St Kent’s edge Epsom to claim semi-final berth

Saint Kentigern College claimed the last Girls Premier Grade semi-final berth with a tense 61-57 victory at Epsom Girls Grammar.

Played on Thursday night the final regular season game for both teams in effect became a quarter-final tie as both had an identical 7-6 record leading into the contest.

The opening exchanges favoured Epsom, Mihinoa Tanghaere’s basket late in the first quarter, extending the host’s advantage to 20-15 at the first break.

The second period was something of a shoot-out between Epsom guard Draun Forbes and St Kent’s Nerisa Vavau.

The pair sunk three triples apiece – points late in the quarter from Maya Fowler kept Epsom ahead 35-32 at half-time.

Forbes added a fourth three in the third although Sharmaine Taplin countered in kind as the Epsom lead shrunk to 2 points at three-quarter time (48-46)

The fourth was a tight tussle but it was 7 points from Tapling that seized the momentum for St Kent’s – Mania Rogers and Ashleigh Tuumaialu added valuable points as the visitors closed out a hard fought victory.

St Kent’s will now lineup against Westlake Girls in a semi-final tie next Friday at Eventfinda Stadium. 

Epsom 57 – Draun Forbes 24, Leah Patuwairua 12, Maya Fowler 11

St Kentigern 61 – Ashleigh Tuumaialu 17, Sharmaine Tapling 14, Maia Bennett 12, Nerisa Vavau 9, Mania Rogers 6

Standings – remaining Round 14 games to be played tonight (Friday)

13-0 Westlake 

11-2 Baradene

9-4 MAGS 

8-6 St Kentigern

7-7 Epsom

3-10 St Mary’s

1-12 Rangitoto, Carmel

Senior A Girls – Round 13 wrap

In the penultimate round of the Senior A regular season Takapuna Grammar made it 13 straight wins with an 89-59 home victory against Northcote College, although the margin of victory hardly did justice to the effort of their North Shore rivals.

Takapuna forward Qaizden Stephano scored 6 first quarter points, however Lizzie May and Lily Morgan matched that number to keep Northcote in touch at the first break – down 24-18.

DJ Hannah and Nikki Gear were troubling the Takapuna defence although at the other end the penetrative drives of Amy McKenzie and Bailey Flavell were equally problematic for the visitors – Northcote still handily placed at half-time trailing 46-37.

The third period would prove decisive as Takapuna put together a dominating 23-8 frame to decide the contest.

McKenzie scored the first 8 of Takapuna’s points in the spell followed by a triple from Manaia Watson and more incursions from Flavell.

Northcote were unable to make up ground in the fourth although their second place on the Senior A ladder remains assured.

Takapuna 89 – Bailey Flavell 28, Amy McKenzie 23, Qaizden Stephano 14, Manaia Watson 12, Mariah Parker 6

Northcote 59 – N Gear 20, DJ Hannah 18, Lily Morgan 9, Lizzie May 9

In a tussle between two top four team Manurewa High held off Massey High to win a close encounter 64-61. 

Manurewa edged the first quarter 12-11 and the second 14-13 to take a two-point lead into half-time.

Sela Uluheua had 9 first half points for Manurewa while Allyah Leusogi-Ape led the way for Massey with a dozen.

Leusogi-Ape pressed on with another 10 points as the scoring increased dramatically in the third. There were 6 points each from Shirley Tuilimu and Beautiful Campbell as Manurewa built a 51-45 three-quarter time lead.

Kortni Waikiki and Cyntalia Schuster edged Massey closer – a triple from Zhoey  Tilby-Woods also helping.

However a three from the opposite #6 Alyssa Uluheua and a pair of scores from Campbell meant Manurewa were able to hang on for the victory.

A semi-final berth is guaranteed for both teams – the outcome of their final regular season games will determine their opponents. 

Manurewa 64 – Sela Uluheua Shirley Tuilimu 14, Beautiful Campbell 12, Bella Manu-Moore 6, Lavinia Liufau 6

Massey 61 – Allyah Leusogi-Ape 25, Kortni Waikiki 15, Cyntalia Schuster 12, Faith Williams 6

In other games Auckland Girls Grammar defeated Mt Roskill Grammar 68-33 and One Tree Hill College were too strong for Avondale College winning 109-30.

