Huskers came from 10 points down with five minutes left to tie the game at 60 points apiece in regulation. Despite being thwarted in overtime Nebraska head coach Tim Miles was full of praise for his senior guard in the post match media conference.

“Tai has been a kid that I’m proud of because he never quit. He came as a much-heralded recruit, started on an NCAA tournament team, but wasn’t very productive. I think they called him the least productive Big Ten starter. That’s not a great reputation to start with, right?

“The next year he fell out of the rotation, then he fought back, had a pretty good year last year, averaged over 10 points a game, even more than that in the league. This year he’s been really good for us all year.

“It’s always the same thing with Tai. Guard their best player, score all our points, right? I have a lot of respect for him not quitting, just staying with it. A lot of times nowadays guys, if they’re not getting exactly what they want, they’ll go. Tai would never do that. Had every opportunity to. He had professional offers I believe at the end of almost every year. Back home, for sure. He turned them down, turned down a lot of money to stay with his college basketball career,” said Miles

For the record Webster finished with 528 points for the season and 1,116 career points for the Huskers in 127 games.

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Jack Salt had to endure foul trouble as Virginia Cavaliers, who are seeded No 6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships beat Pitt 75-63 in the second round on Thursday. Salt picked up three fouls early and was restricted to 12 minutes court time. He did however put the exclamation mark score on proceedings throwing down a dunk in the closing seconds of the win. Virginia meets No 3 Notre Dame tomorrow in the quarters.

Tessa

Cantabrian Tessa Boagni put in a dominating performance for Cal State Northridge Matadors as they beat University of Hawaii 71-64 in Long Beach at the Big West Tournament.

Boagni finished with 13 points (5/10FG) and a massive game high 13 rebounds, her fourth double double of the season.

The third seeded Matadors face No 2 Long Beach State in the semi on Saturday.

Katelin Noyer and Fresno State Bulldogs recorded a major upset at the Mountain West Conference Championships. The Bulldogs, seeded 7th, knocked off No 2 Wyoming winning 58-48 and meet UNLV in the semi’s tomorrow.

Freshman Noyer snared a rebound in 6 minutes of action.

Northern Colorado Bears suffered an agonising 60-59 defeat to Idaho State in the Big Sky Conference quarter-final. The Bears and Krystal Leger-Walker were 5 points up with 52 seconds to play but were thwarted by an opposition basket with three seconds to play.

Leger-Walker finished with 8 points, 2 assists, 2 steals and a rebound.

Mar 08 2017
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College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

Beck bows out, Noyer and Le’Afa advance

NCAA Conference Tournaments are in full swing this week.

On Wednesday (NZ time) Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa, Katelin Noyer, and Stella Beck were in action.

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Beck and St Mary’s Gaels were involved in the game of the day from a New Zealand perspective, the Gaels up against Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference Championship final.

Third seeded Saint Mary’s mounted a furious third-quarter rally but it was not enough, falling short in the championship game. SMC cut a 25-point deficit down to seven points in the third quarter, but No 1 ranked Gonzaga held off the Gaels to win 86-75.

Beck contributed a team high 5 assists to compliment 6 points, 3 rebounds and a brace of blocks.

The Gaels made their first WCC championship game appearance since 2011 and with another 20-win season, it is expected that they will make its eighth consecutive WNIT appearance. The WNIT field will be announced on March 13, with first round games will take place March 15-17.

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Le’Afa contributed 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal as Sacramento State Hornets got its Big Sky Conference Championships campaign off on the right foot beating Idaho state 91-76. Next up for the Hornets is a quarter-final appointment with Eastern Washington on Friday.

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Former Westlake Girls centre Katelin Noyer was 3 from 3 from the field, her 6 points helping propel Fresno State Bulldogs past Nevada, 62-57 in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference Championships on Tuesday.

On Wednesday the seventh ranked Bulldogs came up against Wyoming in the quarter-finals and upset the No 2 seeds winning 58-48. Noyer snared a rebound but the freshman, only required for 6 minutes, missed with her only shot.

