LACEY LOWDOWN

Round 11 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade, played on Monday night, again featured just three games with Westlake Girls High away at the ISF World School Basketball Championships in Macao, China.

Westlake deserve massive congratulations for taking out the bronze medal at the event.

They recorded wins against Chile, Hong Kong, Macao and India in pool play followed by a quarter final victory over Bulgaria.

Lake were then beaten 64-40 by France in the semi-finals before claiming bronze with a 64-35 demolition of Hong Kong.

Now back to the Premier Grade where St Kentigern College returned to winning ways, Northcote College made it successive victories and Epsom Girls chalked up win number two.

The individual performance of the round was on display at Rangitoto College where St Kentigern forward Kilani Tuineau posted a career high 40 points in a 73-69 win.

Tuineau put Rangi on notice with 15 first quarter points and with Charlie Yock adding 8 St Kent’s were off to a flyer with a 25-12 lead.

Takapuna made the necessary adjustments in the second period and with Eva Veale leading the way the deficit was just 7 points (35-28) at half-time.

Yock and Tuineau continued to punish the Rangi defence in the third frame as they combined for all but one of St Kent’s 17 points. However at the other end Veale, Mela Andrews and Moananui Wynyard were causing headaches for St Kent’s enabling Rangi to take a 54-52 advantage into the three-quarter time break.

Andrews and Veale scored half a dozen each in the final quarter but down the stretch Manawa Rogers, Mischa McLister and Rosie Ward made important contributions as St Kent’s sealed the road win.

St Kent’s 73 – Tuineau 40, Yock 15, McLister 7

Rangitoto  69 – Veale 26, Andrews 22, Maddison Skelton 9, Wynyard 6

At Northcote College the hosts put together a strong fourth quarter performance to outlast Manurewa High for a 77-66 victory.

Northcote led by just four points at three-quarter time (56-52) but were looking nervously over their shoulder as the Shirley Tuilimu (26 points) inspired visitors looked ready to pounce.

However a brace of threes from Misha Aitchison plus 11 points from Lisa Gear propelled Northcote to a 21-14 fourth quarter effort to seal success.

Northcote won all four quarters but the first three were extremely tight. The opener was won 17-15, the second 20-19 and the third 19-18.

For Northcote Gear was in full throttle with 23 points, DJ Hannah scored 20, Aitchison 16 and Lily Morgan 10 points.

After Tuilimu’s 26 points Taisha Tanira was the other Manurewa player in double figures scoring 14 points.  

Northcote 77 – Gear 23, Hannah 20, Aitchison 16, Morgan 10, Ema Lavemaau  6

Manurewa 66 – Tuilimu 26, T Tanira 14, Bella Manu-Moore 7, Waimihi Hetaraka-Brown 7, Emily Tanira 6

In the third game of the round Epsom Girls Grammar prevailed 54-52 against Mt Albert Grammar in a contest that could have gone either way.

Six opening quarter points from Meiya Lemafa helped MAGS take the opening period 14-12 before a triple from Samantha Jose and 11 points from Draun Forbes enabled Epsom to carve out a 31-24 half-time advantage.

Only 15 points were scored in the third but with Epsom carrying a 38-32 lead into the fourth the pace quickened.

Peyton Uri knocked down a three for MAGS with Kiyara Te Amo – making her fourth three of the contest – returning in kind for Epsom.

Baskets from Phoenix Kaipo and Gianna Tiatia brought MAGS right back into the contest with the difference just a single point.

Overtime looked a distinct possibility until Savana Feite chose an opportune time to make her only basket of the game – a three – to win a thriller for Epsom.

Epsom 54 –Forbes 22, Te Amo 14, Kiki Reti 5, Jose 5

MAGS 52 – Lemafa 14, Uri 14, E Tiatia 9, Kaipo 7, G Tiatia 6

Standings:

10-0 Westlake

7-3 Takapuna

6-5 Manurewa

6-4 St Kentigern

5-6 Rangitoto

4-7 Northcote

2-8 MAGS

2-9 Epsom

*Mt Albert Grammar v St Kentigern College postponed to term 3.

