Y-Kato, Y-Tak In Showdown
Tagged in: Tournaments
Semifinals are supposed to be close. But Waikato were not about to hear that on Thursday.
Pushed through by 35 points from guard Veshae Wilkinson and 16 points from forward Kalani Purcell and captain Rhaiah Spooner-Knight, Waikato romped to a 40-point semifinal win, 100-60, over North Harbour to reach under-15 girls final at the Oreo Under-13 & Under-15 National Championships in Rotorua.
Between Waikato and the title remains fellow unbeaten squad Waitakere City, who survived a late scare before putting away North Canterbury 67-52 in the other semi.
With Wilkinson dropping 16 points in the opening period, Waikato bounced out to a 23-11 lead at the first break and never let up on Harbour.
A 22-13 second and 33-16 third period, saw the Mooloo girls up 38 points with a quarter to play, allowing coach Charleena Hawea to get her bench quality minutes in the fourth quarter, with Shermaiah Pardi coming on to score eight points.
“We played that game like they were going to come out and give us a good run. We respect Harbour basketball, so we weren’t going to take them lightly,” Waikato assistant coach Parlayne Hawea said.
With identical 5-0 records, similar athletes and playing styles, the Waikato-Waitakere final showdown shapes to be much closer.
“Waitakere have got some quality guards and they’ve got Penina Davidson on the inside, who has been playing well. This is the Cinderella story. We were hoping some of the other teams were going to give them a run but they’re showing that they’re up there. We knew we were going to play them in the final.
“It’s the two best teams here and I’m hoping it’s going to be a great final.”
Revenge may be a motivating factor for Waitakere, with the bulk of both squads facing each other in last year’s under-13 girls final.
“There’s a far few girls that played against Waikato last year,” said Waitakere coach Greg Davidson. “I know they’re very very hungry to get out there and compete against them again. Waikato won that game, quite a big margin, and there’s a few girls who would like to reverse that.
“Waikato are a very tough, physical team and we have to be ready for that. We have to do well against their press and make sure we look after the ball. We need to be smart about our defensive match-ups and not get into foul trouble.”
Waitakere gave Coach Davidson more heart palpitations in their semi.
After leading by 15 points with a quarter to play and cruising to the final, Waitakere let the feisty North Cantabs pressure them into turnovers and poor shots, watching their lead shrink to five points with three minutes remaining.
In a low-scoring fourth, North Canterbury captain Anita Snowdon scored eight points to help them close the gap. Davidson, who scored a game-high 21 points, had 11 points in the third period to push Waitakere clear.
Both under-13 girls finalists, Canterbury and North Harbour, were impressive in their semifinals on Thursday.
Behind 20 points from Annabelle Jenkins, Harbour made quick work of Hawke’s Bay, winning 73-42 after leading by 27 points at halftime. Canterbury captain Laken Wairau scored a game-high 21 points as the South Islanders overcame Counties Manukau late, 60-50.
Eunice San-Luis added 13 points for Harbour, who ran out to a 20-7 lead at the first intermission and put the game away by halftime, up 42-15. Tessa Boagni and Gabriela Edmondson were Canterbury’s other double-digit scorers, with Boagni scoring a dozen and Edmondson 10 points.