Mar 08 2017
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

Mixed results in Europe for Kiwis last week

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Zaragoza suffered a third consecutive loss going down 93-80 at Fuenlabrada despite a strong showing from Isaac Fotu. The power forward contributed 13 points at a highly efficient 6 from 7 shooting and added a quartet of rebounds and assists.

Zaragoza are now 7-15 for the season and 13th on the 17 team Liga Endesa points table.

Also in Spain Sammic ISB entertained the extravagantly named Aceitunas Fragata Moron in the Spanish third division.

Mike Karena scored 8 points (4/9FG) and grabbed 6 rebounds as Sammic recovered from a four points deficit at half time to win 83-75 and remain top of the standings with a 17-6 record.

In his second game in Turkey Thomas Abercrombie came off the bench as his club Demir IBB went down 78-67 at Gaziantep. The Tall Blacks forward is searching for his scoring touch failing to score from the field in six attempts. He made a pair of freebies finishing with 2 points, 2 rebounds and a steal in 16 minutes.

Erin Rooney also played 16 minutes in a loss as Artego Bydgoszcz lost 71-64 at Wisla in the Polish League. Rooney put up just a couple of shots finishing with 2 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists against top of the table Wisla as Artego slip to 6th on the standings (13-9).

In Italy Le Mura Lucca had a comfortable 77-50 win at Battipaglia to improve to 17-2 on the season. Jillian Harmon recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds, her third double double in the past five games. Next week Lucca have a top of the table clash with Familia Schio, the team that defeated them in the Italian Cup final last week.

Mar 05 2017
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns, Uncategorized

Kenny and ‘Cats’ keep title

Jarrod Kenny was the last Kiwi standing in Australia after Perth Wildcats emphasised their play-off supremacy to sweep Illawarra Hawks 3-0 in the best of five NBL Grand Final series. Perth retained its title with a 95-86 victory on Sunday on the back of a stunning 45 points from import Bryce Cotton. The win extends Perth’s record number of championships to eight.

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Kenny joins a select band of Kiwis that have won two Australian NBL titles. The former Westlake Boys stand out doesn’t produce stunning numbers for the Wildcats, he scored just two points in game three, but he fills his role as back up to captain Damian Martin in style. An unselfish facilitator and resilient defender Kenny is the perfect foil to the ‘Cats’ talisman and has played a significant part in Perth’s success over the past two seasons.

Perth Lynx were unable to duplicate the men’s success as they exited the Women’s National Basketball League play-offs at the semi-final stage in a tie also played on Sunday

Having levelled the three game series in Perth on Friday the Lynx were looking to return to the final having finished runners-up last season. It was not to be as they were defeated 81-63 by Dandenong Rangers.

Tall Ferns guard Toni Edmondson again had the ice cold shooting hand, going zero from four – having shot 2 of 12 on Friday. The Cantabrian did accumulate 6 rebounds but the Lynx will now have to lick their wounds and prepare for the 2017/18 season, as Dandenong go on the face Sydney University Flames in the Grand Final.

Mar 04 2017
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns

Now there are two

Just two Kiwis remain active in the Australian Men’s and Women’s National Basketball Leagues and they are both wearing the red of Perth.

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Jarrod Kenny and the Perth Wildcats look certain to retain their NBL title having gone 2-0 up in the five game Grand Final series against Illawarra Hawks and Toni Edmondson and Perth Lynx are one win away from returning to the WNBL Grand Final.

The Wildcats produced a composed performance in Wollongong on Wednesday winning 89-77, the same score line that decided game one.

Kenny played his part in marshalling the scoring threat of Hawks shooting guard Rotnei Clarke whilst also managing 4 points, 4 assists and 2 steals in game two.

Game three is back in Perth on Sunday.

 The Lynx will also return to the court on Sunday to play the deciding semi-final game against Dandenong Rangers. On Friday the Lynx tied the best of three series at one apiece with a 91-71 victory on their home court.

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Edmondson had a shooting night to forget converting just 2 from 12 scoring attempts but her length and athleticism aided the Lynx defence that restricted Dandenong to just 10 points in the final frame. Lynx led 63-61 at the three-quarter mark but powered away in the fourth. Edmondson finished with 4 points, 3 rebounds and a pair of steals.