*Takapuna Grammar v Westlake Girls postponed to term 3

Round 10 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade, played on Monday night, featured just three games with Westlake Girls High currently playing at the High School World Championships Tournament in Macao, China .

Northcote College secured a valuable win with a 67-55 home victory over Epsom Girls Grammar School.

A triple from Ema Lavemaau and 6 points from DJ Hannah took Northcote to a 20-12 early lead.

Epsom counter punched through Kyra Tuihalangingie, Draun Forbes and Kasmira Faapaiaga but Northcote made five triples in the second as Abby Allan, Hannah and Misha Aitchison connected from deep – Northcote ahead 45-32 at the interval.

The third period was won decisively by the hosts 15-5 and although Epsom came back strongly in the final frame scores from Lisa Gear and Lavemaau enabled Northcote to secure the win.

Northcote 67 – Lavemaau 18, Hannah 16, Aitchison 11, Lily Morgan 8, Gear 6

Epsom 55 – Tuihalangingie 13, Forbes 12, Te Amo 12, Faapaiaga 6

Backing up after helping Harbour Breeze win the inaugural Women’s Tupu League trophy in Tauranga the previous day Amy McKenzie and Bailey Flavell led the Takapuna Grammar scoring as they won a high scoring encounter at Mt Albert Grammar 103-94.

Flavell finished with 32 points and McKenzie 21 while Sahara Katene was outstanding for MAGS finishing with 45 points.

Katene scored 13 in the opening period and with Meiya Lemafa scoring 7 the hosts were 27-22 ahead at quarter time.

An even second period followed with MAGS carrying a 51-46 lead into the half-time break.

Takapuna made their move in the third with threes from Flavell, Mania Watson and Amelia Glen helping them win the spell 26-15 to lead by 8 points headed for home.

Katene posted 20 points, including three triples, in the fourth but Takapuna matched that number courtesy of Flavell and Natalja Burton. Free throws down the stretch from McKenzie and Mariah Parker closed out win number seven with Takapuna maintaining second spot on the ladder as a result.

MAGS 94 – Katene 45, Lemafa 13, Peyton Uri 10, Lara Cocker-Lemalie 9, Phoenix Kaipo 7

Takapuna 103 – Flavell 32, McKenzie 21, Burton 20, Watson 13

Manurewa High defeated Rangitoto College 67-47 but unfortunately I did not receive the scoresheet from that game only the scorers for Rangi.

The win keeps Manurewa in third spot on the ladder with Rangitoto slipping to fifth place.

Manurewa 67

Rangitoto 47 – Maddison Skelton 10, Payton Laurence 9, Mela Andrews 9, Bella Anderson 7

The Westlake Girls v St Kentigern College game was played last week with Westlake winning 85-55.

Game report here: https://laceylowdown.com/2024/06/20/westlake-beat-st-kents-in-girls-prems/

At the World High School Championships Westlake Girls opened their campaign with a 100-26 win against a Chilean school team. Imani Rasmussen (23pts), Charlotte Mawston (18pts), Lucy Dawson (12pts) and Emma Schroeder (11pts) were the leading scorers.

Standings:

10-0 Westlake

7-3 Takapuna

6-4 Manurewa

5-4 St Kentigern

5-5 Rangitoto

3-7 Northcote

2-7 MAGS

1-9 Epsom

*Mt Albert Grammar v St Kentigern College fixture postponed to term 3.

Round 10 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade, played on Monday night, featured just three games after the Mt Albert Grammar v Rosmini fixture was postponed.

All three completed games were won decisively with Auckland Grammar, Westlake Boys and St Peter’s clear winners.

Fueled by Noah Rasmussen’s 28 points Westlake Boys chalked up another big win with a 110-70 home success against St Kentigern College.

