Apr 14 2022
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School Basketball

Sacred Heart promoted to Prems

The country may have moved into the Covid orange setting at midnight Wednesday but three hours earlier it was green-for-go as Sacred Heart College defeated St Peter’s College 91-78 to earn promotion to the Auckland Secondary School’s Premier League.

Played at a frenetic pace, in front of a vibrant crowd, Sacred Heart were out the starting gate the quickest piling on 34 first quarter points to lead by 14 after ten minutes.

Andrei Manio scored St Peter’s first dozen points but Matt Fautuaalii and Josh Stewart combined for twenty to the delight of the away support.

The second period was equally furious but far more even – Sacred Heart 58-42 ahead at half-time.

A triple from Stewart and a transition score from Dalton Dennis stretched the visitors lead to beyond twenty and a runaway victory was on the cards. But a momentum shift changed all that.

The cellophane went over the Sacred Heart bucket while at the other end skipper Scott Erey, Toby Cox and Manio consistently found a route to basket.

St Peter’s finished the period with a 14-3 run to trail 69-60 – the home fans in full voice during the three-quarter time break.

Preston Tuaputa opened the final quarter scoring but a triple from Milan Tolich and another bucket from Dorian Sula kept St Peter’s in touch – 75-67 down with six minutes to play. 

Owain Leigh knocked down another three for St Peter’s but Tuaputa, Stewart and Adam Davies steadied the ship for Sacred Heart.

Players were exiting the game left right and centre in the dying minutes, with bouts of cramp or through fouling out, as the physical effort from both sets of players took its toll. 

Stewart, the leading scorer in the game with 33 points, ensured Sacred Heart managed the clock in the dying seconds to close out a deserved victory and with it promotion to the upper echelons of Auckland Schools basketball. 

St Peter’s 78 – Manio 22, Errey 17, Sula 8, Cox 7, Leigh 7, Bailey Smith 7

Sacred Heart 91 – Stewart 33, Fautuaalii 17, Davies 14, Tuaputa 12, Dennis 9

In the other promotion/relegation battle Liston College edged Mt Roskill Grammar 77-76 to retain their place in the Premier League.

Apr 09 2022
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School Basketball

Carmel retain Prems place while St Kentigern earn promotion

The Auckland Secondary Schools Girl’s Premier League play-off ties were decided on Friday night. In winner takes-all contests Carmel College retained their Premier status with a comfortable 63-44 win against One Tree Hill College while St Kentigern College won promotion from Senior A with a stirring 61-59 victory at Massey High School. 

At Carmel there was just a point between the two teams after ten minutes (12-11 in favour of Carmel) but the nerves of the home supporters were eased a little in the second period as Carmel moved out to a 33-20 advantage at the interval. 

Three-point plays from Zaraha Tibbotts and Leighton Esera opened up a double digit lead for Carmel while OTH had Angelica Vahai to thank for keeping them in the contest – the skipper had 10 points at the break.

Suriah Muipu scored the first two buckets of the second half but Carmel responded through Lily Farman and Jemma Cammell. Vahai followed an athletic block with a coast-to-coast basket before Cammell and Imogen O’Rourke stretched the Carmel advantage to twenty points (52-32) at the three-quarter mark.

Talei Bogidua was a powerful presence under the boards and her battling effort typified the OTH spirit but it was Carmel that prevailed – a coveted spot in the Premier League retained. 

Carmel 63 – Jemma Cammell 18, Imogen O’Rourke 10, Lily Farman 9, Zaraha Tibbotts 8

One Tree Hill 44 – Angelica Vahai 17, Talei Bogidua 10, Syriah Muipu 9

Out west, fans from both sides treated to a thriller as St Kentigern prevailed by a single point. The game couldn’t have been any tighter – Massey led by a point at quarter time, it was all square after the second and third periods before St Kent’s edged the final stanza by a single score.

Sharmaine Tapling for St Kent’s and Tahlya Waikiki for Massey shared the honours in the opening half as both posted 12 points for their respective teams with the score tied at 31 apiece.