 On the Eastern coast Townsville Fire was defeated 76-61 by Sydney University Flames. The defeat means, for Micaela Cocks and Chevannah Paalvast, their dream of a three-peat is over. Having won the last two WNBL championships the Fire were no match for the Flames beaten convincingly in both semi-final contests.

It wasn’t a night to remember for the Kiwi pair with Paalvast not taking to the floor and Cocks failing to score for the only time this season. She did manage three rebounds and a steal but the season has ended on a disappointing note for the two Tall Ferns guards.

Feb 27 2017
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Tall Blacks

And still there are four

And still there are four!

Four Kiwis remain active in the Australian Men’s and Women’s National Basketball leagues – but only just with the three Tall Ferns representatives in the WNBL just one defeat away from elimination.

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Jarrod Kenny and the Perth Wildcats are striving to retain their NBL title in a five game Grand Final series against surprise finalists Illawarra Hawks.

Perth swept their semi-final series against Cairns 2-0 but Illawarra had to come from one game down to defeat the 36ers in the deciding game 106-98, in Adelaide last Thursday.

In the opening game of the Grand-Final series Perth took care of business on their home court winning 89-77. Kenny was his reliable self in his back up role behind captain Damian Martin knocking down his only shot – a three in the opening stanza.

Game two is in Wollongong on Wednesday night.

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Micaela Cocks, Townsville Fire point guard

 Also looking to retain their crown is the Townsville Fire. In fact the Fire, with Micaela Cocks and Chevannah Paalvast in their line up, are going for a three-peat having won the last two WNBL championships.

The Fire played the first of their three game semi-final series on Saturday night against Sydney University Flames and was annihilated 111-69 by the regular season champions. Sydney won every quarter including a dominating third 38-14 as the Fire could find few answers. Cocks contributed 6 points, 2 dimes and 3 steals and Paalvast chipped in with a couple of rebounds and an assist but it looks like the Flames are going to be too hot for the Fire

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Also on Saturday night Toni Edmondson was in action as Perth Lynx visited Dandenong Rangers in the other semi-final. Perth endured a horror first half trailing 45-23 at the break and despite a brave fight back went down 73-66. Edmondson produced 4 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal for the Reds.

Game two of both semi-finals is on Friday.

Feb 13 2017
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ANBL, College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Blacks

Mixed fortunes for our overseas based Tall Blacks last week

There were mixed results for the European, Australian and American college based Tall Blacks last week.

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Tai Webster led Nebraka’s scoring with 19 points but the Huskers suffered their third single digit defeat of the season going down 70-69 in overtime to No7 Wisconsin on Friday.

Webster, who also led his team in assists with 5 in that category, “Played his butt off” according to coach Tim Miles.

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Jack Salt scored 4 points including a tip back going into half-time as Virginia, ranked No 9 in the country beat No 4 Louisville 71-55 on Wednesday. Salt’s play pleased teammate London Perrantes and helped set up a dominant second half display.

“It gave us a lot of energy. We were down by two going into the half and that was what we need from him. We need energy, we need those offensive rebounds, we need his blocks. Everything we get from him is huge, but obviously, there was a lot of energy from that moment.” Salt added 6 rebounds for good measure.

 Things didn’t go to plan for Salt or his team on Sunday beaten 80-78 in double overtime by rivals Virginia State. Salt logged 4 fouls in just 14 minutes managing 2 points and 4 rebounds in that time.

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The Sacramento State Hornets had a significant double over the weekend. On Friday they knocked off Big Sky Conference leaders Weber State 77-74 and followed this with a 75-63 win against Idaho State on Sunday. Izayah Le’Afa played a solid hand contributing 3 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a game high 3 steals against Weber State and 10 points against Idaho as the Hornets improve to 6-6 in conference play.

 Europe

In Spain Zaragoza was thumped 100-67 at Valencia and drop to 13th (7-13) on the Spanish League table. Isaac Fotu played a team high 31 minutes and scored 10 points but it must have been hard going in a fixture totally dominated by fourth placed Valencia.

