The Tall Ferns have fallen 47-94 to China in their first game of the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in Xi’an, with the young New Zealand squad putting up a valiant effort versus the second-best team in the world.
It was always going to be a tall task to beat China – the FIBA Women’s World Cup 2022 runners-up, led by FIBA Asia Cup MVP Xu Han – in front of a raucous home crowd. But the Kiwis were not intimidated by the imposing Chinese frontline, attacking their opponents in the paint and being aggressive throughout.
Despite this, New Zealand struggled throughout the game against China’s size and defensive presence; held to just 30.5% shooting from the field – including 2-21 from downtown – and giving up 17 offensive rebounds and 20 turnovers to their opponents. China was led by the towering duo of 6’9” Han (21 points on a perfect 9-9 shooting) and 6’7” Yueru Li’s 16 points & 12 rebounds.
New Zealand was paced by Esra McGoldrick’s 11 points, while Tera Reed added 10 and guards Tayla Dalton & Lauryn Hippolite chipped in with 7 points apiece. The game also marked a trio of Tall Fern debuts, with Lauren Whittaker (4 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) leading the team in rebounds and assists in a starting role, while Sharne Robati & Pahlyss Hokianga earned valuable minutes – Hokianga becoming New Zealand’s youngest ever Tall Fern when she checked into the game in the first quarter.
The game started with back-to-back threes from Han, who went on to score 8 of China’s 11 points to open to the game. McGoldrick helped keep it close in a foul-heavy first period, scoring back-to-back baskets of her own as the Kiwis finished the period down 12-22.
A sweet reverse layup by Reed opened up the scoring in the second, but turnovers were an issue for New Zealand; China’s full-court pressure leading to multiple steals and easy China fastbreak scores. A third foul on Kiwi captain Beck midway through second was cause for concern, as was the scoring outburst from WNBA player Meng Li – who scored 10 in the period and led a 16-0 China run to extend the lead to 36-18.
New Zealand was unable to stop Han, who tallied 17pts on 7-7 shooting in the half – along with 4 huge blocks -to put the home team up 53-22 at the break. McGoldrick was a lone bright spot for the Kiwis with her 8 points on 4-9 shooting, while 18-year-old Whittaker showed flashes of her all-around game.
China embarked on a 13-0 run in the third period; the run broken by a pair of impressive layups by a lightning-quick Dalton. Down by 43 points to start the fourth, the Tall Ferns managed to hold their own in the final quarter; scoring 13 points to China’s 17 as the home team powered to a 94-47 win. Following the game, Tall Ferns Coach Guy Molloy praised the China team for their performance and took a philosophical view to the loss.
““Congratulations to Team China, they’re a very powerful team and it’s a great lesson for us to play against such a good team.”
The Tall Ferns return to action in the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers on Sunday morning, taking on Puerto Rico at 12am NZT for their second of three games. Watch this game live – and free – on TVNZ+.
Stats:
New Zealand 47 – McGoldrick 11 PTS | Reed 10 PTS | Dalton 7 PTS | Hippolite 7 PTS | Whittaker 4 PTS, 6 REB & 5 AST | Beck 4 PTS | Tamilo 4 PTS
China 94 – Han 21 PTS & 6 REB & 4 BLK | Yueru Li 16 PTS & 12 REB | Meng Li 14 PTS | Liwei Yang 12 PTS
Quarter scores: 12-22, 22-53, 34-77, 47-94
Full box score: http://bbnz.link/u9z7w