A fast start has been a feature of Westlake’s success this season and it was on show again in this one as they ran up 27 points in the first ten minutes to lead by 12.

The second period was even higher scoring with Lake taking it out 32-23. Daley Pohio scored 11 points in the period and Troy Wentworth 8 for the hosts while for St Kent’s Ollie Bainbridge and Charlie Hughes had 8 points apiece at the half.

Hughes, Cooper Lepou and Reuben Spooner dropped threes for St Kent’s in the third but a combined 18 points from Rasmussen and Troy Supple took the Westlake lead out to 85-58 and win number nine was in the book as Westlake eased through the final period.

Westlake 110 – Rasmussen 28, Pohio 20, Supple 18, Wentworth 11, Oscar Neville 9, Malakhai Jewell-Joyner 9

St Kentigern 70 – Hughes 17, Bainbridge 16, Lepou 11, Jamie Griffin 9, Noah Heke 6, Kolo Liku 6

Also with nine wins at the head of the table are Auckland Grammar after they recorded a 101-67 road win at Mt Roskill Grammar with Roman Ma’afu-Moerua and Lawson Pryor scoring 23 points apiece.

In a close opening spell Sarangan Sutheswaran scored 8 points as Roskill stayed within four points of the joint league leaders.

Lincoln Tupa’i Samuel, Haisem Osman and Ian Bresquar knocked down threes for Roskill in the second but it was a quarter that belonged to AGS as Roera Tipene, Lawson Pryor, Carver Gibson and Roman Ma’afu-Moerua got amongst the points – Auckland ahead 53-35 at half-time.

Triples from Ryan Hunt and Kaia Wharemate helped Auckland extend their lead to 77-52 at three-quarter time enabling them to ease through the final spell.

Mt Roskill 67 –  Osman 12, Sutheswaran 8, Silas Toala 8, Tino Seuiavatele 8, Ezra Osbuze 8

AGS 101 – Ma’afu-Moerua 23, Pryor 23, Gibson 18, Jackson Couper 8

Also with an away victory were St Peter’s College as they won 91-63 at Sacred Heart although it wasn’t until the second half that they were able to assert some dominance.

St Peter’s won a tight opening quarter (21-18) and were ahead 45-37 at half-time with Spencer Carr leading the way with a dozen points. Nine points from Sam Snowdon and triples from Justin Lacsi and Tyler Taffs meant Heart were well in the hunt at that stage.

Another three from Taffs and valuable points from Jamie Vile kept the score moving for the hosts but driven by Carr, and with assistance from Bryan Marsters and Alex Davis, St Peter’s were able to gain control and extend their lead to 68-52 at three-quarter time.

Heart were unable to put a dent in the deficit in the fourth as St Peter’s notched win number four.

Sacred Heart 63 – Taffs 13, Snowdon 12, Will Harris 10, Vile 7, Cam Stewart 7

St Peter’s 91 – Carr 23, Davis 14, Marsters 14, Mario Nola 9, Louis Galpin 7

Standings:

9-1 Westlake, AGS

7-2 Rosmini

5-5 St Kentigern

4-6 St Peter’s

3-6 MAGS

2-8 Sacred Heart

0-10 Mt Roskill

*Mt Albert Grammar v Rosmini College postponed to August 5th.

Following Round 9 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade competition Westlake Girls High will head to the High School World Championships Tournament in China in a good frame of mind after defeating Manurewa High School for a tenth straight victory this season.

In other results Epsom Girls Grammar won their first game of the season and Rangitoto College defeated Northcote College.

Westlake Girls registered a 70-50 home win although visitors Manurewa High School gave a really good account of themselves against the defending champions.

Emma Schroeder had 9 opening quarter points for Westlake but half a dozen from Bella Manu-Moore meant the margin was just five points (17-12) at quarter time.

The Westlake lead then grew to 32-21 at half-time with Shyloh Udomsak and Kodee Williams-Sefo playing strong hands.

