Fifteen New Zealand female athletes will be playing NCAA Division II basketball in 2023-24, which is two more than the 2022-23 season.
Of this group, only the Canterbury and St Andrew’s College pairing of Maddie Morrow and Karereatua Williams are freshmen; having schooled together in Christchurch, they will begin their collegiate careers as Freshmen teammates at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Parehuia Delamere (Young Harris College), Jess Moors (Nova Southeastern University), Brierly Rogers (Wheeling University) Dejaan Schuler (Glenville State College) and the Te Nana-Williams sisters Leata and Sefana at Lincoln University, are all suiting up for their first taste of NCAA Division II basketball – although all have played at least one season of collegiate basketball previously.
Meanwhile Schuler, fellow Waikato native Ella Bradley and the Harbour trio of Hannah Wentworth, Jordyn Maddix and Tessa Talo-Tomokino will be embarking on their senior years.
SENIORS:
Ella Bradley (Senior at University of Texas at Tyler)
Bradley and the Texas at Tyler Patriots made it all the way to the NCAA Division II National Championships Elite Eight last season. Playing 35 games, she averaged 5.8ppg, was second on the team in rebounds and was the leading shot blocker. Prior to Texas at Tyler, she enjoyed two outstanding seasons for Utah State Eastern College Golden Eagles.
Bradley also played alongside Charlisse Leger-Walker on four St Peter’s School national championship winning-teams and multiple Waikato title-winning sides. She also represented New Zealand at the 2017 FIBA Asian Championship in India.
Jordyn Maddix (Senior at Auburn University at Montgomery)
Maddix played junior college basketball at Western Texas College, before the opportunity to play NCAA basketball arose. She played 22 games for Auburn in 2022-23, scoring a season-high 17 points against Alabama Huntsville. She p payed for Westlake Girls High and Harbour Basketball before college, and represented New Zealand at the 2017 FIBA Asian Championship in India.
Dejaan Schuler (Senior at Glenville State College)
The former Waikato rep played two years at Casper College, where in 2021-22 she helped the T Birds reach the NJCAA (Junior College) National Championships. She played the 2022-23 season at Division I school Stetson University. Schuler captained Te Aroha College, Grand Finalists at the 2019 Secondary Schools ‘A’ National Championship.
Tessa Talo-Tomokino (Senior at Northeastern State University)
Talo-Tomokino started 46 of 68 games in her three seasons with the NSU Riverhawks. In 2022-23, she played all 26 games and scored a career-high 20 points against Emporia State. Prior to college, she played for Mt Albert Grammar School and Harbour Basketball, and represented New Zealand at the 2017 FIBA Asian Championship in India alongside Maddix and Bradley.
JUNIORS:
Molly Cockburn (Junior at Chadron State College)
The former Canterbury rep played just 2 games for Chadron State in 2022-23, before suffering a season-ending injury. Prior to Chadron State, Cockburn played two years for Miles Community College Pioneers, where she was elected President of the Miles Community College Student Senate for the 2021-22 academic year.
Parehuia Delamere (Junior at Young Harris College)
Like Maddix, Delamere played 70 games – with 39 starts – over three seasons at Western Texas College prior to joining Young Harris College for the 2023-24 season. The former Harbour Basketball guard averaged 6.4ppg, 4.8rpg and 2.2 steals for the Westerners.
Brierly Rogers (Junior at Wheeling University)
The former Tauranga City Basketball guard played 69 games, with 58 starts, at Weatherford College before transferring to Wheeling for the 2023-24 season. Averaged 9.8ppg, 3.5rpg and 4.1apg for Weatherford in 2022-23. Rogers also represented New Zealand at the 2017 FIBA Asian Championship in India.
Leata Te Nana-Williams (Junior at Lincoln University)
The former St Mary’s College, Ponsonby guard played her freshman season with twin sister Safena at Central Maine CC Mustangs; the Yankee Small College Conference Championship winners. She attended Hutchinson College in 2022-23 but will reunite with Safena once again this season.
Safena Te Nana-Williams (Junior at Lincoln University)
Played her freshman season alongside twin sister Leata at Central Maine CC Mustangs where the pair helped the Mustangs win the 2021-22 Yankee Small College Conference Championship. Last season Safena played 29 games at Midland College in Texas, scoring a season-high 19 points against Odessa College.
Hannah Wentworth (Junior at Eckerd College)
Wentworth played her freshman season at Utah State University Eastern in 2020-21, before transferring to Eckerd College. In 2022-23 she started in 31 of 32 games and set the single season programme record at Eckerd with 99 made threes – tied for fourth in all NCAA Division II Women’s basketball. She scored a career-high 25 points against Angelo State.
Prior to Div II, she played for Orewa College, Rangitoto College and Harbour Basketball.
SOPHOMORES:
Makenzee Boucher (Sophomore at Cameron University, Oklahoma)
After making 22 appearances in freshman year at Midwestern State University, Boucher will suit up in 2023-24 for another Lone Star Conference member – Cameron University in Oklahoma. Boucher is a combo guard out of Westlake Girls High School and Harbour Basketball; she helped Westlake to a fourth place finish at 2019 Secondary Schools National Championships. Her father Dillon Boucher is a former Tall Black.
Savannah Cook (Sophomore at University of Montevallo, Alabama)
Played all 29 games for the Falcons in her freshman season, averaged 5.8ppg with a season-best 15 points against Valdosta State. Out of One Tree Hill College and Auckland age group basketball, Cook played on the Auckland Dream that won the 2023 D-League.
Jess Moors (Sophomore at Nova Southeastern University)
Moors played a season at Colorado State before transferring to Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale for the 2023-24 season. The former Westlake Girls High and Harbour Basketball guard played for New Zealand at the 2019 FIBA U17 Oceania Championships in New Caledonia.
Her brother James graduated from Colorado State in 2023, while younger sister Rebecca has committed to the University of Hawaii for the 2024-25 season.
FRESHMEN:
Maddie Morrow (Freshman at Academy of Art)
Morrow played for Mainland Pouākai in the 2023 Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa and was also a member of Canterbury’s 2023 Aon U19 National Championship-team. She was a member of the New Zealand team that competed at the 2022 FIBA U18 Asian Championship in India, and was named to the Tournament Team at the 2022 Secondary Schools National Championships, with St Andrew’s College finishing as runners-up.
Karereatua Williams (Freshman at Academy of Art)
Williams played for Mainland Pouākai in the 2023 Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa, making three triples in her debut against the Whai. She was named to the Tournament Team at the 2023 U19 National Championship after helping Canterbury to the title, and was also named to the Tournament Team at the 2022 Secondary Schools National Championships where St Andrew’s College finished runners-up.
Williams was also a member of the New Zealand team that competed at the 2022 FIBA U17 World Cup in Hungary.
