Basketball New Zealand

The NZ Tall Ferns succumbed to a three-point barrage in the final quarter to let Korea sneak through for victory in the fifth/sixth playoff at the Good Luck Beijing tournament in China.

Leading 54-43 with 10 minutes remaining, the plucky Kiwis wilted as the Asians unleashed their vaunted long distance arsenal and swept to a 70-67 win.

New Zealand seemed to hold the upper hand through most of the encounter, rattling off seven unanswered points just before halftime for a 32-28 margin at the break and stretching their advantage further when Suzie Bates and Angela Marino struck from the arc in quick succession midway through the third period.

But their lead quickly evaporated as Yeon Ha Beon and Jung Eun Park found their range and sparked Korea to a 12-point outburst that seized control of the contest.

“That’s what they’re good at - they’re a great three-point shooting team - and we knew it would happen,” conceded NZ coach Mike McHugh.

“We played pretty good defence the whole game - we kept them to 28 points in the first half, then they scored 27 in the final quarter.

“We are just not experienced enough yet to respond appropriately when they put pressure on us. At this level, it’s a game of centimetres - a missed box out here and a missed free throw there - and we just can’t afford to give top-10 teams those sorts of opportunity.”

The Ferns were still within two points with 25 seconds left, but had to foul for possession and could not take advantage of Korea’s shakiness at the line.

Newcomer Jillian Harmon led all scorers with 20 points (10/17 FG) and six rebounds before fouling out in the final seconds. Forward Lisa Wallbutton compiled a double double of 14 points (5/11 FG, 1/1 3pt, 1/5 FT) and 13 rebounds.

The Kiwis enjoyed a rebounding edge over their rivals, including 17 offiensive boards, but again did themselves no favours by committing 23 turnovers.

New Zealand finished the official Olympic basketball test event with just one success - the historic first-ever win over Australia - but can take heart that their preparation is on track for the Games proper in August.

“I’m very impressed with what we have done this week,” said McHugh. “We lost a couple of games by less than two baskets and beat the world champions.

“We came over here with a team that hadn’t played at this level before and the experience has been of tremendous benefit to us. It would have been nice to cap it off with a win over Korea.”

Good Luck Beijing

Beijing China
Saturday, April 26
Fifth/sixth playoff
Korea 70 (Beon 13, Park 12) NZ Tall Ferns 67 (Harmon 20, Wallbutton 14, Marino 10)
Q 17-18
HT 28-32 (11-14)
3Q 43-54 (15-22)
FT 70-67 (27-13)
Live Scoring