Penney on target in Turkey
Tagged in: Athletes, Kiwis Abroad, Tall Blacks, Tall Ferns
Tall Black Kirk Penney was dialled in from long distance, hitting five three-pointers to help his TED Kolejliler to victory over Turkish Basketball League cellar dwellers Gaziantep.
Penney had 23 points (8/11 FG, 5/7 3pt, 2/2 FT), as his side led from the start and put their opponents away with a 27-17 third quarter. The Kiwi is now third on the league’s scoring rankings, averaging 18.7 points for a club that now sits in fourth equal (2-1) on the table.
In the United States, Steve Adams logged his first minutes for the University of Pittsburgh, as they defeated Indiana University of Pennsylvania 69-54 in their first exhibition game of the new college season.
The young Wellingtonian had a basket in a 7-0 run that put the Panthers 21-16 up at halftime and finished with six points (3/8 FG), six rebounds (five OR), two blocks, an assist and a steal in 23 minutes.
Pittsburgh next play against Hawaii-Hilo on Friday and open their regular season at home against Mount St Mary’s on November 9.
Other Kiwis opening their college pre-season programmes this week include Tall Blacks Isaac Fotu (Hawaii v Hawaii Pacific) on Friday and Rob Loe (St Louis v Rockhurst) on Saturday, and Tall Fern Jordan Hunter (Southeast Missouri v Southern Indiana) on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Cantabrian Caleb Harrison made his coaching debut with Dickinson State University, guiding their women’s team to a pair of wins over University of Manitoba. The Blue Hawks, including WBC Most Valuable Player Jess Bygate (Nelson), face Black Hills State University on Saturday.
In the Australian WNBL, Tall Ferns captain Natalie Taylor led Logan Power to an 87-79 road victory over Sydney University, scoring 24 points (8/13 FG, 1/3 3pt, 7/9 FT), grabbing nine rebounds and blocking two shots. The following day, Logan (2-3) fell 68-71 to Canberra Capitals.
Meanwhile, Kiwi point guard Angela Marino earned bragging rights over national team coach Kennedy Kereama, when her Adelaide Lightning (4-1) overcame West Coast Waves 75-65 in Perth.
Marino had nine points, five rebounds and three assists, while Ferns guard Toni Edmondson put up seven points, five rebounds and five assists for the Waves (1-4).
