Mar 14 2016
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Kiwi's Abroad, WBC

Tall Ferns in Grand Final action

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15p/8r/5a for Micaela Cocks in WNBL Grand Final Game 1

The two best teams in the Australian Women’s National Basketball League regular season battled it out in the opening game of the competition’s first ever best-of-three Grand Final series on Saturday. It was also the first time a WNBL Final had featured three Kiwi internationals – Micaela Cocks and Chevannah Paalvast for Townsville Fire and Toni Edmondson for Perth Lynx.

An additional New Zealand connection is that Townsville Fire head coach Chris Lucas is also an assistant coach with the Tall Ferns.

Perth enjoyed home advantage courtesy of an emphatic 91-71 semi-final victory in Townsville a fortnight ago but on the back of a stunning fourth quarter charge Townsville have seized momentum with a 73-57 victory.

“The fourth quarter was all about our defense,” said Paalvast. “We were able to string multiple stops in a row and kept one of the best offensive teams in the league to seven points.”

Indeed it was, Townsville entered the final period trailing 50-45, gave up the first two points of the quarter but dominated from there in with a blistering 28-5 run home.

Cocks was superb for the defending champions amassing 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Nine of her points came at the back end of the final period as the Fire secured a decisive win. Needless to say she was pleased with the Townsville performance.

“I was proud of our team and the way we executed our game plan. Finals basketball is always tough and we found a way to win. We are in a good position heading into game two at home but we know there is still a lot of work to do to achieve our ultimate goal of becoming back to back champions.”

The two teams meet in game two in Townsville next Friday with game three back in Perth on Sunday if required. Toni Edmondson, who contributed 5 points to the Lynx effort, will be hoping to take the game back West for a series decider.

US College – Women

It is a nervous time for Kalani Purcell and all associated with Brigham Young University-Provo as they wait to see if BYU is selected for the upcoming NCAA tournament to be announced.

An invitation would be welcome consolation for BYU after being denied direct entry following a 70-68 West Coast Conference Tournament Grand Final loss to the University of San Francisco last week.

Purcell’s outstanding form, 17 points and 16 rebounds in the final, earned her a place in the WCC All-Tournament team but a trip to the “Big Dance’ would be something special.

The quintet of Tall Ferns in other college teams fell at different stages of tournament action last week.

Also in the West Coast Conference St Mary’s Gaels were defeated 67-65 by San Francisco in the WCC semi-final. The result meant the season ended on a low note for Gaels and Tall Ferns swingman Stella Beck as they were seeded to meet BYU in the final. Beck had 7 points, 3 rebounds and a steal in the loss.

Colgate University senior Josie Stockill finished her outstanding four-year Raiders career on a losing note as they were defeated by Patriot League number one seed Army West Point 89-62.

Stockill finished as Colgate’s all time leading shot blocker, 5th in rebounding and 15th in scoring.

California State University Northridge fell at the first hurdle in Big West Tournament play. The Matadors finish the season with a 7-24 record after going down 72-51 against Cal Poly. Cantabrian forward Tessa Boagni had 4 points and 4 boards for the Matadors in that one.

Jacinta Beckley and Seattle University Redhawks also bowed out in its first game of Western Athletic Conference post-season play downed 64-52 by Bakersfield.

The University of California Berkley Golden Bears terrific run in the Pac 12 Conference Tournament came to an end at the semi-final stage.

The Bears entered the tournament ranked 10th and knocked off higher ranked teams Utah (66-63 AOT) and Arizona State (75-64) before going out in the semi’s 73-68 against UCLA, again after overtime action.

Penina Davidson scored an impressive career high 17points (7/8FG) against Arizona State but a third game in three days, two going to overtime, took its toll on the Bears in the loss against UCLA.

Europe – Women

 For the second consecutive game Le Mura Lucca were given a real test in the Italian Serie A. Lucca appeared to be cruising to their 22nd victory of the season leading 48-35 in the third period. However a spirited fight back by hosts Di Lupari saw the game tied at 55 points apiece at the end of regulation time. Avoiding their second defeat of the season Lucca scraped home 65-63 with Jillian Harmon scoring 19 points for the victors.

Erin Rooney has had to undergo knee surgery but the Cantabrian is hoping to return to the court for French club COB Calais in April.