It was nip and tuck again in the third. Kortni Waikiki had half a dozen points in the period for the hosts, Ashleigh Tuumaialu the same number for the Saints. 

Allyah Leusogi-Ape, named earlier in the week, to the New Zealand U18 Selection Camp had the final say of the period – 48 all with ten minutes to play.

A three from Zhoey Tilby-Woods helped the Massey cause as did a couple of scores from Tahlya Waikiki.  Inside the last two minutes, with Massey ahead 59-57, Sophie Jones scored a go-ahead three for the Saints.

Manania Rogers then made an important free-throw as St Kent’s managed the clock through the closing seconds to claim the win and promotion. 

“It was a tough game but it was defence that won it. Holding Allyah (Leusogi-Ape) was critical,” said St Kent’s coach Darci Finnigan.

Massey 59 – Kortni Waikiki 15, Tahlya Waikiki 15, Cynthia Schuster 11, Allyah Leusogi-Ape 11

St Kentigern 61 – Sharmaine Tapling 16, Ashleigh Tuumaialu 10, Nerisa Vavau 9, Sophie Jones 8, Manania Rogers 6, Maia Mealamu 6

2022 Regular season begins May 6th.

Mar 27 2022
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College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad

Waardenburg and Miami still Dancing

Sam Waardenburg produced an outstanding performance as Miami University Hurricanes defeated Iowa State 70-56 in an NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 match-up in Chicago.

The former Junior Tall Black finished with 13 points (5/9FG), a team high 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and a steal in 35 minutes of high quality basketball.

The result means10th seeded Miami advance to the Elite 8, at the ‘Big Dance’, for the first time in programme history where they will face a number one seed Kansas for a spot in the semi-finals. 

“Iowa State’s a great team we knew they were going to come out and pressure us. We had the most turnovers we’ve had this tournament but we kept our identity and forced 18 turnovers as well. We did a great job executing the game plan,” said Waardenburg.

“It’s the energy from the bench and the energy from these guys that really swings you,” Waardenburg said of his teammates.

“They’ve been amazing and they’ve been like this all season long.”

Miami’s run in the play-offs means that we have Kiwi representation in the quarter-finals of the Men’s NCAA Division I Championship for the first time since Jack Salt and the University of Virginia Cavaliers won the title in 2019.

The one-time Rangitoto College and Harbour standout eclipsed 700 points and reached 500 rebounds at Miami, scoring in double figures for the 13th time this season and the 25th time in his four-year collegiate career.

Waardenburg now has 706 career points and keen to add more in the quarter-final tie against Kansas tomorrow.

Mar 20 2022
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College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad

Madness latest

Men’s NCAA Division I National Championship, Second Round

Dan Fotu and St Mary’s College Gaels were defeated 72-56 by UCLA Bruins. The West Coast Conference runners-up had few answers for the superior Bruins in the second half, outscored 36-27. In his 120th and final collegiate game Fotu had a single rebound.

Also bundled out in the second round were Yuat Alok and New Mexico State Aggies edged by Arkansas 53-48. The former Rangitoto College forward claimed a rebound and a free throw for the Aggies.

Miami (Sam Waardenburg) and Texas Christian (Harrison Young) play their second round ties tomorrow. 

Women’s NCAA Division I National Championship, First Round

New Zealand’s interest in the Women’s NCAA Tournament ended abruptly with first round defeats for both Washington State and Brigham Young (BYU) despite the best efforts of their Kiwi connections.

Tegan Graham had 11 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists, while Kaylee Smiler scored with her only shot as BYU were pipped 61-57 by Villanova. Tegan’s final tally of 153 games is a New Zealand record for the number of NCAA Division I appearances.

Krystal and Charlisse Leger-Walker carried a heavy load for Washington State University (WSU) as the Cougars went down 50-40 against Kansas State – the Waikato duo scoring all but eleven of the Cougars points. 

Krystal finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds whilst Charlisse scored a game high 20 points, setting a WSU record for the most points in an NCAA Tournament game in the process.

