Kiara Swannell (16pts) and Jayda Waititi-Leach (14pts) led their scorers, while Manaia Hutana (9pts) made her presence felt more keenly at the offensive end than ever before.
Hutana and Campion’s Jett Pohatu, the league’s tallest college players, are now used to the physicality of the league and their teams are looking to get the ball to them close to the basket. By the end of the season, they could both be scoring in double-figures regularly.
“Manaia played confidently and rebounded well for us tonight,” Tarsau said.
“As a team, we made a lot of shots.”
Lytton attacked the hoop with Waititi-Leach, Hutana and Alicia Kepa all making three-point plays in the first three periods.
Hard-hustling Honey Mokomoko (7pts) and Reremoana Bartlett-Tamatea — who hit a 15-foot shot from the left side of the court in the second quarter — also had a good night.
Girls’ High captain Jayda Nepe (6pts) played with energy, while 14-year-old Year 9 student Michaella Upston and 16-year-old Tyler Andrews, Year 12, provided consistent effort for their young team. They run hard every week where, in a losing cause, others might walk back on defence, and Upston has the height and reach to make shooters’ lives difficult. Andrews, back at the YMCA after a year off, has thrived in the company of experienced, older players in 2017 and is learning more about the game week by week.
Nepe said: “Games like that can be tough but we pulled through it. We managed. We never gave up.”
Ngati Porou don’t bruise easily.
They needed to be tough in Game 3, because although Campion lost to the defending champions by 35 points, the younger team’s centre, Jett Pohatu, played her strongest defensive game to date and made taking the ball to the ring a rugged experience.
Ngati Porou captain Bronya McMenamin has both a strong inside game and an outside shot, yet three times she bounced back on shot-attempts, driving to the hoop. She still led all scorers with 27 points, including a three-point shot in the third quarter as Ngati Porou set the agenda for strong competitive basketball 10-3, 19-7 and 30-12 at the quarters.
Anna Spring’s three-pointer in the first period and Summer Marama-Kingi’s three free throws in the third quarter were the College’s minor triumphs but Ngati Porou upped the ante offensively and also held Campion scoreless in the last 10 minutes — a reminder, if any were needed, that their old heads know when to apply pressure.
“That was a very fast game — we pushed the ball up the floor and were quick in transition,” McMenamin said.
“We didn’t give them time to set up defensively. Shay (Waikawa) had an excellent game tonight. She’s a smart player with good court-vision who can create space.”
Never was Ngati Porou’s ability to make simple plays work well more evident than their inbounds play, following Campion’s time-out six minutes into the first quarter.
Waikawa, under the Campion basket, looked right and passed left to the unguarded McMenamin for 7-0.
Ngati Porou score off in-bound plays with ease every Tuesday night.
Campion captain Petra Sparks spoke of her team’s defensive improvement: “Jett (Pohatu) stopped them getting close to the basket but Summer (Marama-Kingi) was really good, too. The hard work she’s put in means that she can now play top-to-bottom on defence — she’s more versatile. That’s what we need her to do.”
They’re spirited and they always bounce back.
As Mackeys, they were finalists in 2015 — and in 2017, as Hearty, they still run the floor.
But Paikea are a powerful team. They beat Ngati Porou 41-35 in Week 2, with the captain that evening — former NCAA college player Dyani Johnson — scoring 12 points in the Gisborne Basketball Association’s biggest club ball upset so far this year.
Paikea forward Harata Hailey was the central figure of last night’s match. Her 25-point game included three three-point plays — a rarity, owing much to her strength and ability to finish around the basket in traffic. She is one of the league’s most improved players of the past three years, and is certainly one of this competition’s best in the post.
Teammates Wanita Tuwairua-Brown (8pts) and game-day captain Mere Rauna (7pts), who hit a classic three-pointer for 20-4 in the second period, also shone.
“Harata was awesome,” Rauna said.
But Hearty had their heroes, too. Natalie Mackey (8pts) and veteran Miriata Callaghan (6pts) have always taken the ball to the rim aggressively. Guard Maiangi Mackey (4pts) has always had quick hands in defence and her energy down the home stretch greatly contributed to Hearty outscoring Paikea eight points to six in that period.
Paikea led 11-2, 25-6 and 38-12 to three-quartertime. At fulltime it was 44-20.
Te Rina Mangu of Paikea said: “That was competitive . . . hard and fast.”
Gisborne Boys’ High School needed a performance like this.
Dwayne Tamatea’s team beat Campion 68-38 last night to close Week 6 in the men’s competition with a high-paced, committed effort in which every player hustled from the start.
“We started quickly — our trapping defence was good,” the Boys’ High coach said.
“Jake Noble and Holden Wilson played well.”
Tamatea’s crew will play in Pool B of the Super 8 tournament at Rotorua next week. They will face New Plymouth Boys’ High School and Tauranga Boys’ College on Monday, then Hastings Boys’ High on Tuesday morning before the crossover games on Tuesday afternoon.
The urgency and effort shown last night will need to he doubled if winning games there is to be a possibility and the team are to improve on their seventh placing in 2016.
Getting among the points were Tawhiti Rehutai (12pts), Sam Veitch (12pts), Meihana Teneti (9pts) and Wilson (8pts), with Karlyle Te Maari (7pts) and Teneti each making a three-point play.
Veitch made three-point plays in both the first and third quarters, and is one of the most promising tall athletes that Boys’ High have turned out in the 20 years since the Otago Nuggets 6ft 7in Adrian Torrie. He is comparable to former Bopys’ High sportsman of the year and now professional tennis coach Scott Colebourne, hero of the 1999 win against Hamilton Boys’ High here.
Last night, Boys’ High led 22-2, 39-15 and 54-26 at the quarters.
Among Campion’s best were Tana Ward (7pts) and Konnor Gibson (6pts), who both fouled out in the fourth period. Ward’s quickness and jab-step were amazing, while Nelson Brown’s nine points were his best return of the season to date.
The tall Campion line-up can only improve.
Injured Campion captain Patrick Murphy, who coached the team on the night, said: “We started slowly but if we did one thing really well tonight, we proved that we could break their pressure-defence.”
