Basketball New Zealand

Phill Jones (Photosport)

Veteran Kiwi Phill Jones has helped Cairns Taipans back on the winning road with an 87-81 victory over Townsville Crocs in the Australian NBL.

Jones had 14 points (5/8 FG, 1/4 3pt, 3/4 FT), four rebounds, three assists and a steal in 26 minutes for the Cairns (10-15), which broke their four-game losing streak, but are still bottom of the table.

In the WNBL, Tall Ferns point guard Angela Marino left the game in Adelaide Lightning’s loss to Bendigo Spirit with a badly dislocated elbow, and did not play two days later when Adelaide beat Dandenong Rangers 74-66.

The Lightning are just outside the playoff zone with an 11-8 record.

Bulleen (18-1), with Kiwi shooter Lisa Pardon, continued to set the pace in the competition with a successful Queensland road trip.

In their 93-67 triumph over Logan Thunder (6-12), Tall Ferns forward Natalie Purcell had 16 points (6/13 FG, 3/9 3pt, 1/2 FT), three rebounds, three steals and an assist for the home team.

Townsville Fire (12-6) also fell to the Melbourne visitors despite an 11-point/10-rebound double double from former Ferns captain Aneka Davis.

In Turkey, current Tall Blacks coach Nenad Vucinic and predecessor Tab Baldwin continue to struggle at the foot of the TBL table, recording a pair of losses each over the past week.

Baldwin took on his old team, but could not get Kepez Bld up over Banvitspor, losing 65-83, and then fell to Fenerbahce (71-94). Kepez are 4-12 for the season.

Vucinic, still searching for Barussafaka’s second win, dropped one to powerhouse Turk Telekom (71-80), then Besiktas (66-92).

In Switzerland, Brendon Polyblank led Fribourg with 19 points (7/10 FG, 2/3 3pt, 3/4 FT), three rebounds and a steal, but his club continued their late-season struggles with a 70-101 loss to archrivals Lugano Tigers. Fribourg (15-4) have lost three of their last five games, but share the top of the LNA table with Lugano and SAV Vacallo.

In Italy, Tall Fern Jillian Harmon had 11 points (5/10 FG, 1/1 FT) and four rebounds to help Pool Comense edge Umana Reyer 67-66 in the Lega A. Comense sit mid table with a 6-8 record.

In US college play, Ferns guard Micaela Cocks led University of Oregon with 17 points (6/19 FG, 1/8 3pt, 4/5 FT), two rebounds and an assist, but couldn’t help them avoid an 80-100 loss to PAC 10 conference champions Stanford University. The Ducks dropped to 12-7 for the season (3-4 in conference).

NZ centre Rebecca Dew had eight points (4/6 FG) and two rebounds in 18 minutes as University of Hawaii (8-12) fell 64-73 at Boise State University.

Ferns rookie guard Erin Rooney had eight points (2/10 FG, 2/9 3pt, 2/2 FT), six rebounds, four assists and a steal in 32 minutes as a starter for Monmouth University, which lost 45-62 to Robert Morris University. The Hawks are now 9-10 for the season with freshman Rooney leading the team in assists (47) and fouls (50).

Junior Tall Black captain Dion Prewster is averaging a double double (12.9 points/11.8 rebounds) for San Jacinto College, which lost their last outing 71-72 to Paris Junior College.

Prewster leads the Gators (17-3) in FG% (57.3) and blocks (38), while also shooting 39.5% 3pt (17/43).

In the NBA, Kiwi Sean Marks has returned to action for the New Orleans Hornets after an absence of almost two months, venturing on court in their last three games for a total of 10 minutes and one point.

The Hornets won two of those games and are 24-20 (54.5%) at the bottom of the Southwest Division and tied for ninth in the Western Conference.