Standings:

13-0 Takapuna

10-3 Northcote

9-4 Massey

8-4 Manurewa

5-8 AGGS

4-9 One Tree Hill

2-10 Mt Roskill

0-12 Avondale

Senior A – Round 13 wrap

Dilworth’s late season hot form continued on Monday with a 97-93 home victory against second on the table Northcote College in Round 13 of the Boy’s Senior A competition.

An upset didn’t look on the cards early on as Northcote eased to a 23-19 lead but it was a decisive run by Dilworth, in the second period, that set up the victory.

The hosts took the quarter 33-15 as Ikahui Mahe, Nepia Moore, Owen Pattison and Kingston Kai’lahi-Aso ignited their offence.

Aaron Sievert scored a customary game high 39 points as Northcote mounted a second half comeback. The Cote shot maker was ably assisted by Tane Cook, Tom Bates and Dontaye Sowman-Faaee but that second quarter assault from Dilworth gave them a large enough buffer to complete a fourth consecutive win.

Northcote will entertain Avondale in their final regular season game on Friday, a contest that could well be a dress rehearsal for the semi-finals the following Friday.

Dilworth 97 – O Pattison 32, K Kai’lahi-Aso 28, Nepia Moore 10, Ikahui Mahe 9, Ivan Kerr 8

Northcote 93 – Sievert 39, Tane Cook 17, Tom Bates 13, Dontaye Sowman-Faaee 11


Manurewa High trailed at every quarter before they finally found a spark to outscore Aorere 23-10 in the all-important fourth quarter.

A physical contest witnessed three of the ‘big’ men fouling out; Brian Tapu (18 points) from Manurewa and the Gordon brothers, Franklyne and Christopher (22 points) from Aorere.  

With William Passi attending the Basketball Without Borders camp in Canberra Manurewa only had an 8-man squad for the game.  That went to seven when top point-getter Richard Campbell landed awkwardly and had to retire with a knee injury.

The void was filled by a posse of Manurewa players in the fourth – Issachar Pati scored 6 points, Briand Tapu 8 and Alex Hughes 7 as the hosts came home on a full head of steam.

Earlier Chris Gordon, Moroki Tauhare and Addison Nielsen had kept Aorere to the fore – ahead at the three breaks (22-16), (36-33) and (54-50).

Manurewa, a semi-final berth assured, visit top of the table St Peter’s on Friday.

Manurewa 73 – B Tapu 18, A Hughes 17, R Ancha 14, Richard Campbell 8, Issachar Pati 8

Aorere 64 – C Gordon 22, Moroki Tauhara 20, Addison Nielsen 7, Tanielu Taito 6 

In other games St Peter’s College remain unbeaten after an 82-68 success against Mt Roskill Grammar while semi-final bound Avondale College defeated Macleans College 90-76.

Standings with one round to play:

13-0 St Peter’s

9-4 Northcote

7-5 Manurewa, Avondale

6-7 Mt Roskill

5-8 Dilworth

3-10 Aorere

1-12 Macleans

Girls Prems – Westlake confirmed regular season champions

Westlake Girls wrapped up the Auckland Prems regular season championship with a comfortable 88-58 victory at nearest rivals Baradene College.

The game began promisingly for Baradene with Poppy Cavanagh-Briggs making three straight baskets. Deyna Topia landed a triple and the hosts had the ideal start, ahead 19-16.

The optimism amongst the home supporters was dented in the second as Westlake piled on 29 points to take a 45-29 advantage into the break.

Mackenzie Chatfield, Amiya Fotu, Sarah and Rebecca Moors inflicted the damage with Chatfield’s 19 first half points including  four made 3-pointers.

Unfortunately for Baradene they couldn’t find any answers after the interval as Westlake put the result to bed with a 28-10 quarter – Izzy Pugh’s inside game troubling the hosts.