Mar 11 2016
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Blacks

Salt and Webster march on

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Second win in two days for Webster and Nebraska

Nebraska University Cornhuskers won its second game in two days defeating University of Wisconsin 70-58 in Big Ten Conference Tournament second round play on Friday (NZT).

Having beaten Rutgers University the previous day Nebraska, seeded 11th, built on a 26-21 half time advantage to close out a solid victory against 6th seeded Wisconsin.

Following his 18 points haul against Rutgers Tall Blacks guard Tai Webster was once again prominent for the Huskers adding a game high 3 steals to 9 points and 6 rebounds.

Nebraska progresses to face third seed Maryland in the quarter-finals on Saturday (NZT).

Smothering defence from the University of Virginia Cavaliers was too much for Georgia Tech in the quarter-final of Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Freshman Jack Salt only entered the court for the final 1:18 of the game but would have watched admiringly as the Cavs built on a two-point half time advantage before completely dominating the second half finishing 72-52 to the good.

Virginia, hoping to repeat their championship triumph of 2014, takes on the winner of Miami and Virginia Tech in the semi-final on Saturday (NZT).

Mar 10 2016
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Blacks

Webster and Nebraska Advance

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18pts, 5rebs, 4assists for Tai Wester in Huskers win

On Thursday (NZT) Nebraska University Cornhuskers took on Rutgers University in Big Ten Tournament action and with Tai Webster shooting 7 from 11 Nebraska, seeded 11th, were too good for the 14th seeds winning 89-72.

The Huskers held a narrow 37-33 advantage at half time but with the aid of a 7-0 run they extended the advantage to 60-45, midway through the second half, before easing to the win.

Webster was quickly into his work scoring a dozen first half points, eventually finishing with 18 for Nebraska. The Tall Blacks guard played a team high 32 minutes during which he added 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a pair of steals.

Following the game Webster was asked if it was a relief for the team to get the win after finishing the regular season with a five game losing streak.

“No, not at all. I think do the job of staying positive and always have it in the back of our minds that we can make a run, because we know what type of team we are and the time we have. So not really.”

Getting 16 points in the first half off turnovers helped the Nebraska cause and the former Westlake Boys standout was pleased with his team’s defensive effort

“I think we are doing a good job on defense. They had a couple of tough shots at hand, at the end of the shot clock and stuff like that. But I think we just stayed down and stuck with it and, in the end, we started to see separation.”

With games played 24 hours apart Nebraska moves on to face Wisconsin (seeded 6th) on Friday (NZT) in quarter final action.

Also on Friday Jack Salt and the University of Virginia Cavaliers begin Atlantic Coast play-off proceedings against Georgia Tech.

In women’s action California State University Northridge fell at the first hurdle in Big West Tournament play on Wednesday. The Matadors finish the season with a 7-24 record after going down 72-51 against Cal Poly. Cantabrian forward Tessa Boagni had 4 points and 4 boards for the Matadors.

Mar 09 2016
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Ferns

Purcell and BYU fall agonisingly short

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17 points and 16 rebounds for Kalani Purcell but BYU-Provo beaten in Championship final

The 2016 American college play-off fortunes of Tall Ferns Kalani Purcell, Stella Beck and Josie Stockill have come to disappointing conclusions.

Having dominated West Coast Conference proceedings all season Brigham Young University-Provo slipped at the final hurdle losing an exciting championship final 70-68 against University of San Francisco in Las Vegas on Wednesday (NZT).

BYU Cougars, the defending champions, had advanced to the final on the back of a 16-2 conference regular season record and two convincing play-off victories.

The final was close throughout – BYU led 68-66 inside the final 60 seconds but coughed up fouls that sent San Francisco to the foul line, the free throw opportunities gleefully accepted by the number 6 seeds.

As she had been all season Tall Fern Kalani Purcell was a pillar of strength for the Cougars putting together a double double of 17 points and 16 rebounds in the final.

Her outstanding form earned Purcell a place in the WCC All-Tournament team.

Some consolation for BYU is that they are still likely to be invited to the NCAA tournament, often referred to as the ‘Big Dance’, when selections and seedings are announced next week.

The previous day St Mary’s Gaels were defeated 67-65 by San Francisco in the WCC semi-final. The result meant the season ended on a low note for Gaels and Tall Ferns swingman Stella Beck as they were tipped to meet BYU in the final. Beck had 7 points, 3 rebounds and a steal as the Gaels were overhauled in the final stanza after leading 41-37 at three quarter time.

