Davis On Fire
Tagged in: Kiwis Abroad, Tall Ferns
Former Tall Ferns captain Aneka Davis and the Townsville Fire continued their hot form in the Australian WNBL with a 70-56 home win over champions Canberra Capitals.
Davis (nee Kerr) led Townsville with 22 points (6/18 FG, 10/10 FT), 10 rebounds, four assists and a steal in 31 minutes, while Jess McCormack scored her first WNBL points in her sixth game for the Caps.
Next week, the Fire (7-1) visit the Bulleen Boomers in a top-of-the-table clash of teams with just one loss so far this summer.
Kiwi shooter Lisa Pardon and her Boomers tuned up for that showdown with a resounding 92-58 win over Australian Institute of Sport in Melbourne.
Pardon logged 11 minutes for five points (2/5 FG, 1/2 3pt), one rebound, an assist and a steal as the Boomers improved to 9-1 for the season.
Canberra (6-4) had earlier accounted for Logan Thunder 79-60 with Kiwis Natalie Purcell (eight points/three rebounds) and Suzie Bates (three points) contributing to Logan’s cause.
Purcell found some form the following night with 13 points (5/7 FG, 2/3 3pt, 1/2 FT), nine rebounds, four steals and an assist in a 93-53 result over winless AIS. Bates had two points, two rebounds and an assist as Logan improved to 5-5.
Tall Ferns point guard Angela Marino enjoyed no luck as her Adelaide Lightning fell 62-77 to the red hot Sydney University Flames at home.
Marino had nine points (2/11 FG, 1/6 3pt, 4/4 FT), three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 35 minutes as the Lightning slumped to 6-5 with their four loss in five games.
In the Australian men’s NBL, Tall Black Mika Vukona contributed to Gold Coast Blaze’s 84-79 home win over Perth Wildcats with 12 points (5/5 FG, 2/3 FT), six rebounds, two steals and an assist in 20 minutes. Their third win in four games promotes them to 6-6 for the season, even with the Burger King NZ Breakers.
Veteran shooter Phill Jones also sparked Cairns Taipans to their second win of the week, an 86-83 road result over Melbourne Tigers. Jones led all scorers with 21 points (9/12 FG, 2/3 3pt, 1/1 FT), seven rebounds, three steals and an assist in 30 minutes as the Snakes climbed to 6-8 for the season.
In Europe, Tall Black coach Nenad Vucinic watched his champion Kalev/Cramo Tallinn club fall to 3-3 in the EMKL with a 72-87 loss to TTU KK. Tallinn once again struggled to convert their opportunities in the lane, shooting just 16/44 (36%) 2pt.
In South Korea, Tall Black centre Craig Bradshaw helped LG Sakers to an 82-79 win over Daegu Orions with six points (3/6 FG) and nine rebounds in 23 minutes. The Sakers improved to 11-6 for the season.
In US college play, Tall Fern Rebecca Dew and her University of Hawaii split a California road trip, beating UC Riverside 63-58 and losing 52-98 to UCLA.
Dew, starting at centre, had two points (1/5 FG), seven rebounds and a block in 15 minutes against Riverside, then six points (3/4 FG) and five rebounds at UCLA’s famed Pauley Pavillion.
Ferns guard Micaela Cocks had a career-high six assists to help University of Oregon record an 86-81 road win over University of Montana. She added 11 points (5/13 FG, 1/5 3pt) and five rebounds, and led team with 38 minutes, as the Ducks improved to 2-0 for the season.
Kiwi centre Kim Barnes also logged a team-high 35 minutes to help UC Irvine to their first regular season win, 65-62 over Loyola Marymount.
Barnes contributed six points (2/5 FG, 2/4 FT), eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal for the Anteaters, who are now 1-2 for the season.
Ferns guard Erin Rooney got her college career started with a 2-1 record in the first week of Monmouth University’s season.
She reached double-figure scoring in all three outings, highlighted by 10 points (4/11 FG, 2/4 FT), three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 34 minutes as the Hawks defeated Pacific University.
Rooney also had 10 points (4/11 FG, 2/4 FT), seven rebounds and three steals in 33 minutes of a 41-56 loss to Rider University and 10 points (4/9 FG, 1/2 3pt, 1/2 FT), three rebounds and three assists while losing 55-58 to Lafayette University.