Topia and Ritorya Tamilo brightened the mood in the home camp in the fourth quarter with a cluster of baskets however it was Westlake with the biggest smiles as they enjoyed a 13th consecutive win.  

Westlake will play the winners of the Epsom Girls v St Kentigern tie being played on Thursday night. Baradene will contest the other semi against MAGS.

Baradene 58 – D Topia 17, P Cavanagh-Briggs 14, R Tamilo 11, Amelia Nathan 6

Westlake 88 – Chatfield 24, A Fotu 20, I Pugh 16, R Moors 11, Jaelah Clayton 8, S Moors 7

The St Mary’s against Mt Albert Grammar clash was missing two of the brightest prospects in Auckland high school basketball.

MAGS were missing the services of Waimanu Clarken, attending the Basketball Without Borders camp in Canberra, while St Mary’s have lost the services of Kodee Williams-Sefo – side-lined for the remainder of the season with a leg injury.

The absences had a far more detrimental affect on St Mary’s as they were beaten 95-38.

Faith Ualika top scored for St Mary’s while MAGS enjoyed scoring contributions across the board as coach Brent Lay e gave an extended run to a number of his younger squad members.

St Mary’s 38 – Faith Ualika 12, India Nash 9, Layla Aholelei 6, Christiana Setu 5

MAGS 95 – April Liu 28, Te Arina Roberts 13, Lara Cocker-Lemalie 12, Jorjia Fiu 11, Niesha Dighe 8, Valana Pupuke-Robati 7, Emina Tiatia 7

Epsom Girls Grammar’s all-round offensive prowess proved too good for Carmel as they recorded an 88-60 victory to maintain their bid for a semi-final berth.

A top four spot will be decided on Thursday night when Epsom entertain St Kentigern College. Both teams have a 7 win-6 loss record meaning the game in effect becomes a quarter-final as the winner will move on to face Westlake whilst the losers will prepare for Secondary Schools Nationals Qualifying Tournament.

Carmel made a strong showing in the opening half with Ruby Railton, Amie Gaylard  and Jemma Cammell regularly breaching the Epsom defence. Down 20-14 at the quarte mark and 39-29 at half-time Carmel were very much in the contest.

That changed after the interval as Epsom enjoyed a dominant 29-13 third quarter – Draun Forbes, Maya Fowler and Leah Patuwairua each doing damage – to settle the tie.

Millie Lloyd got on the scoreboard for Carmel in the fourth. Likewise Andrea Ape-Paia and Alex Dickers for Epsom.

EGGS 88 – L Patwairuau 42, D Forbes 23, M Fowler 13 Teuila Va’aelua 5

Carmel 60 – J Cammell 20, R Railton 11, I O’Rourke 10, A Gaylard 9

Due to illness in the squad Rangitoto College had to default the fixture against St Kentigern College

Current Standings with one round remaining.

13-0 Westlake 

11-2 Baradene

9-4 MAGS 

7-6 St Kentigern, Epsom

3-10 St Mary’s

1-12 Rangitoto, Carmel

Boys Prems Round 13 Wrap – Rosmini seal regular season title

Rosmini College wrapped up the Auckland Prems regular season title with a solid 80-54 victory at Auckland Grammar. In the penultimate round of the regular season here were also wins for Westlake, Mt Albert Grammar and Rangitoto College.

Grammar, missing the services of Will Shortt and Kalid Petzer attending the Basketball Without Borders camp in Canberra, got off to a dreadful start giving up 30 first quarter points to trail by 20. 

Charlie Dalton (8 points) and Tom Beattie (13 points) did most the damage for Rosmini – a corner three from Noah Johns capping a dominant opening spell.

Julius Halaifonua made inside buckets either side of the break and with Beattie and Josh Batty knocking down triples the visitors lead was 47-24 at the interval.

Josh Muggleston had 8 points at the break although he and back court partner Cody Brown (7 points) had been well contained by the Rosmini defence.

Ryan Hunt and a couple of aerobatic plays from Jackson Kiss threatened a Grammar revival but that was snuffed out by Halaifonua and Beattie – the Rosmini advantage 64-39 ahead of the fourth.

