W Stands For Wallbutton
Tagged in: Kiwis Abroad, Tall Ferns
Winning continues to be a habit for Tall Ferns forward Lisa Wallbutton in Belguim.
Wallbutton scored 10 points (2/5 FG, 6/6 FT) and stuffed her stat-line with seven rebounds, seven steals and two blocks in 22 minutes for Dexia Namur in their 107-49 round 13 Belguim division one rout of Point Chaud Sprimont on Saturday at home.
Namur improved to 11-0 in the domestic league while they moved a step closer to the last 16 in the women’s EuroCup competition with an 84-72 road win over Kara Trutnov in the Czech Republic on Thursday. Wallbutton had two points (1/4 FG) and a rebound in seven minutes on court.
A win or loss by 11 points or less in the return leg on Thursday at home, will see Namur through to the next round.
In Australia, Tall Ferns forward Natalie Purcell scored a team-high 15 points (6/13 FG, 3/6 3pt) with six rebounds, two steals and an assist in 32 minutes as the Logan Thunder ended a nine-game losing streak with a surprise win over the third-placed Adelaide Lightning on the road on Friday.
Purcell then had 10 points (3/10 FG, 2/7 3pt, 2/4 FT), five assists and four rebounds in 36 minutes as Logan fell 81-77 to the Perth Lynx on the West Coast on Sunday.
Tall Ferns point guard Angela Marino produced 16 points (4/16 FG, 4/10 3pt, 4/4 FT) with five steals, three assists and a rebound in 35 minutes for the Lightning in the loss.
Former Tall Ferns guard Adrianne Gilbert did not manage any points but still helped the Sydney Uni Flames to back-to-back wins over AIS and top-three team, the Townsville Fire last week.
Gilbert had three assists and a rebound in 19 minutes in an 86-61 win over AIS on Wednesday, then went 0/2 FG with a rebound in 10 minutes in a 76-67 upset of Townsville.
Tall Ferns captain Aneka Kerr had four points (1/5 FG, 2/2 FT), four rebounds and two blocks in 24 minutes for the Fire, who defeated the Dandenong Rangers 72-60 on Friday, with Kerr getting 10 points (2/7 FG, 6/8 FT), six rebounds and a steal in 29 minutes and Tall Fern Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe adding two points (1/1 FG) in three minutes of game time.
In the US college system, Tall Ferns guard Micaela Cocks scored 17 points (6/10 FG, 5/6 3pt), two rebounds, an assist and steal in 39 minutes but her Oregon Ducks fell 74-59 to Georgia Tech in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday.
National team-mate Jillian Harmon tweaked her back last week and sat out Stanford’s 100-62 blow-out of Fresno State on Saturday, ahead of a key roadtrip east to take on Duke, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Harbour junior Kezia Kelly played seven minutes, going scoreless (0/2 FG, 0/1 3pt) with a steal in Washington State’s 53-50 road win against Idaho on Sunday.
At UT-Martin, Hailey Purcell had a point (0/1 FG, 1/2 FT) with a rebound and steal in seven minutes in a 74-23 road shellacking against Missouri on Sunday.
In NCAA-D2 play, Church College alum Alana Auld produced five points (2/5 FG, 1/4 3pt), three rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes in Ohio Valley’s 65-63 win over fellow Kiwi Amanda Harris and Alderson-Broaddus on Thursday. Harris had four points (0/2 FG, 0/1 3pt, 4/5 FT), three rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Lady Battlers.
Canterbury product Mandy Caldwell had three points (1/1 FG, 1/2 FT) in six minutes on court in Florida Southern College’s 95-91 win against West Florida on Saturday.
Donna Lavea put up eight points (3/3 FG, 2/2 FT) and six rebounds as Lambuth University, the 2007 NAIA champions, rolled Central Baptist 78-37 on Friday.
Meanwhile, assistant coaches Pina Lissaman and Warrick Wood saw their Rose-Hulman Tech NCAA-D3 school lose 52-37 to Anderson on Wednesday but rebound to beat College of Mount St Joseph 52-51 in Cincinnati on Saturday in a conference game.