In what turned out to be her final collegiate game Krystal, in a rarity for her, had zero assists. That meant her amazing sequence of making an assist in every game she had played since January 2018 came to an end – the streak finishing at 94 games!  

Women’s NAIA National Championship

The quest of Rocky Mountain College to secure a semi-final berth at the NAIA National Championships came up agonisingly short as they were edged 60-58 by Thomas More University. Former Waikato and St Peter’s School, Cambridge forward Dominique Stephens scored 9 points and added 4 rebounds. 

Freshman Stephens played her part in the historic run of Rocky Mountain. They have won their first NAIA Tournament games, won their first share of the Frontier Conference regular season title and their first Frontier Conference Tournament Championship, since 1988. 

Women’s Basketball Invitational

St Mary’s College Gaels reached the final of the Women’s Basketball Invitational after defeating Bowling Green University 76-67 in the semi-finals.

Tayla Dalton added 2 assists and a block to 10 points (4/6FG) while Amy West snared a season high 11 rebounds to go with a couple of points.

NJCAA (Junior College) National Championships Second Round

Izzy Cook, Rashaan Smith and Western Nebraska College are through to the Final Four of the Junior College National Championships after Western Nebraska claimed a 63-51 quarter-final victory over South Plains.

Western Nebraska will meet Tyler College in the Championship semi-final tomorrow.

Mar 19 2022
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College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad

March Madness latest – Waardenburg and Miami advance

Men’s NCAA Division I National Championship, First Round

Miami University Hurricanes scraped past USC Trojans 68-66. Sam Waardenburg added 4 points and 3 rebounds to a career high 4 blocks. It needed two free-throws, with three seconds left on the clock, for the Hurricanes to seal the win and book themselves a second round match-up against second seed Auburn.

Sam Mennenga made 3 from 5 from beyond the arc in totalling 15 points but Davidson Wildcats came up just short against Michigan State downed 74-73. Mennenga also tallied 5 rebounds, an assist and a block for the Atlantic-10 regular season champions.

Harrison Young and TCU are through to the second round after the Horned Frogs comfortably beat Seton Hall 69-42.

Women’s NCAA Division I National Championship, First Round

Charlotte Whittaker and Colorado University bowed out in the first round after an 84-74 defeat at the hands of Creighton. 

Women’s National Invitational Tournament, First Round

The curtain has come down on the fabulous collegiate career of Kendell Heremaia after Fordham University were defeated 71-64 by Bucknell in the first round of the WNIT. Heremaia had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in the defeat. The former Waikato and St Peter’s School, Cambridge standout finishes her time at Fordham with 1,291 points and 796 rebounds in 145 appearances – 117 of those as a starter.

Emme Shearer and Portland Pilots got the better of Jess Moors and Colorado State in the battle between two former Harbour and Westlake teammates. Shearer had a game high 3 steals along with 2 points, 4 rebounds and a block.

UCLA were too good for UC Irvine winning 61-48. Olivia Williams tallied 4 points, 2 rebounds an assist and a steal for Irvine.

Houston Baptist 51 (Lauryn Mapusua 2 rebounds)  Toledo 61

Women’s Basketball Invitational

St Mary’s Gaels defeated Austin Peay 77-69 in the quarter-final of the Women’s Basketball Invitational. Tayla Dalton had 7 points and a brace each of rebounds and assists while Amy West contributed 4 points and a pair of rebounds. 

In the semi-finals tomorrow St Mary’s will take on Bowling Green University.

NJCAA (Junior College) National Championships Second Round

Izzy Cook, Rashaan Smith and Western Nebraska College eased through to the quarter-finals of the Championships with a 70-59 victory over Wabash Valley. Western Nebraska sealed the win with a dominant 20-11 fourth quarter.

It wasn’t such good news for Southern Idaho as they were defeated 75-49 by Trinity Valley.

Kyra Paniora had deuces in points, rebounds and assists with Ashlee Strawbridge severely hampered by foul trouble finishing with a rebound and an assist.

