Feel The Pain
Tagged in: National Teams, Tall Ferns
New Zealand face an uphill battle in their bid for a spot in the Beijing Olympic quarterfinals after falling 62-85 to Spain in the second round of women’s basketball pool games.
The result leaves the Tall Ferns still seeking their vital second win, but now on the back foot in terms of points differential if a countback is required to find the qualifiers.
“We are still a chance,” insisted coach Mike McHugh. “The result wasn’t what we wanted, but more so, the margin was a concern.
“Even if we pull off another win, that margin hurt us. Two wins may not be enough now.”
After losing to hosts China in their opening game, the Spanish, ranked fifth in the world, were clinical in their execution and set their medal hopes back on track with a performance befitting their place among the world’s elite teams.
They got off to a terrific start, rattling off eight straight points in the opening quarter to open up a 16-5 advantage. Spain quickly established an inside dominance and were all over point guard Angela Marino defensively, frustrating the Kiwis’ efforts to initiate their attack.
“We were a little bit intimidated at the start and Spain put tremendous pressure on us, especially Marino,” said McHugh.
Take away their initial hesitancy, though, and the Ferns competed mightily with their highly rated rivals. Trailing 27-40 at halftime, guard Suzie Bates came off the bench to spark an eight-point run midway through the third period as New Zealand closed to within eight.
They were down only 11 early in the final stanza, but conceded the final 10 points of the game as the Spaniards finally edged out of reach.
“I was more disappointed in the finish of the game than the other parts. Our inexperience really cost us.
“A couple of times we got within 6-10 points and made it a winnable game, but then made dumb mistakes. Whilst we can learn from this performance, that doesn’t help us at this particular time.”
Forward Jillian Harmon led all scorers with 22 points (8/12 FG, 6/9 FT), while Bates finished with nine points and five rebounds.
“Jillian was outstanding,” said McHugh. “She has a lot of Donna Wilkins in the way she plays the game and was a handful for the Spanish all day.
“But they took Marino away from us, and we needed someone else to step up and take up the slack.”
Spain scored almost at will in the paint, converting 64% (23/36) inside the arc, and also struck seven times from long distance. Guard Isabel Sanchez provided 19 points (4/7 FG, 2/4 3pt, 9/10 FT), and power forward Anna Montanana 18 points (7/8 FG, 1/1 3pt, 3/3 FT) and seven rebounds.
The Kiwis must now find a way past China on Wednesday if they hope to snatch a spot in the quarterfinals. Although ranked only 10th in the world, the home team won the Olympic test event earlier this year and have quickly shown they will be a force when the medals are decided.
“They’re a team we’ve played a lot lately, we’ve had some close results and we beat them in Athens.”
Beijing Olympics
Monday, August 11
Women
Spain 85 (Isabel Sanchez 19, Anna Montanana 18) New Zealand 62 (Jillian Harmon 22, Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe 10)
Q 18-7
HT 40-27 (22-20)
3Q 60-47 (20-20)
FT 85-62 (25-15)
