The Tall Ferns finished fourth overall in the Fiba Women's Asia Cup, following a 59-81 loss to home side Australia in the tournament’s bronze-medal game in Sydney yesterday.
Penina Davidson top-scored for the Kiwis with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Charlisse Leger-Walker grabbed 12 points despite battling foul trouble. Esra McGoldrick and Tera Reed added seven apiece, while captain Stella Beck scored four points along with five rebounds.
New Zealand was stymied by the Australian defence, shooting 39% from the field overall (22/56) and hitting a tournament-low three makes from outside the arc on just 15% shooting.
For Australia, Alice Kunek led the Opals with 19 points and five rebounds, one of five players reaching double figures along with Tess Madgen (14), Darcee Garbin (13) Anneli Maley (11) and Keely Froling’s 10.
The Opals capitalised from the Kiwis’ 19 turnovers, converting them into 17 points while also holding 9-0 fast break advantage.
Tall Ferns head coach Guy Molloy said the Tall Ferns, and all of New Zealand, could look back with pride on the Kiwis’ showing in the tournament.
"I’m just really pleased for our programme and for the nation for the fact that we’ve even made it to this point.
‘‘More than anything else it’s a celebration and something we’ve worked very hard to get," Molloy said.
"No matter the results we’ve had playing in these semifinals, playing the top four teams in [Asia] has been a great experience and I’m very proud of the team and very happy to be here."
On Saturday night, the Tall Ferns suffered a 52-88 loss to defending champion Japan in the semifinals.
New Zealand could not halt Japan’s offensive onslaught, as the competition’s best-scoring team hit 14 triples in an impressive shooting display.
Its defence was equally on point, forcing the Tall Ferns into 24 turnovers and stifling numerous drives to the basket by locking down the perimeter and harassing the ball handler.
Leger-Walker led New Zealand with 14 points but struggled from the field, shooting 5/14 overall.
Tahlia Tupaea added 12 points, all in the second half. Davidson was held to just two points on 1/4 shooting.
