Basketball New Zealand

September 28, 2009

New Plymouth GHS captain Zoe Kensington always dreamt of being a Tall Fern … but never dreamt it would happen so soon.

“It’s been a pretty good year,” she reflects. “But it has been kind of a big shock, really.”

Kensington (18), one of the promising guards in national age group basketball for several years, began 2009 aiming to consolidate her place on the domestic scene.

“I was probably just hoping to work on the indivudual weaknesses in my own game and make them better.
“As captain, I also wanted to help my school do well at the nationals.”

She got her team off to a safe enough start at the Furnware NZ “AA” Secondary School Championships with an 82-38 win over Cambridge High School, highlighted by team-mate Bella McCallum’s 35 points.

Kensington was part of a Junior Tall Fern team that won the Main Event tournament in Las Vegas last year and many of that team hooked up again for the Emerging Tall Ferns at the FIBA Oceania Tournament in the Northern Marianas in June, finishing runners up to Australia. But that was just a taste of things to come …

When new Tall Ferns coach Shawn Dennis began to take stock of who might be available for the FIBA Oceania Championships, he found just four survivors from last year’s Beijing Olympics. Suddenly, there was a chance for international rookies to stake a claim … and Kensington was one to put her hand up.

“This has definitely been a goal of mine, ever since I was a little kid,” she says. “It was a big step up from age groups, where you have to pay for everything.

“The Tall Ferns get everything provided and that takes the pressure off … not having to pay your way through it. Our camp in Napier was awesome and Shawn made it really exciting for us.”

Kensington chuckles as she remembers the moment she began to feel at home in the national squad.
“We actually felt like superstars and, for the first time, people wanted my autograph.

“At one point, we had to fill out some travel forms and I accidentally added my playing number to the end of my signature … I’d gotten so used to putting it on my autograph.”

With starting point guard Angela Marino unavailable and Olympic backup Noni Wharemate retired, the Ferns faced a stern challenge just to get the ball up court against the world champion Australian Opals. Veteran shooter Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe shouldered most of the ball-carrying duties, but everyone pitched in and Kensington, in a baptism of fire, probably did as well as any.

“At that level, you’ve got to be a bit more aware of what’s going on around you. You can get away with things at secondary school level, but that level, every second counts.

“You can’t fall asleep at all.”

Back in a familiar environment, Kensington faces a different challenge as role model for others now hoping to follow in her footsteps.

“There is a bit of pressure,” she admits. “For the Tall Ferns, my role wasn’t to be a big scorer, but now I have to be that for my school team.”

New Plymouth GHS lost to eventual champions Church College in last year’s semis and hopes are high for 2009.

But Church piled 100 points on late entries Rotorua GHS yesterday, then dispatched Rangi Ruru GS 82-30. Other girls’ teams to open with two wins were Waimea College, Northcote College, Sacred Heart College and Fraser HS.

In the boys’ draw, titleholders St Patrick’s College beat Palmerston North BHS 79-64, while Church, Rangitoto College, Westlake BHS, Hastings BHS, Tauranga Boys’ College, Fraser and Mana College also went two-for-two.

Furnware NZ “AA” Secondary Schools Championships

Palmerston North

Tuesday, September 29

Boys
9am
Cashmere HS 80 (Ethan Rusbatch 34) Hastings BHS 74 (Kyne Tobin 25)
Mt Albert Grammar 71 (Jason Goodwin 34) Kelston BHS 63 (Kendall Davey 24)
Westlake BHS 102 (Rob Loe 29) Wellington College 63 (Hemi Pairama-Lewington 27)
Church College 80 (Joshua Whippy 23) Middleton Grange 43 (Inga Sofuli 16)
Rangitoto College 57 (Sam King 15) Waimea College 50 (Chris Duthie 21)
Nayland College 77 (Alex Jordan 18) Otago BHS 66 (Ethan Carruthers 26)

