Basketball New Zealand

Basketball New Zealand

The New Zealand men’s and women’s teams remained winless at the Australia Under-18 National Championships in Ballarat, Victoria, on Tuesday.

Both teams suffered their fourth straight losses by way of 20-plus point results at the hands of front-runners South Australia Metro.

Led by a monster 24-point and 14-rebound double-double from Mesha Blair, the Kiwi women led 23-17 after the first period, before being out-scored 57-28 through the middle stages and eventually going down 99-70.

Hannah Mackay provided 17 points, six rebounds and three steals, Jasmine Davis five points, six rebounds and eight assists, Natasha Hall eight points and eight rebounds and Awhina Karawana seven points, six rebounds and three assists.

The women get their best chance for a win in their last two pool play games, against West Australia Country (1-4) on Wednesday and Tasmania (0-4) on Thursday.

Tom Rowe was the only Kiwi male to score in double digits, with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, in their 74-50 loss.

The first and fourth quarters killed the Kiwi men, dropping behind by 10 points after a 22-12 first and then being finished off with a 20-8 final period. James Holland added nine points and three assists, while Manu Telefoni put up six points, six rebounds and five assists, Ethan Rusbatch eight points and seven rebounds and Jacob Ashby six points and nine rebounds.

NZ sit out round five on Wednesday before a double-header on Thursday against fellow strugglers WA Country (0-3) and Tasmania (1-2).

With semifinals now out of the question, both teams will be attempting to push as high as possible in general classification playoffs, with the tournament concluding on Saturday.

The Australia Under-16 National Championships begin in Kalamunda, West Australia, on Saturday, with New Zealand represented by both men’s and women’s teams.