LACEY LOWDOWN

It wasn’t a particularly good day for the kiwis involved in conference tournaments on Saturday (NZ time).

Having come from behind to beat Canisius 61-58 yesterday Monmouth University Hawks found the going much tougher on day two of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The No 9 ranked Hawks were outclassed 83-44 by top seed Quinnipiac.

Senior guard Rhaiah-Spooner-Knight top scored with 11 points, the only Hawk in double figures. She also added 5 rebounds, 2 assists a block and a steal in 31 minutes of action.

It was the same story in the Pac 12 Conference Tournament where Penina Davidson and 5^th seeded Cal Berkeley Golden Bears were defeated on the second day. Cal went down 77-74 to UCLA Bruins in their quarter-final match up. Davidson had a quiet night finishing with just 4 points.

At the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas seven Kiwis were involved with six different teams at the start but that number has dwindled to just two and neither took the court as their teams progressed

In the women’s tournament No 7 Pacific Tigers overturned No 2 St Mary’s Gaels in the quarter-finals winning 77-73 but Junior guard Tylah King didn’t take the court for Pacific.

Stella Beck was once again in good touch finishing with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks for the Gaels but coughing up 29 rebounds cost St Mary’s the game.

Beck was philosophical in defeat, “I think we were very inconsistent. We went out for a portion and they came back. They finally tipped us over the edge. We turned the ball over and they got some good shots.

“I think the best part about the season was the group of girls. We are so close and such good friends. It’s been fun when we have been playing well,” she added

In the men’s tournament former New Plymouth Boys High forward Harrison Meads didn’t see any court time for Pepperdine as they proved too good for Santa Clara winning 85-69. Pepperdine will next play the highly fancied St Mary’s outfit who next year will add Dan Fotu and Quinn Clinton to their roster.

It was a disappointing end to the season for Fordham University Rams. With their trio of Kiwis the No 3 ranked Rams negotiated the first round of the Atlantic 10 Conference play-offs with a comfortable 75-53 win against Rhode Island but were upset 52-49 by No 6 St Joseph’s in the quarter-finals. All three Kiwis made a contribution against Rhode Island with Cantabrian Mary Goulding (7 points, 6 rebounds and a career high 4 steals) leading the way. She was ably assisted by Harbour’s Zara Jillings (5 rebounds and 5 assists) and Kendell Heremaia (3 points and 3 rebounds).

The three were largely kept quiet by St Joe’s although Goulding did post 8 points.

Some  US college basketball Conference Tournaments have already begun and the lowdown will keep and eye on a number of those that involve Kiwis.

Monmouth University Hawks came from behind to beat Canisius 61-58 to advance to a showdown tomorrow with number 1 seed Quinnipiac in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Senior guard Rhaiah-Spooner-Knight led all scorers with 22 points (10/18FG) for Monmouth. “I’m just starting to play with more confidence, and it’s coming at the right time. I love that my team trusts me to make those types of plays when it comes down to it,” said the former Waikato standout. Spooner-Knight leads the Hawks scoring this season averaging 11.4 points per game.

It’s also tournament time in the Pac 12 Conference where Penina Davidson and 5^th seeded Cal Berkeley Golden Bears were made to struggle against lowly Washington before eventually winning 71-68. Cal will take on No 4 ranked UCLA Bruins tomorrow. Davidson finished with 7 points (3/4FG), 5 rebounds and 2 assists against Washington.

The West Coast Conference Tournament is underway at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas with Kiwis involved with six different teams although Taki Fahrensohn is red shirting at Portland and is therefore only with the Pilots in a supporting role.

In the women’s tournament No 9 Santa Clara bowed out on the opening day going down 72-63 to No 8 Pepperdine. 2014 Tall Fern Dru Toleafoa finished with 5 points (2/5FG) and 3 rebounds for Santa Clara.

In another first round game junior guard Tylah King registered a rebound and an assist as No 7 ranked Pacific ousted Portland 85-60 and now face Stella Beck and St Mary’s Gaels in the quarter-finals.

It wasn’t such good news for Shalae Salmon with No 3 ranked BYU ousted 61-56 by lower ranked San Diego. Salmon scored 2 points and added a single rebound, block and steal.

Back on the men’s side former New Plymouth Boys High forward Harrison Meads will suit for Pepperdine when they take on Santa Clara.

Northern Colorado University Bears claimed the Big Sky Conference title today holding off Portland State to win 63-60. The Bears led 50-37 at three-quarter time but had to withstand a late charge from Portland State before securing its ninth straight win.

Freshman guard Tiarna Clarke scored 10 points (4/8FG), one of only two Bears in double figures, while Krystal Leger-Walker nabbed 4 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and a block for NCU.

It is a history making victory for the Bears who claim their first Big Sky title having joined the conference at the beginning of the 2006-07 season.

The Bears boast a 14-3 record in conference play and have secured the title with one regular season game still to play. After their final game against Sacramento State on Saturday they will head to the Big Sky Tournament in Reno next week with confidence high.

In other Big Sky news Idaho State Bengals gave up a turnover in the final four seconds of the game to allow Montana State to make a game winning layup, taking the tie 61-60. Brooke Blair scored 6 points for the Bengals but it was a shooting night to forget for the Rangitoto College alumni who made just 3 from 13 from the floor. The Bengals (10-7) also have one regular season game to play.