10.45am
New Plymouth BHS 81 (Max Williams 16) Palmerston North BHS 75 (Michael Clarke 27)
Onehunga HS 84 (Lamont Saina 30) Nelson College 65 (Adam Rainbird 20)
St Patricks College 67 (Scott Sharp 21) Hamilton BHS 53 (Kirk Rangiawha 17)

12.30pm
Tauranga Boys College 77 (Matt Fullerton 29) St Johns College 47 (Joshua Tait 18)
Fraser HS 94 (Hemi Joyce-Gay 26) Mana College 66 (Isaac Torea 17)
Massey HS 45 (Adrian Prince 11) Cambridge HS 43 (Kendall MacMillan 31)

2.15pm
Westlake BHS 85 (Rob Loe 24) Hastings BHS 53 (Ravi Mani 13)
Cashmere HS 75 (Ethan Rusbatch 25) Kelston BHS 60 (Cory Tagaloa 20)
Mt Albert Grammar 77 Wellington College 65
Rangitoto College 68 (Sam King 28) Nayland College 39 (Mitchell Ross 12)
Middleton Grange 76 (Inga Solofoti 46) Otago BHS 74 (Ethan Carruthers 22)
Church College 86 (Jared Whippy 27) Waimea College 47 (Chris Duthie 18)

4pm
St Patrick’s College 86 (Matt Sens 34) Onehunga HS 69 (Stacey Ili 21)
Nelson College 83 (Michael Karena 31) New Plymouth BHS 74 (Max Williams 14)
Palmerston North BHS 87 (Michael Clarke 23) Hamilton BHS 67 (Tamaki Courtney & Rore Neho 16)

Girls
9am
Mana College 61 (Bulou Tuisue & Jardene Tipa 15) Christchurch GHS 52 (Phoebe Spoors 11)
Mt Albert Grammar 56 (Ashleigh Kelman-Poto 19) Napier GHS 39 (Shanice Swain 11)

10.45am
Waimea College 72 (Jelena Vucinic 22) Fraser HS 58 (Bailey Ross-Waitai 20)
Rangiora HS 75 (Tegan McNeish 19) Kristin College 40 (Habiba Tawfik 21)
Nelson College 65 (Shannon Perrett 18) Hutt Valley HS 50 (Stella Beck 14)
Waikato Dio 60 (Laura Schnuriger 19) Cambridge HS 38 (Amelia Palmer 13)
New Plymouth GHS 97 (Zoe Kenginston 23) Marlborough College 41 (Sophie van Valethooven 13)

12.30pm
Northcote College 73 (Aroha Lawrence 26) Sacred Heart College 63 (Rosa Antunovic 26)
Rangi Ruru 60 (Emma Perry 21) Rotorua GHS 55 (P Purdie 23)
Rangitoto College 75 (Milika Nathan 14) Freyberg HS 43 (Freya Newton 13)
Manurewa HS 61 (Pearl Lolesi 19) Auckland GGS 54 (Kayla Cullen 14)
Church College 115 (Megan Aben & Moengaroa Subritzky 17) Hauraki Plains College 26 (Frances Nikora 6)

2.15pm
Mt Albert Grammar 69 (Ashleigh Kelman-Poto 22) Mana College 47 (Hawaiki Harris 17)

4pm
Napier GHS 62 (Josis Stockill 16) Kristin School 49 (Habbiba Tawfik 21)
Rangiora HS 62 (Courtney Hamblin 19) Christchurch GHS 55 (Courtney Powell 16)
Marlborough Girls’ College 69 (Sophie van Velthooven 27) Cambridge HS 72 (Amelia Palmer 30)
Waikato Dio 61 (Carissa Te Wharau 17) Hutt Valley HS 42 (Milomilo Nanai 12)
New Plymouth GHS 68 (Zoe Kensington 21) Nelson College for Girls 43 (Sherran Collier 11)

Game On, September 29 (233kb)