Strawbridge will now prepare for her imminent move to Division I school, University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Mar 18 2022
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College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad

March Madness moves into full swing

The former Rangitoto College duo of Dan Fotu and Yuat Alok have advanced to the second round of the Men’s NCAA Division I Championship on the first full day proper of the tournament.

All the news is right here:

March Madness Update – Kiwis in the Big Dance (17 March)

In addition Dominique Stephens and Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears are through to the quarter-finals of the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Women’s Basketball National Championship. Rocky beat Wayland Baptist 66-53 with the former Waikato forward leading the rebounding count with 8 boards to accompany 8 points, 2 assists and a block.

The Battlin Bears will face Thomas Moore in the last 8 on March 19.

Mar 17 2022
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College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad

March Madness – latest news and upcoming games

Taine Murray had a couple of points and a pair of rebounds as Virginia University Cavaliers beat Mississippi State 60-57 in the opening round of the NIT (National Invitation Tournament). Virginia will play North Texas in the second round.

In Canada Cantabrian guard Sofia Kennedy tallied 3 rebounds and 2 points as Windsor University Lancers were defeated 77-67 by Guelph University Gryphons in the quarter-finals of the Ontario University Athletics Conference Tournament.

Izzy Cook, Rashaan Smith and Western Nebraska Cougars are through to the Second Round of the Women’s s NJCAA (Junior College) National Championships after the Cougars beat Murray State 71-59. Smith claimed 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and a made free throw.

The Cougars will next play Wabash Valley in the Second Round.

Yesterday Nate Wilson and South Georgia Tech Jets were eliminated 88-80 by #14 South Plains in the First Round of the Men’s NJCAA (Junior College) National Championships. Nate had 3 rebounds and an assist in the loss.

Upcoming Games:

NCAA Division I National Championships First Round

March 17

St Mary’s Gaels (Dan Fotu and Quinn Clinton) v Wyoming/Indiana

Colorado State (James Moors) v Michigan

New Mexico State (Yuat Alok) v UConn

March 18

Davidson (Sam Mennenga) v Michigan State

TCU (Harrison Young) v Seton Hall

Miami (Sam Waardenburg) v USC

Colorado (Charlotte Whittaker) v Creighton

March 19 

Washington State (Charlisse and Krystal Leger-Walker) v Kansas State

BYU (Tegan Graham, Kaylee Smiler and Arielle Mackey- Williams) v Villanova

NIT (National Invitation Tournament) Second Round

March 19 or 20 

Virginia (Taine Murray) v North Texas

WNIT (Women’s National Invitation Tournament) First Round

March 17

Wofford (Helen Matthews) at Middle Tennessee

March 18

Houston Baptist (Lauryn Mapusua) at Toledo

UC Irvine (Olivia Williams) at UCLA

Fordham (Kendell Heremaia) v Bucknell

Portland (Emme Shearer) v Colorado State (Jess Moors).

Women’s Basketball Invitational

March 18

St Mary’s Gaels (Tayla Dalton and Amy West) v Austin Peay

Men’s Basketball Invitational

March 20

Abilene Christian (Tobias Cameron) v Troy

NAIA Round of 16

March 17

Rocky Mountain (Dominique Stephens) v Wayland Baptist  

Junior College National Championships First Round

March 17

Casper College (Dejaan Schuler) v Hutchinson 

Junior College National Championships Second Round

March 18

Southern Idaho (Kyra Paniora, Ashlee Strawbridge) v Trinity Valley or Walters State

Western Nebraska( Izzy Cook, Rashaan Smith) v Wabash Valley

Mar 13 2022
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College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad

Alok locked for NCAA Tournament

New Mexico State University Aggies are the Western Athletic Conference Champions after defeating Abilene Christian 66-52 in the Championship game.

The result means that Yuat Alok is the first Kiwi to be declared a starter at next week’s NCAA Tournament. The former Rangitoto College standout scored 2 points for the Aggies while Tobias Cameron had 4 points and a team high 5 rebounds for Abilene. 