Full court pressure defence from Grammar forced Rosmini into a number of turnovers but the hosts were unable sustain a significant scoring run. 

Anton Seuseu’s inside bucket and Tim Sun’s long three were the scoring highlights of the closing minutes.

AGS 54 – Kiss 16, Muggleston 13, Brown 12, Hunt 6
Rosmini 80 – Beattie 32, Dalton 17, Halaifonua 12, Batty 7

Game report from Andrew Horrocks

In a game that would go a long way to helping paint the final picture of the Premier Boys competition, Rangitoto headed south of the Bridge to take on St Kentigern College. Without Dontae Russo-Nance (attending the Basketball Without Borders camp in Canberra) and Max Johnson St Kent’s were paced by Merrick Rillstone and George Turner, on the other side Rangitoto were held together by the nails and glue combination of the Tongan Tornado Jacob Fotu and Tautoko Wynyard.

After winning the opening tip, Rangi fed a steady diet of post ups between Fotu and Wynyard. Only a Turner triple could break up the early barrage and after 2:12 Aaron Young had seen enough to call a time out, Rangitoto with a 10-3 advantage. Rangitoto’s zone defence was doing a good job of preventing any penetration from St Kent’, forcing outside shots. Despite their smaller stature St Kent’s were making a nuisance of themselves on the offensive boards allowing for repeated Rillstone drives, to get his team back in the game. Kenny Stone felt the need to give his team a break with a 17-9 cushion midway through the first. Aaron Young moved to a zone defence out of the time out and Fotu took advantage, 14 first quarter points helping his team to a 29-14 lead. The only basket coming outside of the paint for the visitors was a late Kaia Dryden corner 3 courtesy of some good ball movement.

Both teams made a nervy start to the second quarter with ball handling and passing errors affecting each side. Rillstone took advantage of an errant pass to grab a runaway dunk to eventually get the scoring underway. After a 6-2 Rangitoto run Aaron Young decided another chat with his troops was required. Wynyard got his first dunk off the night, extending the Rangitoto lead to 22 off a beautifully executed Dryden pass. St Kent’s were finally able to answer and converted twice from beyond the arc via Turner and Jack Foley advancing the score to 40-24. Rillstone scored 7 straight for the hosts who were trying to keep Rangitoto within reach, a Cooper Lepou triple ignited the home crowd who could sense a momentum shift but with a Fotu spinning lay-up to end the quarter it was Rangitoto who were in the ascendancy 49-34.

The start of the second half mirrored the first, Wynyard with his second slam of the evening getting his team on the board. St Kent’s, buoyed by their fans, rattled off 6 straight via Hunter Te Ratana but had a tough time at the other end in trying to slow down Wynyard and Fotu. The two key cogs for Rangi scored all 13 points in the period through an array of nifty footwork and delightful high-low passing. A block from Wynyard on Rillstone made it appear as though the defensive anchor was going to close the door on St Kent’s but a triple on the resulting inbound, a well-timed block in transition and another three-pointer from the Waikato age group representative gave his team hope – the score back to 61-49 with 2:41 to play in the third. Defence was the phrase the rest of the period, Rangitoto going into the final stanza up 62-50 on the back of another Wynyard block.

Once again Rangitoto started the stronger of two sides with quick baskets but unruly play allowed St Kent’s to grab 8 straight points reigniting the crowd – Stone had seen enough, a timeout required with 6:38 to play – Rangitoto nursing a 66-58 lead. Fotu once again scored but on the other end Turners sixth triple of the evening cut the lead to 7. It wasn’t to be their night though, Wynyards final dunk of the night putting an exclamation mark on proceedings with 1:20 to go, Rangitoto victors 77-68, in the process keeping alive their chances of a semi-final berth.

St Kentigern 68 – Rillstone 30, Turner 20, Te Ratana 12

Rangitoto 77 – Fotu 26, Wynyard 25, Michael Ropotini 10

In front of a raucous crowd on seniors night Sacred Heart College produced one of their best performances of the season before going down to Westlake Boys High 75-67.

