What a week with FIVE Harbour players qualifying for National Championships in the States.

What we do know is that at least five Harbour players are well and truly embroiled in March Madness – Dan Fotu, Jack Salt, Zara Jillings, Chanel Brodeur-Muir and Keeley Tini are all headed to prestigious National Tournaments later this month.

Dan Fotu (St Mary’s College Gaels) and Jack Salt (Virginia University Cavaliers) are guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Men’s Division I Tournament. 

The St Mary’s result was a stunner!

After all its opponents Gonzaga had not only won every West Coast Conference game this season but were also the #1 ranked college team in the States boasting a 30-3 record. In regular season games Gonzaga had beaten St Mary’s in both previous meetings this season by a combined 62 points. Somehow the Gaels turned that around to post a remarkable result, a 60-47 victory. Dan, along with fellow Kiwi freshman Quinn Clinton can now prepare for the Big Dance.

The No 2 ranked Virginia Cavaliers closed out regular season play with a hard fought 73-68 win against Louisville on Saturday. The victory in Jack Salt’s final game at John Paul Jones Arena, the home of the Cavaliers, clinched a share of the ACC Regular-Season title. It’s Virginia’s fourth title since 2014. Regardless of how they perform in the ACC Tournament they are guaranteed a spot at the NCAA Tournament based on their record this season.

Given the honour of being the last player to cut the net down at the end of the game Jack reflected on the achievement and the emotion of Senior night.

“I was very happy to have all of my family here. This is the most family I have had to a game, and to walk on the floor with my mom, dad and sister, it meant a lot to me.

“It was amazing to be a part of this team. I’ve been here for five years. I’ve been here awhile. The bond I have shared with the players and the coaches is something I will never forget.

“I am feeling pretty good. I am going to give anything I can to this team to help us get a win, so I will be ready for the next two tournaments that we play and I am looking forward to it.”

Those two tournaments will be the ACC Tournament beginning later this week followed by the big one – the NCAA Tournament.

We were guaranteed one Harbour player in the NCAA Women’s Division I Tournament with Zara Jillings and the  Fordham Rams squaring off against Akiene-Tera Reed’s Virginia Commonwealth Rams. Two Tall Ferns, two Harbour representatives, two Westlake Girls high alumni but only one winner.

That one was Zara as Fordham won 62-47, its 12^thstraight victory, to claim its second ever Atlantic 10 Conference Championship on Monday morning (NZ time). 

Fordham shortened its rotation in the final only using six players but three were from New Zealand. In addition to Zara who scored with her only shot and also pulled down a pair of rebounds, Waikato’s Kendell Heremaia logged 38 minutes for 6 points and 4 rebounds and Cantabrian Mary Goulding was outstanding scoring 19 points and adding 3 rebounds and a game high 4 steals.

Tera, VCU’s leading scorer (averaging 12.5 points per game), was well marshalled by the Fordham defence - the 2018 Tall Fern restricted to 4 points and 3 rebounds.

Chanel Brodeur-Muir and St Thomas Aquinas Spartans are off to the NCAA Women’s Division II Championship where they will meet Le Moyne University. Despite losing 79-73 to LIU Post in the East Coast Conference semi-final the Spartans had put together an impressive 26-4 record this season and as a result received an at large invitation to the Division II Big Dance.

Charlotte Armstrong had 4 points and 5 rebounds as eighth seeded Barry University Buccaneers bowed out to top-seeded Florida Southern in the quarter-finals of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament last week.

The Bucs finished the season with a 10-19 record. Charlotte had a successful second season with Barry, particularly the second half of the campaign. The sophomore forward totaled 84 rebounds in 23 appearances and also scored 54 points.

Keeley Tini and Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons are headed to the NJCAA (Junior College) National Tournament in Texas. They take on Western Nebraska in the firat round next Monday.