North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Fotu siblings making impact on court
ATHLETICS
Eliza McCartney produced a season’s best performance but narrowly missed a medal in the women’s pole vault final at the world indoor athletics championships. The 21-year-old cleared 4.75m - her best-ever indoor effort - but had to settle for fourth place. McCartney failed with her third attempt at 4.80m, leaving her outside the podium places. The North Harbour Bays athlete set new New Zealand and Oceania indoor records with her 4.75m effort. McCartney will compete at the Commonwealth Games next month.
BASKETBALL
It was a good few weeks for the Fotu household. Gabriella ‘Ella’ Fotu was latest member of the North Shore basketball playing family to make headlines on Sunday. The week before it was brothers Isaac and Daniel in the news, now there is a championship for Ella to celebrate. The junior forward played a prominent role for Hawaii Pacific University Sharks as they clinched the 2018 NCAA Division II PacWest Conference Women’s Tournament Championship. Ella made a couple of critical three point plays as she scored 12 points and added 3 steals in a tight 77-71 win against Point Loma University in the final played in Riverside, California. The Sharks have had a hugely successful season boasting a programme best 26-3 season capped by a second PacWest title in four years. Ella has been at the heart of their success playing all 29 games, averaging 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal per outing. Earlier in the week older brother Isaac was outstanding for the Tall Blacks as they recorded a brace of wins in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and there was more reason to celebrate in the victory against Korea as Dan Fotu came on late in the game to make his Tall Blacks debut. Like Ella, and Isaac (University of Hawaii) before her, 18 year-old Dan will also be heading to the States to further his career embarking on a four year basketball scholarship at St Mary’s College later this year. With youngest sibling Jacob rising through the North Harbour age group ranks the success of the Fotu’s is far from over.
LAWN BOWLS
Mairangi Bay club-mates, Theresa Rogers and Colleen Rice, two of North Harbour’s most promising women’s players, fought out the final in the North Harbour Centre’s one-to-five year singles championship. Rogers, who earlier this season, was runner-up in the senior singles championship, recovered from a big early deficit to pip Rice, last season’s winner, 21-19.