Threes from Manu-Moore and Emily Tanira ensured that Manurewa kept pace with their hosts during the third period – the teams headed into the final frame with Westlake ahead 49-36.

Manurewa, with Taisha Tanira scoring 8 fourth quarter points, kept plugging away but strong play from Charlotte Mawston and triples from Williams-Sefo, Udomsak and Schroeder finally saw off the Manurewa challenge.

Westlake 70 – Schroeder 17, Mawston 16, Udomsak 9, Williams-Sefo 8, Brydie McMillan 6

Manurewa 50 – T Tanira 15, Manu-Moore 14, E Tanira 12

Epsom Girls Grammar can finally celebrate a win after defeating Takapuna Grammar 64-39.

Ironically the victory was achieved without head coach Jelena Vučinič and captain Draun Forbes. Both, along with the Takapuna duo of Bailey Flavell and Amy McKenzie, were on duty at the Women’s Tupu League play-offs in Tauranga.

Epsom started well forging a 14-9 quarter one lead and they would build on that throughout as Takapuna struggled at the offensive end.

Kiyara Te Amo was in double figures by half-time with the Epsom lead 32-26.

Despite strong performances from the Taka duo of Natalja Burton and Mania Watson the Epsom advantage grew steadily in the second half with Mya Kingi and Ivy Tino scoring regularly.

Epsom 64 – Te Amo 18, Tino 17, Kingi 10, Kiki Reti 6

Takapuna 39 – Burton 14, Watson 12, Amelia Glen 6

In the closest game of the round Rangitoto College did just enough to defeat Northcote College as they ran out 79-67 winners on their home court.

Rangitoto were out the gate the quickest – a pair of triples apiece from Maddison Skelton and Sienna Maurice took them to a 23-16 lead after ten minutes.

Northcote steadied the ship in the second with DJ Hannah – on her way to a game high 24 points – and Ema Lavemaau combining for 13 points enabling the visitors to turn around with a deficit of just eight points (38-30).

Threes from Hannah, Abby Allan and Misha Aitchison sparked Northcote in the third but points from Eva Veale – headed for a team high 21 – and Maurice were enough to keep Rangi in the ascendancy (58-47) at the last break.

Lisa Gear and Lily Morgan buckets kept Northcote in the hunt but 7 fourth quarter points from Aitchison and a late three from Laurence guided Rangitoto to the win, one that keeps their top four aspirations alive.

Rangitoto 79 – Veale 21, Maurice 18, Skelton 14, Laurence 7, Mela Andrews 7

Northcote 67 – Hannah 24, Gear 14, Morgan 9, Allan 7, Lavemaau 7

Standings:

10-0 Westlake

6-3 Takapuna

5-4 Manurewa, St Kentigern, Rangitoto

2-6 MAGS

2-7 Northcote

1-8 Epsom

*Mt Albert Grammar v St Kentigern College fixture postponed to term 3.

In the most significant game of Round 9 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade Auckland Grammar School protected home court to defeat Rosmini College.

Both teams boasted 7-1 records headed into the game but it was Auckland Grammar that would prevail and completing the double over their rivals they won 80-64.

Following an evenly contested first quarter AGS pulled away in the second period to lead 42-30 at half-time with Brigham Hakaraia, Bobby Neels and Roera Tipene leading the way for the hosts.

Led by skipper Chris Wyllie, Bart Jackowski and Josh Wyllie Rosmini narrowed the gap in the third to enter the final period 60-54 adrift.

Rosmini were restricted to just 8 points in the final frame while for AGS it was Neels and Roman Ma’afu-Moerua that applied the finishing touches to a strong performance.

AGS 80 – Ma’afu-Moerua 17, Neels 15, Hakaraia 15, Lawson Pryor 12, Ryan Hunt 8
Rosmini 64 – C Wyllie 24, J Wyllie 15, Jackowski 12, Mattie Dalton 6

Westlake Boys kept abreast of Auckland Grammar at the top of the table with a resounding 135-72 home win against Sacred Heart.