The Gaels finish the season with an impressive 24-7 record but one win away from the championship game.

In other play-off news former Hawkes Bay standout and Colgate University senior Josie Stockill finished her outstanding four-year Raiders career on a losing note.

After winning their opening game of the Patriot League play-offs the Raiders were defeated in the quarter finals by number one seed Army 89-62.

It was somewhat fitting that Stockill played her last game of college basketball at one of the most famous and prestigious sites in America – the United States Military Academy known as West Point – home of the Army team.

Stockill finished as Colgate’s all time leading shot blocker, 5th in rebounding and 15th in scoring.

Men’s college play-off action featuring Tai Webster (Nebraska) and Jack Salt (Virginia) begins later this week.

Mar 08 2016
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Ferns

Tall Ferns going deep into play-off’s teritory

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Toni Edmondson and the Perth Lynx will have home court advantage in WNBL Grand Final series

New Zealand is guaranteed at least one Australian WNBL championship winner after Townsville Fire proved too good for South East Queensland Stars in the Preliminary Final on Saturday. Townsville protected home court with a solid 91-71 victory to set up a meeting with Perth Lynx in the best of three grand final series.

Micaela Cocks had a game high 8 assists in addition to 6pts/2rebs/1stl/1block against the Stars. Chevannah Paalvast only played the last couple of minutes but she and Cock’s will be relishing the opportunity to play against fellow Tall Fern Toni Edmondson and her Lynx colleagues in game one on Saturday night in Perth.

US College – Women

 A number of college conferences have already begun post regular season conference tournaments and a number of Tall Ferns have been in the thick of the action.

The University of California Berkley Golden Bears terrific run in the Pac 12 Conference Tournament at Key Arena in Seattle came to an end at the semi-final stage on Saturday.

The Bears entered the tournament ranked 10th and knocked off higher ranked teams Utah (66-63 AOT) and Arizona State (75-64) before going out in the semis 73-68 against UCLA, again after overtime action.

Former Rangitoto College forward Penina Davidson made a telling contribution for the Bears with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks against Utah. She followed that up with an even more impressive career high 17points (7/8FG) and 7 rebounds against Arizona State.

A third game in three days, two going to overtime, took its toll on Davidson as she could manage only 5 points in the semi final loss.

In the West Coast Conference Tournament number one and two seeds Brigham Young Uni-Provo Cougars and St Mary’s Gaels progressed to the semi-finals at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

St Mary’s beat Loyola Marymount 85-71 aided by 11 rebounds from Stella Beck (plus 3pts/3 assists and 2 steals).

Kalani Purcell threatened a triple double as BYU defeated Pepperdine 72-59. Purcell, the leading rebounder in the conference, had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists.

Josie Stockill spent virtually the whole of the second quarter sitting on the bench as Colgate University Raiders struggled to overcome Lafayette in the first round of Patriot League play-off action on Saturday. Stockill, “Itching to get out there and make an impact”, took control of proceedings in the second half, the former Hawkes Bay forward finishing with a double double of 19 points and 12 rebounds, as the Raiders stole an 80-68 win.

Colgate next faces the highly fancied Army West Point on Monday in quarter final action.

 Jacinta Beckley and Seattle University Redhawks fell 66-52 to CSU Bakersfield in its final regular season game of the season. Beckley played just 6 minutes and recorded just a single rebound – the Redhawks will meet Bakersfield again on Wednesday in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.

Cal State Northridge Matadors will also begin tournament play this week facing Cal Poly on Tuesday. The Matadors completed its Big Western Conference regular season with a home defeat at the hands of Long Beach State 79-69 on Saturday. Forward Tessa Boagni had 4 points, 2 rebounds and an assist in the loss.

Europe – Women

 Jillian Harmon and Le Mura Lucca now boast a 20-1 record at the top of Serie A. Harmon bagged 20 points on Wednesday as Lucca was tested by Venezia before eventually winning 69-59.

Feb 29 2016
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Ferns

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Toni Edmondson to play in first WNBL Grand Final

Cantabrian Toni Edmondson (11 points) was one of five Perth Lynx players in double figures as the Lynx stunned defending champions Townsville Fire on Sunday afternoon.