It’s an interesting time of year in US College basketball with some conferences already into end of season championship tournaments and others in the last week of regular season games.

On Wednesday (NZ time) Fordham University Rams, with their trio of Kiwis, negotiated the first round of the Atlantic 10 Conference play-offs with a comfortable 75-53 win against Rhode Island. All three Kiwis made a contribution with Cantabrian Mary Goulding (7 points, 6 rebounds and a career high 4 steals) leading the way. She was ably assisted by Zara Jillings (5 rebounds and 5 assists) and Kendell Heremaia (3 points and 3 rebounds).

The Rams will next face Saint Joseph’s in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

Saint Joseph’s progressed at the expense of Tera Reed and Virginia Commonwealth Rams defeating the Rams 72-63. Reed made 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals – some consolation for the former Westlake guard is that she finished her freshman season as the leading scorer for VCU averaging 14 points per game.

It has been a tough year for senior forward Gus Riley and the Bryant University Bulldogs.

Entering their final game of the season the Bulldogs had won just one of their Northeast Conference games and Riley himself had been struggling for playing opportunity being afforded just 10 minutes per game on average.

However in the final game of the season the basketball gods shone favourably on Riley as, afforded his seventh start of the season, the Nayland College alumni scored a career high 25 points. Remarkably Riley scored all his points from beyond the arc (7/12 3PG) or from the free throw line (4 from 4).

His previous best was 18 points, scored against Siena in November 2015. Riley finishes his career at Monmouth with 244 points and 163 rebounds in 89 appearances.

Bryant went on to win the game beating Fairleigh Dickinson 87-83 but with just a 2-16 record failed to make the Northeast Conference Tournament with just the top eight teams qualifying.

Last year Riley represented New Zealand at the 2017 FIBA 3×3 World Cup in France.

Congratulations to Matt Freeman who followed Stella Beck in being named to a conference All-Academic team.

The Oklahoma Sooners forward was named to the All-Big 12 All-Academic team. To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher and must have participated in 60 percent of their team’s scheduled contests.

Following her naming to the WCC All-Academic Team for the third straight year Beck scored a game high 24 points as St Mary’s Gaels clinched second seeding in the West Coast Conference with a 72-51 win at Santa Clara. The senior guard has tallied 26, 25, 20 and 24 points in her last four outings for the Gaels and heads to the WCC Tournament later this week in good touch.

Jack Salt made 6 points and had the same number of rebounds as Virginia Cavaliers defeated Georgia Tech 65-54. A couple of day’s later Virginia clinched their fourth Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title (third under coach Tony Bennett in the last five years) with a 66-37 drubbing of Pittsburgh.

The number one ranked NCAA Division I clinched the title with two conference games remaining.

Jacinta Beckley posted her first career double-double (15 points and 11 rebounds) as Seattle University Redhawks took down CSU Bakersfield 64-56 . The Redhawks are 8-5 in the Western Athletics Conference with one game remaining in the regular season.

With two games remaining, both at home, Idaho State Bengals are 10-6 in the Big Sky Conference after a narrow 66-64 loss at Eastern Washington. Brooke Blair scored a game high 19 points (7/10FG) for the Bengals who hold joint third spot on the Big Sky Conference ladder.

Tessa Boagni finished with 14 points and 8 rebounds, as Cal State Northridge Matadors were pipped 56-54 by Hawaii. The Matadors are 7-7 in the Big West Conference.

Northern Colorado Bears (13-3) are top of the table and need just one win from their final two games to clinch the Big Sky Conference regular season title. Krystal Leger-Walker filled the stats categories as the Bears beat North Dakota 51-45. The sophmore guard had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.

Conference titles and Academic All-Conference Awards feature in the latest wrap on former Harbour players shining in American college basketball.

Five performances of distinction this week with more in the pipeline.

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I recently caught up with former Westlake Girls and Junior Tall Ferns guard Tera Reed who is enjoying a stunning first year at Virginia Commonwealth University.

She leads VCU in scoring and rebounding – not bad for a freshman. She shares her thoughts on that achievement and much more.

read more

Four Saint Mary’s Gaels women’s basketball players student-athletes earned West Coast Conference All-Academic Team honours on Wednesday, including senior guard Stella Beck.

Beck is knowledgeable on and off the court with a 3.63 GPA in Psychology specialising in Neuroscience. She has the distinction of being named to the All-Academic first team for the third straight year.

The 22 year-old has started in all 27 games for Saint Mary’s this season and has scored in double-figures in 21 of those games. In seven outings Beck recorded 20 or more points.

Beck scored her 1,000th career point on November 24 and scored a career-high 31 points versus Pacific on January 20 while averaging 14.8 points per game.  In addition the former Hutt Valley High standout averages 5.8 rebounds per game, dishes out 3.2 assists and is second on the team shooting 59.7 percent from the field. Beck leads the team with 37 steals.

Last week she logged her third double-double of the season in the win against San Francisco (72-64) scoring a game-high 26 points and tying a season-high with 11 rebounds. She followed that up with a 25-point, nine-rebound performance in the win against Portland. Her 51 points across the two games moved her into 15th all-time on the Saint Mary’s career scoring list.

St Mary’s are 11-5 in West Coast Conference action and with two regular season games remaining look likely to carry second seeding into the WCC Tournament beginning March 1 in Las Vegas.