Setting the tone for the contest Westlake ran up 35 points in the opening quarter and were 72-42 ahead at the interval.

Westlake, led by 31 points from forward Troy Supple and 27 from shooting guard Andre Bautista, had double figure contributions from six players.

Jamie Vile (12 points) and Cameron Stewart (9 points) were the best for Sacred Heart in a losing cause.

Westlake 135 – Supple 31, Bautista 27, Nick Banford 12, Oscar Neville 11, Daley Pohio 11, Noah Rasmussen 10

Sacred Heart 72 – Vile 12, Stewart 9, Lennox Sila 8, Aslan Valika 8, Max Hakaraia 8

The Mt Albert winning sequence came to a halt at three victories after going down 83-59 to St Kentigern College who are now two wins clear of the chasing pack in fourth spot.

Combining for 16 points the Coopers, Te Ratana and Lepou, got St Kent’s off to a flyer – ahead 26-16 at the end of quarter one.

The margin increased to 51-30 at half-time as the Cooper’s, Charlie Hughes and Noah Heke each made triples.

Mose Leiasamaivao scored 9 third quarter points and Lucas Cartwright repeated the dose in the fourth but MAGS were unable to put their opponents under any significant pressure.

St Kentigern 83 – Lepou 20, Heke 15, Te Ratana 14, Hughes 12, Ollie Bainbridge 12

MAGS 59 – Leiasamaivao 18, Cartwright 16, Mikey Moses 14, Tarquinis Schwalger 6

In the final game of the round St Peter’s College won all four quarters as they recorded a 75-52 home win against Mt Roskill Grammar.

St Peter’s enjoyed an even spread of scoring in establishing a 16-10 quarter time advantage.

Led by Tino Seuiavatele Mt Roskill enjoyed their most productive spell in the second period to trail by just seven points (34-27) at half-time.

However, with Spencer Carr leading the way St Peter’s dominated the third frame (20-9) to ease out to a game winning 54-36 lead.

St Peter’s 75 – Louis Galpin 11, Bryan Marsters 11, Bailey Smith 10, Carr 9, Montana Ekeroma 8, Xavier Raumati-Greenhalgh 8

Mt Roskill 52 – Seuiavatele 15, Haisem Osman 10, Wai Tonga 7

Standings:

8-1 Westlake, AGS

7-2 Rosmini

5-4 St Kentigern

3-6 MAGS, St Peter’s

2-7 Sacred Heart

0-9 Mt Roskill

Good luck to the Auckland contingent of the New Zealand U17 team preparing for the FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey. The tournament commences on June 29^th with Jameer Reed [Rosmini], Hunter Te Ratana [St Kent’s], Jackson Kiss [AGS] and Gus Dallow [St Peter’s] the Prems players in the 12 player squad.

In a fixture brought forward, due to their imminent departure to the World School Basketball Tournament in China, Westlake Girls High defeated St Kentigern College 85-55 on Wednesday night.

The scoreline doesn’t do justice to the St Kentigern effort as they were well in the contest at three-quarter time.

However, trailing 59-52 at that point, St Kent’s ran out of steam and were held to just three points in the final ten minutes as the hosts pulled clear with a 26-point flourish.

It was St Kent’s that made the early running – a brace of threes from Charlie Yock and 10 points from Kilani Tuineau gave them a 21-16 quarter time lead.

Jeanette Tuumaialu scored 6 points for St Kent’s in the second period but 7 points from Shyloh Udomsak edged Westlake to a 34-33 half-time lead.

Tuineau closed in on her 20-point haul but 6 points from Lily Fotu and 5 from Imani Rasmussen meant the margin was out to 7 points at that three-quarter mark.

From there it was all Westlake with Brydie McMillan going on to a season best 15 points.

The game also showcased the potential of young forwards Imani Rasmussen and Kilani Tuineau with the pair leading the scoring and rebounding count for their respective teams.