The Australian WNBL Major Semi-Final was expected to be a tight affair but the Lynx dominated from start to finish eventually winning 92-71 to book themselves a place in the Grand Final series in a couple of week’s time. Micaela Cocks scored 12 points (4/8FG) and Chevannah Paalvast 4 points (2/3FG) on a day when the Fire was well and truly subdued.

Not all is lost for Townsville as they host South East Queensland Stars in a do or die Preliminary Final next Sunday, the winner to meet the Lynx.

US College – Women

 Colgate Raiders lost 83-74 to Lehigh on Wednesday but in scoring 14 points Tall Ferns forward Josie Stockill became just the 20th player in Colgate University Women’s Basketball history to pass 1,000 career points.

The Hawkes Bay native piled in a further 18 points on Saturday, plus a career high 16 rebounds, as Colgate secured just its 3rd Patriot League success defeating Lafayette 70-55.

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Josie Stockill passed 1,000 career points for Colgate University

Following a 16th straight win Brigham Young Uni-Provo Cougars has risen to No 22 on the NCAA Division 1 rankings. The West Coast Conference Regular Season champions were much too good for Portland dominating from start to finish to win 84-59 on Thursday. Kalani Purcell finished the game with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a couple of steals.

Somewhat surprisingly the Cougars lost its final regular season game on Sunday going down 73-55 at Gonzaga. Despite the loss Purcell managed to chalk up her 16th double double of the season adding 13 rebounds to 10 points.

In the same conference Stella Beck’s St Mary’s Gaels (14-4) wrapped up second place in the WCC with a 72-59 victory against San Francisco. Beck continued her recent good form with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block.

Seattle University Redhawks fell 79-48 to Utah Valley in Western Athletic Conference action – 2pts/1reb/1assist for Jacinta Beckley.

Cal State Northridge Matadors gave unbeaten UC Riverside a 25-14 first quarter start and a lead that proved too big to pull back. The Matadors slipped to 4-9 in Big Western Conference games after losing 84-62. On a positive note, after a quiet sequence of games, Tessa Boagni bounced back into form with 13 points, 6 rebounds and a steal.

The University of California Berkley Golden Bears rounded out its regular season with two home games at the weekend. On Friday Penina Davidson (7pts) went 3 from 3 from the field including a score from her only shot from beyond the arc as the Bears beat Oregon 65-54.

On Sunday Oregon State were too strong for the Bears winning a low scoring contest 54-44. Davidson managed 4 points, 4 rebounds and a block in that one. The Bears finished with a 4-14 record in Pac 12 Conference play.

Europe – Women

 Jillian Harmon and Le Mura Lucca roll on in the Italian Serie A now boasting an 18-1 record. Despite having to wear a spare set of uniforms provided by their hosts, due to a color clash, Lucca disposed of Oriveto 66-46 with Tall Ferns forward Harmon scoring 13 points.

 

 

Feb 25 2016
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WBC, Womens Basketball

ACM Hawks defeat Waikato Wizards in WBC opener

NCAA Women's Basketball: Hawaii Rainbow Wahine vs Hawaii-Hilo Vulcans

Breana Jones scored 13 points for the Hawks

All teams involved in the Women’s Basketball Championship (WBC) congregate in Tauranga next week (March 4-6) for the first of three tournament weekends that will decide the 2017 championship.

The WBC takes on the same format as last year with some games played outside the three tournament weekends, in an attempt to promote the women’s games and profile the players in their local associations.

The first of these games was played in Cambridge on Wednesday evening with Auckland Counties Manukau Lady Hawks edging a tight encounter, 59-58, against Waikato Wizards.

The Wizards, led by veterans Natasha Lenden and Miriam Stevens made the stronger start opening up a 6 points lead although that was trimmed to a single point, 19-18, at quarter time.

Breana Jones, back in the WBC after a stint at the University of Hawaii was prominent for the Hawks as it forged a 30-26 half-time advantage.

Waikato, strengthened by the addition of former Tauranga forward Kelcy Ballantyne, bounced back in the third period winning the quarter 20-13 to hold a 46-43 lead entering the final ten minutes.

Waikato still had a four point cushion with 5 minutes to play but the poise of Jordan Hunter, Hayley Moala and Jones helped last years runners-up boss the final minutes and get its campaign off to a winning start.

