LACEY LOWDOWN

Jillian Harmon 22 points for Tall Ferns v Latvia

The Tall Ferns have got the European leg of their Olympic Qualifying Tournament build up off to a perfect start with a 70-64 overtime victory against Latvia in Riga on Friday.

It was a tight contest throughout with no more than four points separating the two teams at the end of each period. The Tall Ferns led 28-24 at half-time and despite moving out to a 37-26 advantage were pegged back in the later stages of the third and trailed 42-41 at the three-quarter mark. A tight final period saw the scores locked at 56 apiece before the Kiwis bossed the additional five minutes (14-8) to take the game.

Despite only being with the team 48 hours coach Kereama gave a start to Jillian Harmon and the move paid off in stunning fashion as the power forward produced a game high 22 points. Harmon is coming off an outstanding season in the Italian League where she averaged 19 points a game for regular season champions Le Mura Lucca and her performance delighted the coach.

“I was really happy with how both Jillian and Josie Stockill (2pts/4rebounds) have slotted into the group and for Jill to score 22 in her first game back adds some much needed scoring punch for us,” said Kereama.

“It is also worth mentioning how big Micaela Cocks (19 points) was down the stretch, nailing some big perimeter shots for us. Her team mates did a very good job of finding her and part of that was because we hurt them in the paint with our Penina (Davidson) and Jillian combo”

Davidson amassed 14 points and 10 rebounds whilst guard Toni Edmondson chipped in with 10 points, her fifth consecutive double-digit contribution of the tour.

The Tall Ferns edged the rebounding contest 45-40 and despite shooting only 36% (24/66) from the field recorded a significant win against the 17^th ranked nation in the world (NZ ranked 22^nd).

It was a victory that understandably pleased Kereama.

“Defence set the tone for us today as we kept them under 65 points in overtime. That is very good for us and if we want to be a contender at our major event we need to be able to lock teams down and generate easy scores from our defence.

“Again this is a step in the right direction for us and we need to continue to build on this. We play them again tomorrow and I am sure they will be ready for some of the defensive things we throw at them.”

Final score:

Latvia 64

Tall Ferns 70 – Harmon 22, Cocks 19pts/6rebs, Davidson 14pts/10rebs, Edmondson 10, Purcell 3, Stockill 2

Brooke Blair debuted for the Tall Ferns alongside Katelin Noyer in China

The Tall Ferns basketball squad has been reduced to 14 players ahead of the European leg of their current tour.

Understandably head Coach Kennedy Kereama has opted for experience as the team builds towards the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in France next month.

As such the players that made their international debuts in China, Brooke Blair and Katelin Noyer, have been released from the squad.

“It was tough having to make selections and leaving both Katelin and Brooke behind as we move on to the next part of our journey, said Kereama.

“They have both been great and it’s always tough to leave someone out when they haven’t put a foot wrong,” he added.

18 year old Noyer graduated from Westlake Girls High School in 2015 and will be heading for Fresno State University on a four year basketball scholarship next month. Noyer departs at the end of June, to begin her studies at summer school and also embark on training with the Bulldogs.

The 6’4’’ centre has played the majority of her representative basketball for Waitakere and during the past two years has played for the Waitakere Lady Rangers in the national Women’s Basketball Championships (WBC).

Brooke Blair is towards the other end of her collegiate career.

Blair attended Rangitoto College, played representative basketball for North Harbour age group teams and Harbour Breeze, and has spent the last 3 years in the States. She spent two years at Northeastern Junior College, Colorado before moving on to Idaho State University. The 21 year old guard started in all 33 games for the Bengals averaging 12 points per game in the 2015-16 season.

Blair will spend a little time with her family on the North Shore before returning to the States. Beyond that professional basketball in Australia is a possibility.

Blair is seen as a point guard at international level, a position she occupies for Idaho State, but currently she sits behind the experienced trio of Micaela Cocks, Erin Rooney and Jordan Hunter in the Tall Ferns pecking order.

At 6’4” Noyer is one of the taller players on the Tall Ferns radar but her lack of experience counts against her at present with the likes of Penina Davidson, Jillian Harmon, Lisa Wallbutton, Jess Bygate, and Josie Stockill all preferred options. In addition Cantabrian Tessa Boagni, unavailable for the current campaign, will likely come back into the reckoning in future seasons.

Both players will feature in the New Zealand Select team to play China B in Auckland over Queens Birthday Weekend.

