NZ Teams Play For 13th
Tagged in: National Teams
New Zealand’s men and women will both play Northern Territory for 13th at the Basketball Australia U18 Championships on Friday.
The NZ U18 Women fell 73-43 to NSW Metro on the last day of pool play on Thursday in Gawler, South Australia, while the NZ U18 Men, effectively a B team, were outplayed comprehensively 90-33 by unbeaten title favourites Victoria Metro.
Otago’s Samara Gallaher and Palmerston North’s Freya Newton top-scored with 11 points each for the NZ women, who were down 24 points at halftime but rallied in the third and fourth periods to lose the second half by six points.
Gallaher went 4-of-19 from the field and 3-of-5 from the foul-line, while pulling down nine rebounds, three steals and two assists in 28 minutes. Newton went 5-of-8 from the floor, adding three rebounds, two assist and two steals to her stat-line in 27 minutes.
The Kiwis won the rebounding battle 45-40, thanks to 12 rebounds from Palmerston North’s Alicia McEwen and nine from Nelson’s Jess Bygate, but were forced into 36 turnovers and had a field-goal percentage of 27.1. Rotorua’s Hana Tapiata also compiled six points and four steals.
NSW Metro featured four players with NZ links – Ashley Karaitiana, Bayley Ross-Waitai, Sheraton Flood and Rhiaan Tehira, who combined for 37 points and 19 rebounds in the game.
Harbour’s Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson and Thames Valley’s Ihaka Steel were the leading scorers with six points for the cold-shooting NZ men.
The team shot 19.6 percent from the field, 18.9 percent on three-point attempts and 36.4 percent on free-throws, and were also out-rebounded 52-19.
Hohipa-Wilson added five rebounds and Steel three assists, whle Wellington’s Nick Davies also had five points and five boards.
Both NZ teams get their last chances for wins against Northern Territory on Friday night, with the men in a battle of the only winless teams left at the tournament.
Australia U18 Championships
Gawler, South Australia
Men
Victoria Metro 90 New Zealand 33 (Shaquille Hohipa-Wilson 6, Ihaka Steel 6)
Women
NSW Metro 73 New Zealand 43 (Samara Gallaher 11, Freya Newton 11)
