Basketball New Zealand

American Jennifer Lingor guided Curves Harbour Heat to a clean sweep of the Womenís Basketball League northern conference with an 88-56 win over Massey Fever.

The Heat led 33-14 after the opening quarter and lengthened their advantage over the next two periods. Lingor led all scorers with 19 points (7/16 FG, 3/6 3pt, 2/4 FT), while Jody Tini (13 points/10 rebounds) and Karlene Kingi (12 points/10 rebounds) compiled ìdouble doublesî as Harbour completed a 12-0 run through the competition.

Earlier on the final weekend, they had ended Aucklandís hopes of qualifying for the national finals, defeating the defending champions 102-66.

Lingor again paced the Heat with 27 points (9/16 FG, 3/8 3pt, 6/7 FT), 10 rebounds and seven assists, supported by Noni Wharemate (22 points), Natalie Purcell (20 points, 6/12 3pt) and Tini (18 points, 13 rebounds).

NZ Tall Fern forwards Lisa Wallbutton (27 points/11 rebounds) and Jess McCormack (16 points/11 rebounds) doubled up for Auckland, but the contest was never close after Harbour ran out to a 32-15 lead after the first term.

Meanwhile, Otago Goldrush also emerged unbeaten from the southern conference, beating nearest rivals University of Canterbury 51-35.

Guard Elise Cassidy and forward Toni Edmondson had 10 points each for the Rush, while Stacey Hickford had 11 for University.

Harbour and Otago will be joined by Wellington from the central conference, after they defeated Hutt Valley 61-51 in New Plymouth.

Shiana Harris led the way with 16 points (4/10 FG, 3/8 3pt, 5/6 FT) after the women from the capital led by 10 points at halftime and held their northern neighbours off over the final two quarters.

The fourth qualifier for the WBL semifinals (June 8) could come down to tonightís northern conference clash between Waikato and Church College.

Waikato only need to win to progress. If the students win by more than 14 points, they qualify, but a small win may be enough if Waikato also fall to Counties Manukau in their final game this week.