With Heart, led by Josh Stewart (26 points), ahead 55-53 at three-quarter time it required a captain’s performance from Rocco Chang to steer Westlake to victory.

Chang had been kept quiet to that point but he came up with 11 points in the fourth after Daniel Ottenhoff (26 points) had nabbed the first six of the period – Heart outscored 22-12 in the last ten minutes.

Stewart had 9 points in the opening frame – edged 17-16 by Westlake.

Hamza Zahran scored Westlake’s last 6 points of the opening half as Heart, via Stewart, Adam Davies, Jerome Jakeman and Matt Fautuaalii carved out a 36-34 half time lead.

The two teams went basket for basket in the third to set up a grandstand finish in the fourth – Chang and Westlake prevailing to confirm a top three finish on the Premier League ladder.

Sacred Heart 67 – Stewart 26, Davies 13, Jakeman 9

Westlake 75 – Ottenhoff 26, Zahran 21, Chang 13, Hadi Alashami 6

Liston College enjoyed their best spell of basketball in a number of weeks as they forged a 30-26 half-time lead against Mt Albert Grammar School.

Rasheed Ieremia posted 8 points and Adrian Fabian 6 for Liston who also enjoyed scoring contributions from six other players in an encouraging display.

Mt Albert set about gaining the initiative in style in the third period. Not only did they add starch at the defensive end keeping Liston to 9 points but reeled off 27 of their own.

Kade Cartwright scored 10 of his game high 21 points and Will Leger tallied 6 as MAGS enjoyed an 18-point swing in the period.

Dhon Lao and Manu Tuaere led a Liston mini revival in the final quarter but Leger capped a fine all round performance with 9 points in the fourth to see off the spirited Liston challenge. 

Liston 60 – Rasheed Ieremia 13, Adrian Fabian 11, Dhon Lao 9, Manu Tuaere 7

MAGS 72 – Will Leger 21, Kade Cartwright 17, Stepan Kusenko 11, Denvor Elia 10, Ben Skelton 6

Current Standings (with one round to play)

12-1 Rosmini

10-3 Westlake

8-4 AGS

7-6 St Kentigern

6-6 Rangitoto

6-7 MAGS

2-10 Sacred Heart

0-13 Liston

Girls Senior A – Round 12 Wrap

Round 12 of the Girls Senior A Grade competition saw wins for Northcote College, Auckland Girls Grammar and Massey High School.

Paced by 26 points from DJ Hannah, Northcote College maintained second place on the Senior A ladder with an 81-65 home win against Manurewa High School.

Northcote were out to a 26-12 quarter time lead before being pegged back slightly in the second.

Sela Uluheua also had 26 points in the game – along with Shirley Tuimulu the Manurewa effort reduced the Northcote lead to 63-52 at three-quarter time.

Hannah and Nikki Gear eased Northcote to the win in the final quarter.

Northcote 81 – DJ Hannah 26, Nikki Gear 15, Grace Lai 11, Lizzie May 10, Lily Morgan 7

Manurewa 65 – Sela Uluheua 26, Shirely Tuilumu 13, Beautiful Campbell 7, Lavinia Liufau 6, Alyssa Uluheua 6

In the game of the round Angelica Vahai amassed 38 points but couldn’t prevent One Tree Hill College being pipped 58-57 by Auckland Girls Grammar School.

Vahai and Milla Eckford helped One Tree Hill to a 16-15 early lead but Grady Nikoia’s scoring burst gave AGGS a 33-26 half-time lead.

Faith Hurt and Fuschia Traill helped AGGS build a decisive 47-34 three-quarter lead only for OTH were to storm back in the last ten minutes.

Vahai scored 15 points in the fourth and gaining good support from Melaia Tuisuva and Harriate Heta OTH almost pulled off a dramatic come from behind win.

OTH 57 – Vahai 38, Milla Eckford 6, Jesse-Lee Upu 5

AGGS 58 – Faith Hurt 16, Fuschia Traill 12, Grady Nikoia 9, Tatyana Ioelu 7, Ryn Nokoia 6

In a one sided contest Massey High School defeated Mt Roskill Grammar School 107-14.

