Letoa Lights Up Levin
Melissa Letoa is to the Wellington women what Kirk Penney is to the Tall Blacks.
Letoa went off for 37 points in the final and hit the dagger shot from deep as Wellington ended the Southland Pearls bid for back-to-back titles with a 91-82 win in the women’s championship game at the Oreo Open and Wheelchair National Championships in Levin.
Averaging 26.6 points per game throughout the tournament, including two 35-plus point games, Letoa was a unanimous pick as women’s MVP before the final and her performance in the decider simply stamped an exclamation on it.
Letoa had 14 points in the first quarter as Wellington jumped on the Southerners early, leading by as many as 11 points in the first, with a Fairen Lepaio basket at the buzzer giving them a 26-16 lead.
With Letoa kept in check in the second, up stepped fellow tournament team selection Jasmine Davis and micro-guard Kayla Kiriau, combining for 13 points in the period as Wellington were able to stretch the gap out to 16 points at halftime.
Southland, playing without key inside threat and defender Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickitt, could not close on Wellington in the third but remained in touch, down 17, and in position for an epic fourth quarter.
With tournament teamer Elise Cassidy, scored eight points and last year’s women’s MVP Melinda Martin-Donnelly and Gemma Curry, who had 23 points, hitting threes, the Pearls out-scored Wellington 17-4 to get with four points, 74-70, with four minutes to play.
“That’s what finals are all about,” said Wellington coach Michael Letoa, proud father of Melissa, who will take the same team to Auckland this weekend for the North Harbour Invitational women’s tournament.
“No-one’s ever gives you anything easy in the final. We expected that, the girls expected that too. I just said to make good decisions and to play good defence.”
Wellington’s offence halted and panic almost set in as Southland upped the defensive pressure but reliable point guard Sezen Mercan re-entered the game after a timeout and restored some composure.
Wellington answered Southland’s run with an 8-2 run, Letoa and Davis, who finished with 22 points, combining for all the Capital’s points to go up 82-72. Danielle Calnan kept Southland’s dying hopes alive with her team’s next six points to finish with 24 but Letoa killed off the Pearls with her third three with under two minutes remaining.
Letoa and Shiana-Rose Harris, who missed the final for religious reasons, shot the lights out in their 81-53 semifinal destruction of Massey on Saturday night.
Letoa hit seven deep bombs in her game-high 27 points, while Harris swished five three-balls of her own on the way to 19 points and Wellington combined to hit 17 threes. The 51 points from long-distance was just two points shy of Massey’s score.
The Open title was the second national championship for three members – Davis, Harris and Kiriau – of the Wellington team, who were also part of Wellington’s under-21 championship team in March.
Western Bay of Plenty’s Joanne Hoyes, who averaged 17.8 points per contest, and Lisa Scott, who led the way for Hutt Valley, 61-38 winners over Massey for third, were also named in the women’s tournament team.
Oreo Open and Wheelchair National Championships
Final
Wellington 91 (Melissa Letoa 37, Jasmine Davis 22, Fairen Lepaio 17) Southland Pearls 82 (Danielle Calnan 24, Gemma Curry 23, Elise Cassidy 16, Melinda Martin-Donnelly 11)
3rd-4th
Hutt Valley 61 (Margaret Scott 15, Sonya Milford 12, Jess Slade 10) Massey 38 (Charm Niha 13)
Final Placings
Wellington (5-0)
Southland Pearls (3-2)
Hutt Valley (4-1)
Massey (3-2)
Western Bay of Plenty (2-3)
Palmerston North (1-4)
Rotorua (1-4)
South Canterbury (0-5)
