Despite the Covid situation taking out some fixtures there is still a feast of collegiate basketball to report on with numerous notable performances from our Harbour athletes.

Whilst his numbers won’t attract headlines the performance of Miami University Hurricanes forward Sam Waardenburg should.

The Hurricanes are fizzing after a ninth straight win beating #2 Duke 74-72 on the road.  A stunning result with Sam tabling 2 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. 

Stats often don’t tell the full story. “Waardenburg has put on a clinic on how to make backdoor passes,” said the ESPN commentary team as Sam demonstrated his high basketball IQ as Miami climbed to the top of the ACCC ladder.

Almost as impressive was Tera Reed and University of Southern California knocking off undefeated Arizona 76-67 in the Pac-12 Conference. USC did have the benefit of home court advantage but it was still a massive win against the #4 ranked opponents.

Tera, like Sam, goes about work in an unobtrusive, dependable manner – she played all 40 minutes in this one accumulating 9 points (2/2FG, 4/4FT), 4 assists and 2 steals with just one turnover.

In West Coast Conference Division I action Portland were defeated 76-65 by Gonzaga but not before Emme Shearerput up a career best 17 points (5/9FG). She also tallied a couple of rebounds and 3 steals in 24 minutes.

Jess Moors had 3 points, 5 rebounds and a block as Colorado State thumped San Jose State 90-64 to move to 2-1 in the Mountain West Conference.

In Division II play Chanel Brodeur-Muir scored 10 points on 5 from 6 shooting as St Thomas Aquinas secured an 86-82 overtime win against Queens. She also had 7 rebounds an assist and a steal.

Nice to see Hannah Wentworth given more minutes at Eckerd College. She scored a season best 11 points (4/7FG) but Eckerd were pipped 56-55 by Florida Southern.

Also making the most of extended minutes was Tessa Talo-Tomokino as Northeastern State secured a 67-57 win against Newman. Tessa finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in 24 minutes as a starter.

In Junior College there were 7 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists for Parehuia Delamere but Western Texas were defeated 66-48 by Odessa.

Keeley Tini has begun 2022 as she finished 2021 – in beast mode! She secured her eighth double-double of the season as Williston State beat Dakota College at Bottineau 67-61, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

In men’s NCAA Division I play Sam Mennenga posted his fifth double-figure score of the season as Davidson College defeated Saint Joseph’s 88-73 for a convincing victory in their Atlantic-10 Conference opener. The former Westlake Boys High forward scored 13 points (5/9FG) and added 4 rebounds and a block. His career points tally moved beyond the 200 mark to stand at 212 from 33 games for Davidson.

Another ex-Westlake standout James Moors pulled down a season best 6 rebounds as Colorado State opened Mountain West Conference play with a 67-59 victory against Air Force. The sophomore forward added 5 points (2/3FG) and an assist as Colorado State reinforced their #20 ranking with an 11^th straight win.

Kruz Perrott-Hunt came up with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists but couldn’t prevent South Dakota losing the rivalry game to South Dakota State 84-65.

In NCAA Division II play Sean Murphy came up with a season best 10 rebounds to accompany 8 points and a block but Nebraska-Kearney fell 77-66 to Central Missouri.

Reihana Maxwell-Topia and St Francis Fighting Saints were too strong for Cardinal Strich winning 84-49. Reihana scored 9 points on 4 from 6 shooting and grabbed a couple of rebounds in the process in NAIA play.

In other news Jack Salt scored his first baskets in the Australian NBL with 10 points for Brisbane Bullets in their 88-83 loss to the Breakers on Sunday.

Another former Harbour and Westlake player Yanni Wetzell was in outstanding form for the Breakers scoring a career high 27 points.