Basketball New Zealand

Tall Ferns centre Kim Barnes (Dave Lintott)

Tall Ferns centre Kim Barnes enjoyed a career night, but could not help UC Irvine to victory in their road game against CSU Bakersfield in US college basketball.

Barnes led the Anteaters with 20 points (8/15 FG, 4/9 FT), five rebounds and two blocks before fouling out in 32 minutes of a 75-78 loss.

Later in the week, Irvine fell to 2-4 for the season with a 50-78 home loss to Princeton University. Through the first five games, Barnes, a sophomore, was averaging 30 minutes, 8.8 points (38.5% FG, 50% FT) and 4.6 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Ferns guard Micaela Cocks has helped University of Oregon to their best start since 2006-07, scoring in double figures as the Ducks compiled a 5-1 record.

Oregon finished runners-up at the World Vision Invitational with a 2-1 record, losing a 58-57 thriller to University of Wisconsin, but beating Cal State Fullerton 117-69 and Portland State 87-58.

Cocks is the only Duck to score in double figures in every regular season game so far and has now connected from beyond the arc in her last 22 outings for Oregon.

Kiwi centre Rebecca Dew compiled a double double of 13 points/11 rebounds, but could not prevent the University of Hawaii dropped an 83-94 overtime game to East Tennessee State at the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic.

Dew also had two points (2/2 FT) and three rebounds in a 53-65 loss to tournament winners Arizona State. The Rainbow Wahine are now 1-4 for the season.

Ferns rookie Erin Rooney continues to make her presence felt in her freshman year at Monmouth University. She reeled off her fourth straight 10-point game as the Muhawks fell 49-63 to UNC Wilmington at the Hampton Inn Invitational, shooting 4/7 FG, 2/2 FT and adding two steals, an assist and a rebound in 32 minutes.

Rooney had just one point (1/2 FT), four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 14 minutes as a starter as Monmouth beat Davidson University 46-43, improving their record to 1-3 for the season.

Tall Black forward Casey Frank made his 2009/10 Australian NBL debut with the Gold Coast Blaze as they upset Perth Wildcats 82-78 on the road.

Frank was called up last week as a short term injury replacement for Greg Vanderjagt and joined fellow Kiwi internationals Pero Cameron and Mika Vukona in a line-up that toppled the league leaders and joined a log jam at the top of the NBL table.

Both Frank and Cameron went scoreless, but Vukona had two points (1/2 FG), seven rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes as the Blaze improved to 7-6 for the season.

The top six teams, including the Burger King NZ Breakers, have now won seven games apiece – Perth, Wollongong and Adelaide have lost five games, the Breakers, Gold Coast and Cairns have six losses, and Townsville seven.

The Blaze have won three in a row and four of their last five games.
Bulleen Boomers and Kiwi shooter Lisa Pardon sit alone atop the Australian WNBL table after a 88-70 home victory over Townsville Fire.

Both teams entered the game with just one loss each, but the Fire struggled to contain Bulleen’s giant frontcourt.

Pardon logged 10 minutes for seven points (2/3 FG, 1/2 3pt, 2/2 FT), a rebound and two assists, while former Tall Fern captain Aneka Davis accumulated 11 points (2/12 FG, 1/2 3pt, 6/8 FT), six rebounds, three assists and a block in 33 minutes for Townsville.

Bulleen are now 10-1 for the season, but the Fire slumped to 7-3 with another loss in the second leg of their Melbourne road trip, 55-67 to Dandenong Rangers.

Davis bounced back with 17 points (4/13 FG, 9/10 FT), 16 rebounds and four steals in 33 minutes, but the Fire conceded 29 turnovers and shot just 27% FG.

For Dandenong, Tall Fern Toni Edmondson had nine points (4/6 FG, 1/1 3pt) and three rebounds in 13 minutes as her team improved to 3-7.

Ferns centre Jess McCormack enjoyed her best outing of the season to help champions Canberra Capitals overwhelm Australian Institute of Sport 77-42.

She scored eight points (3/8 FG, 2/3 FT) and added 13 rebounds (seven OR) in 27 minutes.

McCormack was less affective the following night as Canberra fell 66-76 to Sydney University Flames, going scoreless and grabbing two offensive rebounds in 14 minutes. The Caps are now 7-5 for the season.

Ferns point guard Angela Marino recorded a double double of 17 points/10 assists to guide Adelaide Lightning to an 86-65 home win over Logan Power.

For the visitors, Kiwi forward Natalie Purcell found her shooting range with 18 points (6/18 FG, 4/7 3pt, 2/2 FT), four rebounds, two blocks, an assist and a steal, while guard Suzie Bates had two points, a rebound and an assist.

Adelaide improved to 7-5, while Logan slipped to 5-6.

In Europe, Olympian Jillian Harmon had eight points (4/7 FG), eight rebounds and a steal in 26 minutes as her Pool Comense team lost 62-68 to Bracco Geas in the Italian Lega A, slipping to 2-6 for the season.

Former Tall Black coach Tab Baldwin watched his Kepez Bld Antalya lost 71-84 to Mersin in the Turkish Basketball League, falling to 3-4.

Tall Black centre Craig Bradshaw could not prevent his LG Sakers losing both legs of a double header in the Korean Basketball League.

He had six points (3/3 FG), a block, an assist and a rebound in a 78-81 loss to Samsung, and hit a trey and blocked a shot in a 67-72 loss to Sonic Boom KT.

The Sakers are now 11-9 for the season.

In the NBA, Sean Marks logged six minutes and grabbed four rebounds as New Orleans Hornets toppled Milwaukee Bucks 102-99 in overtime at home. Still playing without All-Star point guard Chris Paul, the Hornets are 7-10 for the season.