Westlake 85 – Fotu 18, Rasmussen 17, McMillan 15, Udomsak 8, Charlotte Mawston 8, Emma Schroeder 7

St Kentigern 55 – Tuineau 20, Yock 12, Tuumaialu 12, Jorja Dixon 5

Standings:

9-0 Westlake

6-2 Takapuna

5-3 Manurewa

5-4 St Kentigern

4-4 Rangitoto

2-6 MAGS, Northcote

0-8 Epsom

In Round 8 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade competition Westlake Girls made it eight straight wins while there were also victories for Takapuna Grammar, Manurewa High School and Rangitoto College.

Takapuna Grammar School and St Kentigern College were tied for second spot on the Premier ladder before their matchup on Friday. In an entertaining contest it was Takapuna that eventually prevailed 76-65 on the back of a combined 53 points from the back court duo of Amy McKenzie and Bailey Flavell.

St Kent’s had the better of the opening exchanges as impressive young centre Kilani Tuineau dominated the boards while also exhibiting good offensive skills in accumulating ten points as they established a 29-19 lead.

Takapuna began to close the gap at the back end of the first half – after a triple from Gigi Forster kept Saints in the ascendancy, Natalja Burton scored the last four points of the half to tie proceedings at 34 points apiece.

A brace of threes from Ash Tuumaialu and Charlie Yock were countered by a triple from  McKenzie and a trio from deep from Flavell – Takapuna ahead 52-49 with a quarter to play.

Tuineau was the main scoring source for St Kent’s in the final period although it was the combined efforts of Flavell, Burton and Amelia Glenn that were enough to guide Takapuna to the win.

Takapuna 76 – Flavell 29, McKenzie 24, Burton 12, Glenn 7

St Kent’s 65 – Tuineau 29pts & 15 rebounds, Tuumaialu 15, Yock 11

The offensive abilities of Eva Veale, Peyton Laurence and Mela Andrews enabled Rangitoto College to boss the opening half against Epsom Girls Grammar – the hosts ahead 35-22 at half-time.

Epsom came out strongly after the interval – Draun Forbes, Kiyara Te Amo and Kiki Reti combined to score all 18 points as the visitors won the third period 18-12.

A low scoring fourth quarter followed – 5 points from Andrews and a series of free throws enough for Rangi to close out the win.

Rangitoto 58 – Veale 21, Andrews 16, Laurence 8, Kyree Rakena 6

Epsom 47 – Te Amo 20, Forbes 17, Mya Kingi 6

In the opening game of the season Westlake were pushed all the way by Northcote before eventually winning and it looked as if a similar pattern would emerge with the difference just six points (21-15) at the quarter time break.

Despite a triple from Holly Walters the second period, with Imani Rasmussen scoring 10 points and Emma Schroeder 6, also went the way of Westlake by six meaning the lead was 43-31 at the main break.

Eight points from Lily Morgan, on her way to a team high 20, kept the Northcote score ticking over but Kodee Williams-Sefo, Zenthia Stowers and Rasmussen took the game away from Northcote in the third period –  Westlake 66-48 ahead.

It was all Westlake in the final frame as they cantered to win number eight.

Northcote 51 – Morgan 20, Lisa Gear 11, DJ Hannah 8

Westlake 87 – Williams-Sefo 22, Rasmussen 21, Schroeder 14, Stowers 8, Mia John 6

Manurewa High enhanced their top four credentials with a 71-60 road win at Mt Albert Grammar.

Meiya Lemafa scored a game high 21 points with 12 of those scored in the opening period as MAGS established a 22-16 lead.

It was much the same story in the second as Lemafa, aided by Phoenix Kaipo, took MAGS out to a 40-27 advantage at the halfway mark.

The momentum began to swing in favour of Manurewa after the break – a combined five triples from Taisha and Emily Tanira helped the visitors close to within a single point at three-quarter time (53-52).