Also in Spain Sammic ISB slip to second on the LEB Silver ladder after losing 79-70 at Cambados. Forward Mike Karena played a strong hand for Sammic snaring 6 rebounds as well as scoring 16 points

Junior Tall Blacks

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The Junior Tall Blacks have been drawn alongside European champions France, third placed Asian qualifier Korea and a yet to be announced fourth team from the Americas at the FIBA U19 World Cup.

The 16 teams event will be held in Cairo, Egypt from July 1st-9th.

New Zealand qualified for the event following their stunning success at the Oceania Champs in Fiji in December where the JTB’s knocked off favourites Australia 57-51 in the final.

Group A – Americas TBA, NZ, Korea, France

Group B – Germany, Egypt, Puerto Rico, Lithuania

Group C – Canada, Japan, Spain, Mali

Group D – Iran, Angola, Italy, USA

Australian NBL

Jarrod Kenny will be the sole Kiwi representative in Australian NBL play-off basketball. The Tall Blacks guard played an important part in Perth’s two victories over the weekend. In the pivotal game on Sunday Kenny scored 8 points, including a couple of long threes, as Perth accounted for Melbourne 96-94 and in the process eliminated the Breakers.

 Neither Reuben Te Rangi or Dion Prewster, the two other Kiwis with Australian clubs, will be in play-off action as Brisbane (8th) and Sydney failed to finish in the top four. Prewster, in what has been a disappointing season for the Nelson Giants bound guard, scored two points, as Sydney Kings were defeated 101- 74 in Perth.

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Te Rangi managed 4 points, a rebound and three assists but the injury ravaged Bullets were no match for Illawarra Hawks going down 106-79. Te Rangi will now return to NZ and link up with the Southland Sharks.

Feb 13 2017
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns, Uncategorized

Then there were Four

And then there were four!

Four Kiwis remain active in the Australian National Basketball leagues, men’s and women’s, – two in Perth and two in Townsville. Jarrod Kenny and Toni Edmondson are flying the flag out west whilst Micaela Cocks and Chevannah Paalvast are doing the same in North Queensland.

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Jarrod Kenny will be the sole Kiwi representative in Australian NBL play-off basketball. The Tall Blacks guard played an important part in Perth’s two victories over the weekend. In the pivotal game on Sunday Kenny scored 8 points, including a couple of long threes, as the defending champions accounted for Melbourne 96-94 and in the process eliminated the Breakers.

 Neither Reuben Te Rangi nor Dion Prewster, the two other Kiwis with Australian clubs, will be in play-off action as Brisbane and Sydney failed to finish in the top four. Prewster, in what has been a disappointing season for the Nelson Giants bound guard, scored two points, as Sydney Kings were thumped 101- 74 in Perth.

Te Rangi managed 4 points, a rebound and three assists but the injury ravaged Bullets were no match for Illawarra Hawks going down 106-79. Te Rangi will now return to NZ and link up with the Southland Sharks.

The WNBL play-off race is down to five teams with one round of the regular season remaining next weekend.

 

 

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It took overtime but Perth Lynx are certain of a play-offs spot after beating Melbourne Boomers 87-81 on Sunday and improving to 15-7. Toni Edmondson fouled out with 1:40 left in regulation after contributing 9 points, 3 rebounds and a steal to the Lynx cause.

 

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Micaela Cocks also scored 9 points as Townsville Fire downed Dandenong Rangers for the second consecutive weekend although fellow Tall Fern Chev Paalvast didn’t take the floor. The victory means the Fire have a 2-1 winning split on Dandenong that may be enough, depending on the results of the final round of games next week, to carry them to third spot on the WNBL ladder.

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However nothing is certain as fifth placed Canberra, who visit Townsville on Saturday, hold the series advantage over the defending champions.

Jess Bygate (Melbourne Boomers) and Jordan Hunter (Adelaide Lightning) will conclude their seasons next week with their teams filling the last two places on the ladder.

 

 

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