The other Kiwi that could join Alok with an automatic berth is Sam Mennenga. After a team high 15 points in the quarters Mennenga produced a more sedate 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists performance as Davidson College eased into the Atlantic 10 Conference Final with an 84-69 win against St Louis – a win in the final would clip Davidson’s ticket for the Big Dance.

In Women’s NCAA Division I action #2 seed UC Irvine had to settle for runners-up spot at the Big West Conference Tournament after being defeated  59-48 in the Grand Final by top seed Hawaii. Freshman guard  Olivia Williams had a couple of rebounds in that one.

Selection Sunday takes place tomorrow when we will learn which other Kiwis will be headed to the NCAA Tournament.

Following a first round win against Teinhardt University Rocky Mountain College pulled away from Dakota State to win their second round tie 89-73 at the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Women’s National Championship. Waikato’s Dominique Stephens finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, all at the offensive end, a block and a steal as Rocky advance to the Round of 16.

Dallas Baptist University returned to the NCAA Division II National Championships for the fifth straight year but had to take on Black Hills State without centre Will Heather. The former Rosmini College National Championship winner has had to undergo surgery for a  lingering back injury. DBU struggled without their influential big man and were defeated 76-68.

Former Harbour guard Hannah Wentworth was New Zealand’s sole representative at the Women’s NCAA Division II National Championships but she and her Eckerd College teammates couldn’t repeat the heroics of their first round victory against Florida Southern. Wentworth made 4 from 5 from deep on her way to 15 points in that one but came up short in the 73-48 second round loss to Union University making 9 points plus pairs of rebounds, assists and steals.

Mar 13 2022
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College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad

Yuat Alok and Tobias Cameron meet in conference final

Former Rangitoto College big man Yuat Alok had 6 points (3/6FG) as top seed New Mexico State squeezed past Grand Canyon 75-70 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) semi-finals. 

On the other side of the WAC draw 18 points (4/8FG, 10/11FT) from Tobias Cameron helped Abilene Christian edge Seattle 78-76 The result means either Cameron or Alok will be headed to the NCAA Tournament depending on the outcome of the Grand Final between their respective teams.

In the Atlantic 10 Conference quarter-final, Sam Mennenga’s Davidson College proved too good for Zach Riley’sFordham University Rams winning 74-56. Mennenga led the Davidson effort with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists while Riley scored 5 points and added 4 rebounds for Fordham.

Top seed Davidson take on St Louis in semi-final action.

Miami University caused one of the upsets of the season when they defeated Number 1 ranked Duke in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular season play. Miami couldn’t quite repeat the feat at the ACC semi-finals beaten  80-76 by the Blue Devils. Sam Waardenburg had 8 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds and a couple of blocks in the defeat.

James Moors and second seeded Colorado State University Rams  were beaten 63-58 by third seed San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference semi-finals.

Harrison Young and Texas Christian University were defeated 75-62 the semi-final of the Big 12 Conference Tournament.

Mar 12 2022
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College Hoops, Kiwi's Abroad

Wentworth, Stephens and Williams with the W’s

It has been a successful day for the three Kiwi women in action today at March Madness – three competitions three winners!

Hannah Wentworth is New Zealand’s sole representative at the Women’s NCAA Division II National Championships and she played a strong hand as Eckerd College dominated the second half to defeat Florida Southern 69-64. Wentworth, shooting over 40% this season from beyond the arc, exceeded that mark by knocking down 4 from 5 from deep on her way to 15 points.

Also flying a lone flag for New Zealand is Dominique Stephens at the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Women’s Basketball National Championship. Rocky Mountain College hosted Teinhardt University in the opening round of the 64 team Championship and with Stephens grabbing 4 rebounds and making a couple of blocks came away 63-44 winners. 

In NCAA Division I Women’s play UC Irvine needed overtime to overcome UC Davis before prevailing 84-75 in the semi-final of the Big West Conference Tournament. Olivia Williams, recently named to the Big West All-Freshman Team, scored 4 points with her team now just one win away from an automatic berth at the NCAA Tournament. 

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