Mt Roskill 14 – Adra Kaufusi 7

Massey 107 – Cyntalia Schuster 23, Kortni Waikiki 21, Tahlya Waikiki 20, Allyah Leusogi-Ape 20, Anne Marie Fatai 11, Zhoey Tilby-Woods 9

Avondale College defaulted the game against Takapuna Grammar School.

Standings:

12-0 Takapuna

11-2 Northcote

9-3 Massey

7-4 Manurewa

4-8 AGGS

3-9 One Tree Hill

2-10 Mt Roskill

0-11 Avondale

Boys Senior A – Round 12 wrap

Mt Roskill Grammar defeated Aorere College 71-60 with a fourth quarter run of 25-18 decisive

Whilst the Gordon brothers Chris and Franklyne did all the damage for Aorere it was ultimately the shot making of Roskill’s Zachan Kemen  that made the difference. He nailed three of his four triples in the final quarter to seal a sixth win of the season for Roskill.

Mt Roskill 71 Mitchell Greenaway 16, Kemen 14, Ngawaka Rakete 12

Aorere 60 C Gordon 32, F Gordon 24

  
Northcote College edged a tight encounter with Manurewa High School 80-75.

The first quarter had the teams tied at 23 points each and by halftime there was still only a basket separating the two teams – Manurewa 43-41 ahead.  

Manurewa did a good holding Aaron Sievert to only two 3-pointers, although the Northcote shooting guard did finish with a game high 35 points.

With three starters in foul trouble by the end of the third quarter Manurewa were struggling to hold Northcote who outscored the visitors 38-32 in the second half.

Richard Campbell and Brian Tapu combined for 44 points for Manurewa. For Northcote Tom Bates and Tane Cook lent good support to Sievert. 

Northcote 80 – Sievert 35, Bates 14, Cook 13, Dontaye Sowman-Faaee 10

Manurewa 75 – Campbell 24, Tapu 20, Jarell Tuhega 12, Ryan Ancha 7

Unbeaten St Peter’s College were made to work hard in the first half by Macleans College before securing a 100-70 victory. 

Levi Smyth and Jamie Carville were prominent as Macleans carved out an 18-17 first quarter lead extended to 44-38 at half-time.

The regular season champions came out firing after the interval as Scott Errey, Milan Tolich and Bailey Smith led a rampant St Peter’s to a 31-point quarter.

Ahead 69-58 at three-quarter time the Saints cruised through the closing minutes for win number 12.

Macleans 70 – Smyth, 22, Carville 14, Declan Puffy 11, Teegan La Grange 8, Christian Mutti 7

St Peter’s 100– Errey 32, Andrei Manio 20, Tolich 18, Smith 13, Toby Cox 7

Dilworth made it three wins on the bounce with an 89-78 home win against Avondale College.

Owen Pattison got Dilworth off to a flying start with his 10 first quarter points. Ahead by 5 points at the quarter break it was 51-39 by half-time as Nepia Moore demonstrated his shot making ability – three triples in the half.

Talking of triples, Kabir Bhargava would make six as he and Jimi Iosia-Sipeli kept Avondale in the hunt but a 73-57 three-quarter time deficit was too much to claw back especially as Damon Kitchen kept the score ticking over for Dilworth.

Dilworth 89 – Moore 17, Damon Kitchen 17, Pattison 15, Ivan Kerr 14, Kingston Kai’lahi-Aso 10, Ikahui Mahe 9

Avondale 78 – Iosia-Sipeli 22, Bhargava 20, Connor Gleeson 13, Kuldeep Khakh 11, Andrew Murphy 6

Standings:

12-0 St Peter’s

9-3 Northcote

6-5 Manurewa, Avondale

6-6 Mt Roskill

4-8 Dilworth

3-9 Aorere

1-11 Macleans

Girls Prems Round 12 wrap – Carmel get the win

Editorial limitations means the Round 12 roundup is somewhat abbreviated. Normal service will resume in Round 13.