Final score;

Waikato Wizards 58 – Stevens 13p/6r, Krystal Leger Walker 11p/6r/5a, Kendell Heremaia 8p/9r, Kyler Parai 7p

ACM Lady Hawks 59 – Hunter 19p/5r/5a, Moala 16p/8r, Jones 13p/5r/4a, Sharne Pupuke 6p/7r

Feb 23 2016
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Blacks

Penney or Kenny plus more on overseas Tall Blacks

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Kirk Penney is attempting to take Illawarra to the NBL Grand Final

 The posse of Tall Blacks in the Breakers squad will have to wait until Friday before finding which New Zealand international will lineup against them in the best of three NBL Grand Final series. Will it be Penney or Kenny?

The semi-final between Perth Wildcats and Illawarra Hawks is locked at one game apiece after both teams won its respective home games. The pivotal game three will be played in Perth on Friday.

Illawarra’s Kirk Penney picked up some of the slack created by Kevin Lisch’s absence (badly damaged ankle early in game one) scoring 35 points across both games but the Tall Blacks shooting guard did need 33 shots from the field to reach that total. Surprisingly he connected with just 2 from 16 three-point efforts.

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Jarrod Kenny has had a fine first season in the NBL

Jarrod Kenny (7pts) was his steady self for Perth connecting with both three point attempts and a free throw in game two.

Europe –Men

Plymouth Raiders entertained Cheshire Phoenix in the British Basketball League on Sunday, 8th versus 7th, with both teams keen to improve their play-off prospects (top eight qualify).

Helped by 21 points from Duane Bailey it was Plymouth that prevailed 100-89 and they jumped over Cheshire into seventh spot with a 9-14 record. The Raiders shot a highly respectable 11 from 22 from beyond the three-point arc, Bailey nailing 3 from 4 from deep.

Isaac Fotu enjoyed a rare week off as league action took a break whilst the Spanish Cup reached a climax.

Zaragoza host Italian club Dolomiti Energia Trento in the last 16 of the Eurocup on Wednesday followed by a meeting with powerhouse Barcelona in Liga Endesa on Sunday.

American College – Men

Tai Webster was in decent form for Nebraska Huskers in the past week. Unfortunately the Huskers slipped to 6-9 in the Big Ten Conference going down 80-64 at Indiana on Wednesdays and 65-62 in overtime at home to Ohio State on Saturday.

The Tall Black guard landed 14 points and dished 3 assists against Indiana. Unfortunately Webster fouled out at the end of regulation time against Ohio, his strong form (9pts/5rebs/5assists/2blocks/1steal), missed by the Huskers in the extra period.

On Monday Jack Salt played the last couple of minutes for Virginia University as the Cavaliers moved to 10-4 in the Atlantic Coast conference with a 73-53 win against North Carolina State. Salt collected a rebound but failed with his only scoring attempt.

Feb 22 2016
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Kiwi's Abroad, Tall Ferns

Three Tall Ferns chasing WNBL title

2011 FIBA Oceania Championship

Micaela Cocks is a key member of the Townsville Fire 

Three Tall Ferns will contest the Australian WNBL Major Semi-Final in Townsville next Sunday. The match up will ensure at least one Kiwi international will be appearing in the 2016 Grand final as the winning team progresses straight to the final. The losers get a second life playing the winner of the 3rd/4th play off encounter.

The Townsville Fire with Micaela Cocks and Chevannah Paalvast in their ranks will host Toni Edmondson and the Perth Lynx. East v West in Australia, Canterbury v Auckland amongst the Kiwis.

Townsville ensured top spot and back to back WNBL regular season titles with a hard fought 64-57 victory against Adelaide Lightning on Saturday.The Fire had slipped up on Friday going down 82-69 against the Lynx in Perth but made no mistake 24 hours later.

Against Perth Cocks played a game high 35 minutes for the Fire contributing 8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Teammate Paalvast added three points and a rebound.

Toni Edmondson could not find her range for the Lynx shooting none from four but the Cantabrian did collect three rebounds and dish a pair of assists.

Cocks (5pts) and Paalvast (2pts) were relatively quiet against Adelaide but both will be relishing the prospect of the major semi-final on home court next weekend.