Waimihi Hetaraka-Brown added another triple and with Bella Manu-Moore and Taisha Tanira combining for 16 points MAGS were outscored 19-7 in the closing minutes.

MAGS 60 –Lemafa 21, Kaipo 9, Emina Tiatia 8, Giana Tiatia 7, Lara Cocker-Lemalie 6

Manurewa 71 – E Tanira 19, T Tanira 16, Manu-Moore 8, Beautiful Campbell 8

Standings:

8-0 Westlake

6-2 Takapuna

5-3 Manurewa, St Kentigern

4-4 Rangitoto

2-6 MAGS, Northcote

0-8 Epsom

Round 8 of the Auckland Secondary Schools Boys Premier Grade saw the top three teams strengthen their grip on those places while Mt Albert Grammar were the biggest movers after a third straight win.

Rosmini College and St Kentigern College were both missing starters due to a combination of U17 New Zealand commitments (Jameer Reed [Rosmini] and Hunter Te Ratana [St Kent’s]) and injuries.

Jamie Griffin, Charlie Hughes and Cooper Te Ratana launched the St Kent’s effort with long range threes although 10 first quarter points from Chris Wyllie gave the home side a 25-15 lead.

The margin hovered around ten points through the second period – 13 points in the spell from Bart Jackowski gave Rosmini a 54-37 half-time lead.

Te Ratana and Noah Heke were outstanding for St Kent’s but with Josh Wyllie and Mattie Dalton complimenting the afore mentioned Jackowski and Chris Wyllie, the Rosmini lead steadily increased throughout the second period.

Rosmini 99 – C Wyllie 28, Jackowski 22, J Wyllie 20, Dalton 16

St Kentigern 65 – Te Ratana 24, Heke 19, Hughes 5, Finn Jorgensen 5

Auckland Grammar bounced back from Monday night’s loss at Westlake with an 87-75 victory over local rivals St Peter’s College.

Both sides were missing their New Zealand U17 representative – Gus Dallow from St Peter’s and Jackson Kiss from AGS – and it was probably St Peter’s the more inconvenienced as they trailed 41-37 at half-time.

Spencer Carr, headed to a game high 29 points, had 16 of those at the interval while AGS had double figure efforts from Lawson Pryor and Bobby Neels.

9 points from Brigham Hakaraia helped AGS edge the third period 22-18 despite 11 points from Carr.  

Alex Davis and Bryan Marsters kept St Peter’s in touch but it was the 9 fourth quarter points from Hakaraia that put the lid on the AGS victory.

St Peter’s 75 – Carr 29, Davis 14, Marsters 13, Louis Galpin 10

AGS 87 – Hakaraia 24, Neels 16, Pryor 12, Ryan Hunt 10, Sol Anderson 8

Mt Albert Grammar lost their opening five games of the season but have since won three on the bounce with their latest success an 82-67 home win against Sacred Heart College.

A close opening frame was edged 15-13 by MAGS who tightened their grip on the contest in the second to lead 36-22 at the interval with Lucas Cartwright, Mose Leliasamaivao and Josh Beattie leading the way for the hosts – Sam Snowdon with 10 points for Heart.

Six third quarter points from Cam Stewart helped trim the margin to 8 points (52-44) at three-quarter time as a close finish threatened.

Justin Lacsi, See Ieremia and Stewart hit threes and Jamie Vile accumulated 9 points for Heart but Cartwright, Leliasamaivao and Dayton Simkin replied in kind for MAGS and with Leliasamaivao making 9 of his game high 23 in the fourth Mt Albert eased to victory.

MAGS 82 – Leliasamaivao 23, Cartwright 21, Beattie 9, Mikey Moses 8, D Tapu 6

Sacred Heart 67 – Vile 21,Snowdon 17, Stewart 7

Unfortunately Mt Roskill Grammar were forced to default their home game against Westlake Boys High School.

