The Tall Ferns have suffered a tough loss in their opening game of the Olympic qualifiers, falling 94-47 to world number two China overnight.
It was always going to be a tough ask for the young New Zealand side to overcome the FIBA World Cup runners-up in front of a raucous home crowd in Xi'an.
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” Xu Han (21 points on a perfect 9-9 shooting) and 6’7” Yueru Li’s 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Esra McGoldrick was the top scorer for New Zealand with 11 points, while Tera Reed added 10 and guards Tayla Dalton & Lauryn Hippolite chipped in with 7 points apiece.
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. WNBA player Meng Li 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 Lauren Whittaker showed flashes of her all-around game.
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+.
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