The remaining 14 players in the Tall Ferns squad are:

• Micaela Cocks, aged 30, from North Harbour, plays for Townsville Fire
• Antonia Edmondson, 28, Canterbury – Perth Lynx
• Kalani Purcell, 21, Counties Manukau – Brigham Young University-Provo
• Erin Rooney, 25, Canterbury – Cote D’Opale Basket Calais, France
• Lisa Wallbutton, 30, North Harbour – Perth Redbacks
• Jessica Bygate, 24, Nelson – Adelaide Lightning/Sunbury Jets
• Chevannah Paalvast, 24, Waitakere – Townsville Fire
• Jordan Hunter, 25, Counties Manukau – Lady Hawks
• Deena Franklin, 21, North Harbour – Waitakere Lady Rangers
• Krystal Leger-Walker, 18, Waikato – Waikato Wizards
• Josie Stockill, 22, Hawkes Bay – Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
• Jillian Harmon, 29, New York – Le Mura Lucca, Italy
• Stella Beck, 20, Hutt Valley – Saint Mary’s College, California
• Penina Davidson, 20, Waitakere, University of California, Berkley

Penina Davidson top scored for Tall Ferns

After a ten points defeat to Montenegro earlier in the week at the Four Nations Tournament in Xilinhot, China, the Tall Ferns were able to turn the tables on their European opponents winning 79-76 on Friday night.

The Tall Ferns trailed 39-31 at half time and were still in arrears 54-50 with ten minutes to play. However a strong closing quarter (29-22) took the Kiwis to their second victory at the tournament.

The forward duo of Penina Davidson and Kalani Purcell were outstanding for the Ferns. Davidson led the scoring effort with 17 points (6/10 FG) and also snared 8 rebounds. Purcell continued her strong form with a double double of 16 points and 13 rebounds as well as dishing 5 assists.

Guards Micaela Cocks (16 points) and Toni Edmondson (11 points) were also prominent in a fine team effort that pleased coach Kennedy Kereama.

“Tonight was a game of runs and we made a number of them. What was pleasing was our resilience and poise down the stretch. We were defensively good and smart enough to go at the right players in the final quarter. Our penetration in the half court and fast break basketball was as good as it has ever been and we have to build on this.”

The Tall Ferns won the rebounding count 42-26 but still gave up 21 turnovers, an area that worries Kereama, “There are still concerns with our turnover rate but we did improve on our last game.”

Collectively the team was solid at the free throw line converting 23 from 29 attempts and had multiple scorers. “We had a spread of contributors at both ends of the court and have built a solid platform for our game against the Czech Republic. A win would give us a chance of second place at the tournament,” said Kereama.Final Score;

Montenegro 76

Tall Ferns 79 – Davidson 17, Purcell 16, Cocks 16, Edmondson 11, Beck 7, Paalvast 5, Hunter 4, Bygate 2, Wallbutton 1

The Tall Ferns final game in China is on Saturday against Czech Republic (7.30pm local time/11.30pm NZ time).

Jillian Harmon averaged 18.9 ppg for Le Mura Lucca

Tall Fern Jillian Harmon was at her consistent best for Le Mura Lucca against Familia Schio in the SerieA Italian League Championship Final series.

Having won the regular season title Lucca were optimistic they could add the Championship to their trophy cabinet but disappointingly found themselves swept by the defending champions.

Schio won the best of five series 3-0 to claim a fourth consecutive Italian title.

In game one on Monday Lucca mounted an extraordinary fight back only to fall to defeat in the final seconds of the game.

The home supporters were silenced as Familia Schio built what appeared to be an unassailable 51-37 three-quarter time advantage. However what unfolded was a remarkable comeback as Lucca, in front of a virtual full house at PalaTagliate, embarked on a remarkable 19-4 run to lead 56-55 inside the final minute.

Unfortunately the fairytale ending did not materialise as veteran forward Lara Macchi made the important final score in the closing seconds to carry Schio to a crucial first up victory.

Harmon made 12 points and snared 7 rebounds in the opener.

Familia Schio bossed the second encounter from start to finish winning 78-54. Tall Fern Jillian Harmon was tireless with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists but could do little to stem the tide in favour of the home team.

On Sunday the third game followed a similar pattern to game two with Scio bossing the boards (42-30) and easing to a 76-55 win. Once again Harmon was prominent with a double double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Harmon has had a terrific season amassing 624 points during the 33 game season and leading Lucca in scoring averaging 18.9 points per game. Shooting the ball at 51.4% from the field the former Stanford University standout has also averaged 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game.

Harmon will now get a few days rest before linking up with the Tall Ferns later this month for their Olympic Qualifying campaign.