Standings:

7-1 Westlake, Rosmini, AGS

4-4 St Kentigern

3-5 MAGS

2-6 St Peter’s, Sacred Heart

0-8 Mt Roskill

Westlake Girls (7-0) are the clear leaders at the mid-point of the Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Premier Grade regular season. The reigning champions are unbeaten at this stage and two wins clear of their nearest rivals.

Those closest rivals are St Kentigern College and Takapuna Grammar with 5-2 records followed by a bunch of teams scrapping for the fourth play-off spot.

With all ten players scoring 7 points or more Westlake were untroubled in recording their seventh consecutive win of the season, easing past Epsom Girls Grammar 115-29.

Westlake 115 – Emma Schroeder 21, Charlotte Mawston 16, Kodee Williams-Sefo 16, Mia John 13, Brydie McMillan 11, Lily Fotu 10

EGGS 29 – Kiki Reti 8, Olivia Edhouse 8, Ivy Tino 5

Further north Rangitoto College left their best until last to record a come from behind 58-51 home win against Mt Albert Grammar School.

Rangitoto were marginally in front at the first break (13-11) before Payton Uri and Lara Cocker-Lemalie combined to give MAGS a 26-24 half-time lead.

Eva Veale scored half a dozen points for Rangi in the third but Cocker-Lemalie and Gianna Tiatia inflicted further damage on the hosts defence to stretch the MAGS lead to 42-37 at three-quarter time.

A couple of threes from Payton Laurence sparked the Rangi run in the fourth and down the stretch it was points from the foul line that got them home – Sienna Maurice, Veale and Mela Andrews all successful as MAGS were outscored 21-9 through the closing minutes.

Rangitoto College 58 – Veale 18, Andrews 14, Laurence 10, Bella Anderson 8

MAGS 51 – Cocker-Lemalie 16, G Tiatia 10, Uri 8, Emina Tiatia 6, Phoenix Kaipo 6

Manurewa High claimed their fourth win of the season with a vital 72-61 victory at St Kentigern College.

There was little to choose between the two teams in the early exchanges – Manurewa were up by one point (21-20) at quarter time although it was all locked up at 34 points apiece at half-time.

St Kent’s guard Ash Tuumaialu, on her way to a game high 32 points, scored 9 of them in the third quarter but that was matched by Taisha Tanira and with skipper Zhendy Li and Alyssa Uluheua chiming in with triples Manurewa held a 54-50 half-time lead.

Manurewa secured the win in the fourth by holding St Kent’s to 11 points while at the offensive end a balanced scoring effort was led by Taisha and Emily Tanira.

St Kentigern College 61 – A Tuumaialu 32, Charlie Yock 9, Kilani Tuineau 8, Manawa Rogers 5

Manurewa High 72 – T Tanira 19, E Tanira 15, Bella Manu-Moore 11, Shirley Tuilimu 10, Beautiful Campbell 7

On the back of 42 points from Bailey Flavell Takapuna Grammar beat Northcote College 87-67 although it wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Northcote challenge was finally subdued.

Flavell and Manaia Watson provided the bulk of the first half scoring for Takapuna but with Lily Morgan in double figures Northcote only trailed 45-40 at the interval.

Natalja Burton and Amy McKenzie combined for a dozen points in the third as the Takapuna advantage grew to 62-50.

Forward Ema Lavemaau and guard Lisa Gear regularly posted points for Northcote in the fourth but a trio of threes from Flavell and another from Arabella Neville secured a fifth win for Takapuna and moves them to equal second on the ladder alongside St Kentigern.

Takapuna Grammar 87 – Flavell 42, McKenzie 14, Burton 13, Watson 11

Northcote College 67 – Morgan 17, Lavemaau 14, DJ Hannah 13, Gear 11, Misha Aitchison 7

Standings:

7-0 Westlake

5-2 Takapuna, St Kentigern

4-3 Manurewa

3-4 Rangitoto,

2-5 MAGS, Northcote

0-7 Epsom