Jemma Cammell produced a captains knock of 32 points to carry Carmel College to a decisive 74-55 win at Rangitoto College.

The second quarter proved decisive after a 14 points apiece opener. Carmel put on 28 points to establish a 42-28 half-time lead and built on their advantage at each break.

Imogen O’Rourke, Zahara Tibbotts and Ruby Railton lent Cammell good support – Aroha Riley and Amelia Andrews in double figures for Rangitoto.

Congratulations to Carmel on their first win of the season.

Rangitoto 55 – Riley 13, Andrews 11, Zaara Sain 9, Nina Nguyen 6, Maddison Skelton 6

Carmel 74 – Cammell 32, O’Rourke 12, Tibbotts 10, Railton 9

Epsom Girls Grammar went down 103-71 at Westlake Girls but deserve credit for their performance. Down 58-22 at half-time their resistance could have evaporated but they fought back well in the second half and deservedly won the final quarter, putting on 30 points in the process.

Led by their seniors Mackenzie Chatfield, Amiya Fotu, Jaelah Clayton, Izzzy Pugh and Rebecca Moors, Westlake were rampant in the first two periods logging 32 points in the opening spell and 26 in the second.

Well supported by Draun Forbes and Maya Fowler, Leah Patuwairua was an offensive spark for Epsom scoring a game high 31 points.

Westlake 103 – Pugh 27, R Moors 18, Chatfield 15, A Fotu 13, Clayton 11, S Moors 8

EGGS 71 – Patuwairua 31, Forbes 16, Fowler 14

Jemma Cammell produced a captains knock of 32 points to carry Carmel College to a decisive 74-55 win at Rangitoto College.

The second quarter proved decisive after a 14 points apiece opener. Carmel put on 28 points to establish a 42-28 half-time lead and built on their advantage at each break.

Imogen O’Rourke, Zahara Tibbotts and Ruby Railton lent Cammell good support – Aroha Riley and Amelia Andrews in double figures for Rangitoto.

Rangitoto 55 – Riley 13, Andrews 11, Zaara Sain 9, Nina Nguyen 6, Maddison Skelton 6

Carmel 74 – Cammell 32, O’Rourke 12, Tibbotts 10, Railton 9

Mt Albert Grammar breezed to a comfortable 88-43 home win against St Kentigern College.

MAGS took control of the game in the second quarter with a dominating 29-11 spell. Jorjia Fiu scored 9 points in the period, and April Liu 8, to propel MAGS to a 42-20 half-time lead.

The victory secures MAGS a semi-final berth in the play-offs in a couple of weeks’ time. 

MAGS 88 – April Liu 18, Waimanu Clarken 18, Jorjia Fiu 17, Danae Tait 10, Valana Pupuke-Robati 9, Sienna-Rose Tawera 6

St Kentigern 43 – Ashleigh Tuumaialu 13, Sharmaine Tapling 11, Nerisa Vavau 8, Anamia Rangihaeata 6

Ahead of the showdown with Westlake Girls on Monday, Baradene College were far too good for St Mary’s College winning 111-31.

St Mary’s 31 – Faith Ualika 8, Tamzin Jakeman 5, Heaven-Leigh Schmid 5 

Baradene 111 – Deyna Topia 32, Harriet Burrell 18, Summer 18, Ritorya Tamilo 12, Amelia Nathan 10, Poppy Cavanagh-Briggs 10

Current Standings:

12-0 Westlake 

11-1 Baradene

8-4 MAGS 

6-6 St Kentigern, Epsom

3-9 St Mary’s

2-10 Rangitoto, Carmel

Round 12 Prems Wrap: Russo-Nance drops 61!

Editorial limitations (lack of time!) means the Round 12 wrap is somewhat abbreviated. Normal service will resume in Round 13.

Wins on Friday for Sacred Heart, Westlake, Rosmini and St Kentigern – a quiet 61 points from Dontae Russo-Nance in that one!

Russo-Nance pushed his, and the Premier Grade, individual points best to 61 as St Kentigern College beat Mt Albert Grammar in overtime. 