 US College – Women

The US college basketball season is heading towards the sharp end of the 2015-16 campaign. The regular season has just a week or two more of games before conference tournaments get underway in early March.

Brigham Young Uni-Provo wrapped up its first ever West Coast Conference Regular Season title with two games to spare. They met second placed San Diego on Wednesday, the only team they had lost to this season, and won a tight encounter 68-60.

Once again Kalani Purcell was a major architect of the win with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 7assists and two steals as BYU stretched its unbeaten run to 15 games.

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More fine performances from Stella Beck for St Mary’s

In the same conference Stella Beck is in the form of her life. Following last week’s career best 27 points Beck produced a 20 points outburst for St Mary’s Gaels as they defeated Gonzaga, 66-47, on Thursday. This was followed by a triple double threatening 11 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists as Portland was demolished 95-53 – St Mary’ move to 12-4 in conference play.

Colgate University Raiders went down 71-58 against Boston University but Josie

Stockill, who already holds the Raiders all time shot blocking record, is now just 4 points shy of 1,000 career points for the Raiders. The Raiders centre returned 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks on the night.

Seattle University Redhawks had a tough couple of games matched up against the two top teams in the Western Athletic Conference. On Thursday they gave the more fancied Univ of Texas Rio Grande Valley a run for their money before eventually going down 76-71. Former Paraparaumu College standout Jacinta Beckley notched 4 points, 3 rebounds and an assist for the Redhawks. Beckley scored 3 points on Saturday in the 66-56 against unbeaten New Mexico State.

Cal State Northridge Matadors are now 4-7 in Big Western Conference games after losing 77-66 against Cal Poly on Saturday. Forward Tess Boagni chipped in with 4 points and two rebounds in 16 minutes for the Matadors

Penina Davidson had a very handy 10pts, 3 rebs, 2 blocks, 2 steals stats line but University of California Berkley Golden Bears went down 72-66 at Utah on Friday.

Europe – Women

Tall Ferns Jillian Harmon (Le Mura Lucca, Italy) and Erin Rooney (COB Calais France) had a break this week as the major European Leagues paused to allow international games to be played.

Feb 22 2016
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NZ Breakers

“You die on the floor too” says Wesley

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“A lot of that you can’t coach” said Vickerman

By Murray McKinnon

The New Zealand Breakers hit their straps at the right time to overcome the semi-final challenge from minor premiers Melbourne United. The Breakers dominated the fourth quarter to record a 91-78 victory at the Vector Arena on Saturday night.

A happy and contented coach Dean Vickerman and forward Tai Wesley spoke to the media post game.

“We’ve been on a six game win streak and that felt like two weeks and the six game losing streak felt like three months kind of thing. I’m just so pleased that we were able to get over the hump and find this form at the right time of the season and we only found it just at the right time. With this group there were big moments, and with big games they go to another level and we saw that in the second half. There were some big moments in the game that needed to happen and Ced, Tai, Tommy and a lot of people made big plays for us tonight and a lot of that you can’t coach,” said Vickerman.

“I thought over in Melbourne (where the Breakers won 91-82) that Tommy really wanted the basketball at different stages and tonight you could just see there was an absolute confidence that he was going to make plays,” he added.

A key to the Breakers success was the play from Tai Wesley in the post going toe to toe with Hakim Warrick.
“We know what he (Tai) is capable of at the offensive end but his commitment to the defensive end was unbelievable tonight. We rebounded and shared the ball a lot better in the second half,” said Vickerman.

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Crucial 16pts, 6 rebs from Tai Wesley

Wesley said it was all a matter of timing.
“We knew if we weathered the storm we would get our moments and take advantage of them. We lifted to another level, when you see a guy like Mika Vukona die on the floor for your team, you go out and die on the floor for your team too,” he said.
“I don’t have a preference as to who I would like to play in the final, I’m grateful to be in the grand final and I wish the game was sooner,” added Wesley.

Vickerman would like to see the final game played at the Vector Arena.
“I’d love to come back here if there was an opportunity and pack this place out and have the final here.
“The schedule for the finals doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, if one of the goals of the NBL this year was to put the best product on the floor I’m not sure that scenario puts the best basketball product on the floor,” he said.
Vickerman in his final season with the Breakers is enjoying the winning records he is setting.
“You never get bored with winning. The whole group did a haka for me the other day and that’s something that I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.”

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