We begin this week’s roundup by wishing Penina Davidson and the Melbourne Boomers all the best for their Australian WNBL Elimination Semi-Final against Canberra Capitals on Wednesday.

Win that and the Boomers move on to face the loser of the Qualifying Semi-Final between Townsville Fire and Southside Flyers on Friday – 9.00pm (NZ Time).

The Grand Final is set down for Sunday December 20 at 4.30pm (NZ time). You can view all three games on FIBA YouTube.

In college basketball Dan Fotu put together his first college double-double for St Mary’s University Gaels.  The Tall Black forward posted 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 96-61 win against San Jose State.

Sam Mennenga helped Davidson College to an easy 77-45 win against Georgia Southern University. The 2019 U19 National’s MVP posted 7 points, 4 rebounds and a block.

Great to report that another former U19 rep James Moors has debuted for Colorado State University. In just his second game for CSU James scored 12 points on 5 from 6 shooting as the Rams obliterated Northern Arizona. The Rams only led by three at half-time but dominated the second half to win 91-52.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt and South Dakota will be thankful to get a win on the board after five straight losses. Kruz didn’t score but he did contribute 4 assists and 3 rebounds as the Yotes defeated South Dakota State 91-78.

University of St Francis made it three straight wins in getting the better of Missouri Baptist, 82-75. Reihana Maxwell-Topia was again busy for the Fighting Saints filling the stats line with 2 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists and a steal.

Another former Rosmini College and Harbour forward got his season off to a good start. Dallas Baptist University big man Will Heather had a productive game as DBU secured the double over Angelo State winning 93-86. Will finished with 16 points (5/9FG, 4/4FT), 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks.

Tayla Dalton tallied 11 points (3/7 3PG) but it didn’t prevent St Mary’s College, California falling to a fourth straight loss, going down 90-71 at Fresno State.

Tayla’s former Harbour teammate, also a freshman, Emme Shearer scored 13 points (5/8FG) and racked up 5 steals as Portland University Pilots had little trouble navigating past Northwest winning 93-54.

It was a different story 48 hours later as Portland were defeated by Washington University. Washington recovered from the defeat against Washington State to win 83-56 – Emme scored 7 points in that one on 3 from 5 shooting.

Congratulations to former Harbour and Westlake wing Matt Freeman who has signed his first professional contract. Having graduated from the University of Santa Barbara earlier in the year Matt has linked up with German Second Division side Trier Gladiators. The Gladiators sit mid-table on the ProA Standings with a 2-3 record early in the season.

Still with the professional game Isaac Fotu scored 10 points for Venezia but the Italian club came up just short at Brescia going down 71-69 in Serie A.