St Kent’s were 6 points down inside the last 60 seconds before firstly Russo-Nance and then Merrick Rillstone (33 points), with 8 seconds remaining, hit triples to tie proceedings at 92 points apiece. 

Russo-Nance bossed the overtime period making his seventh and eighth triples to carry St Kent’s to win number seven on the season.

The result strengthens St Kent’s hold on a top four spot but eliminates MAGS from semi-final contention with two rounds of the regular season to play. 

MAGS 99 – 

St Kentigern106 – Russo-Nance 61, Rillstone 33

Sacred Heart College are celebrating a second win of the season after beating Liston College 79-71.

It was neck and neck through the first three-quarters – Sacred Heart ahead 60-56 at that stage.

Liston held a 4 point lead early in the fourth but a quick turnaround from Sacred Heart pushed them out to an 11 point lead at one stage. 

Dhon Lao and Rasheed Ieremia were outstanding for the hosts with Dalton Dennis a standout for Heart. His 17 points and double figure rebounds, Josh Stewart’s 25 points alongside 14 from Adam Davies ensured the visitors would grab the win.

Liston 71 – Ieremia 23, Lao 15, Seb Alan 10, Adrian Fabian 8

Sacred Heart 79 – Stewart 25, Dennis 17, Davies 14

Westlake Boys edged Auckland Grammar 95-92. Grammar guard Josh Muggleston made a couple of late threes to bag the win against Rangitoto last Monday and he almost forced overtime in this one but his effort, with time expiring, hit the back of the iron and bounced out.

In a high scoring encounter Grammar fought back from a 75-66 three-quarter time deficit to tie proceedings at the mid-point of the fourth but key scores from Rocco Chang and Hadi Alshami got Westlake over the line.

Westlake 95 – Hamza Zahran 28, Chang 24, Daniel Ottenhoff 24, Malachi Book 8

AGS 92 – Kahu Treacher 26, Muggleston 24, Cody Brown 15

Tom Beattie’s 27 points paced Rosmini College to an 86-62 road win at Rangitoto College. Rosmini took a low scoring first half 32-22 before pulling clear with a 28-16 third quarter burst. 

Tautoko Wynyard, with 18 points, was the best for Rangi who probably have to win their remaining three games to claim a spot in the semi-finals.

Rangitoto 62 – Wynyard 18, Jacob Fotu 13, Arnold Nam 12, Joel Brown 8

Rosmini 86 – Beattie 27, Julius Halaifonua 16, Charlie Dalton 9, Chris Wyllie 9

Current Standings:

11-1 Rosmini

9-3 Westlake

8-3 AGS

7-5 St Kentigern

5-6 Rangitoto

5-7 MAGS

2-10 Sacred Heart

0-12 Liston

Auckland Grammar duo claim Dynamic Sport NZ prizes

Josh Muggleston and Cody Brown have been in terrific form this season, the backcourt duo playing a big part in Auckland Grammar’s push for the Auckland Secondary Schools Premier Grade regular season title.

Our good friends at Dynamic Sport New Zealand have kindly donated prizes for outstanding Premier Grade performances – these two are worthy recipients. 

The pair have featured strongly in all of the 10 competition games that Grammar have played this season.

In Round 1 Cody scored 28 points against Liston and followed that with 21 against MAGS.

It was the turn of Josh to shine against Sacred Heart scoring a game high 23 points.

The pair were both in the twenties against Westlake and Rosmini – 28 and 26 for Josh and 31 and 20 for Cody.

In the high scoring 94-92 Round 7 defeat of Saint Kentigern the pair combined for 70 points – Josh with 36 and Cody 32.

Another 30 for Josh against Liston was followed by 21 versus MAGS.  

Last Friday Cody scored 26 against Sacred Heart and in the rearranged game at Rangitoto College on Monday Grammar eked out a hard fought 70-64 road win – Josh landed a pair of threes in the last couple of minutes to secure victory in that one.

Tomorrow (Friday) Grammar visit Westlake Boys.