LACEY LOWDOWN

China too strong for the Junior Tall Ferns again

Both the Junior Tall Ferns and China were coming off defeats when they met in Weng’an on Tuesday in the penultimate fixture of the Ferns 12 game tour of China.

Unfortunately the Ferns slipped to a third straight loss to the Chinese FIBA Under 17 World Championships bound team 75-67.

Once again the JTF’s were well in the hunt with 10 minutes to play trailing 55-52 but couldn’t find enough scoring punch to snatch a win.

Report from Brent Matehaere (Junior Tall Ferns head coach).

Unfortunately, there will be no repeat of two years ago when the JTF’s beat China; but the games have all been all within 10 points. At no time have we been out of the contests, which is in marked contrast to the previous tours.

The game started out as a low scoring affair with the score at 3 – 2 after 5 minutes of play. China were the first to get their offense going before the JTF’s finally got into their stride finishing the quarter with a flourish ahead 15-14.  The second quarter will be one the JTF’s will not wish to remember as China went on a 16 -2 run in the last 3 minutes of the period.

It was a gap the JTF’s would close to within 3 by the end of the third quarter.  In the fourth quarter baskets were traded throughout but it was the locals who got the bounce of the ball down the stretch and the JTF’s were unable to pull this one out of the bag.

I have been really happy with the focus and heart that these players have shown on this tour.  With only one game remaining we take on the Polish team who beat the Chinese on Monday and ran the USA select team close tonight losing 80-71. Polish coach Rafal Czyszpak will be looking to have his team ready to take us on in the last game in China.

Top scorers were Tiarna Clarke with 16 points (7/13FG) and Nicole Ruske, 13 points (4/7FG) who came off the bench with another strong performance. Ruske and Zara Jillings led the rebounding count with six each.

The game aside, the memories and experiences that the girls have been been exposed to will remain with them forever.  Nothing can quite prepare you for a trip to China.  The amazing hospitality that is shown, the screaming school students as they try to gain your attention during school visits, the food, the interesting aromas that waft up when you least expect it, the amazing facilities we have the chance to play in and the people that fill them each night. How can the girls comprehend that in a town the size of Christchurch we have the local Police as an escort and officers on every intersection to stop traffic for the buses.

It will be tough when they are home to remember to take their plates from the table, make their beds in the morning, clean up their rooms and find their transport from place to place.  I am sure however they are really looking forward to home cooked meals, the comfort of their own beds and a nice crisp autumn morning with the sun warming their faces.

Final Score;

China 75

JTF’s 67 – Clarke 16pts/2rebs/2assists,  Ruske 13/3/3/1stl, Jillings 8/6/1/1stl, Whittaker 6/2/3stls, Diakaby 6/4, Leger-Walker 6/6, Dunn 5, Finnigan 3/1/1stl, Hirwani 2/1/1/2stls, Penese 2/4, Baudry 0/1/1stl

American basketball correspondent Chris Denker has reported that the USA Select and Junior Tall Ferns have interacted really well during the four nations tour of China on http://netscoutsbasketball.com

Denker comments, “the teams have bonded very well with one another off the court throughout the tour and hope to continue those relationships well beyond the tour.”

Following the high of defeating the Poland Under 23 team on Saturday the Junior Tall Ferns were brought back down to earth in their latest game in China.

The Ferns were defeated 65-46 by the USA Select team in Weng’an on Monday.

The first quarter was tight with the Americans holding a slight 11-9 advantage after ten minutes. The Kiwis were very much in the contest approaching half-time but some key lapses allowed USA Select to open up a 30-19 half-time lead.

The third quarter was a killer for the Ferns, the Select team building momentum and heading into the final quarter with a 50-31 lead that was just too much for the Kiwis to recover from.

Once again the JTF’s held their own on the glass (43-49) but it was poor shooting that hurt them hitting just 17 from 55 from the field. The three point shooting was very poor as they made a paltry 2 from 21 attempts.

Southland’s Aliyah Dunn was the best of the Ferns with 11 points whilst Otago’s Nicole Ruske led the rebounding effort with 7 boards.

Report from Brent Matehaere (Junior Tall Ferns head coach).

Unfortunately the Junior Tall Ferns have not been able to take the scalp of the USA team.  When looking at the defensive effort, we could say that one was there for the taking.  It was still a one point ball game with 4 minutes to go in the first half when defensive transition errors let the US convert on lay ups off long rebounds and turn overs.  The JTF’s were really struggling to convert on offense missing wide open looks, shots near the basket and even lay ups.

The team may be feeling the rigors of international travel and will need to pick themselves up for the last two games.

Highlights . . . these are difficult to find when the performance did not match the effort on the floor and the opportunity missed.  Nicole Ruske and Maia Watling gave it everything they had at both ends of the floor and Aliyah Dunn demonstrated the range we know she has with 11 points including a triple from the wing.  Ruske also lead the team in rebounds (7) belying her light frame, boxing out the bigger opponents and getting her hands on the ball.

Final score;

USA Select 65

JTF’s 46 – Dunn 11pts/2rebs, Clarke 9/4/2a, Ruske 4/7/1/1stl, Finnigan 4/2/1, Leger-Walker 4/4/1, Watling 4/3/2, Diakaby 4/6/1stl, Penese 4/3, Hirawani 2/3, Jillings 0/6/1blk/1stl. Baudry 0/2

The Junior Tall Ferns conclude their nine game tour of China with games against China (tonight, Tuesday) and Poland on Wednesday.

Tiarna Clarke one of three JTF’s in double figures

The Junior Tall Ferns recorded a resounding 72-54 win against Poland U23 in Yuqing on Saturday. The Ferns had been threatening a win in earlier games but it was in the second half of this sixth game in seven days that everything fell into place.

New Zealand led 21-18 at quarter time but were pegged back in the second trailing 37-36 at the main break.

The JTF’s ramped up the effort in the second half and completely dominated the Poles to the tune of 36-17.

Coach Brent Matehaere was delighted with his team, “It was an awesome win tonight over the Poland U23 side. The team stuck to the game plan and executed it so well. The score reflects a 36 point turn around from game one against them”.

The Poles were not only older than the teenage Kiwis but also had a considerable height advantage with eight players over six feet. Despite this the JTF’s still won the rebounding count 34-29.

Once again the Ferns were paced by Charlisse Leger-Walker who stuffed the stats line with18pts, 3 rebs, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. The 14 year old also shot the ball well hitting all six free throws and converting 6 from 11 from the field. The Waikato guard was well supported at the offensive end by the Harbour pair of Zara Jillings (15pts) and Tiarna Clarke (11pts).

Eye witness account from Melanie Bennett (Team Manager)

The Junior Tall Ferns ‘Pol’ished the European contingent on the second leg of the Four Nations Tour of China gaining an impressive first win of the tour.

Charlisse Leger-Walker again stepped up to lead the Junior Tall Ferns with 18 points and Zara Jillings and Tiarna Clarke also scored double figures – Jillings shooting an impressive 4/5 (80%) inside the arc.

The key to success was the huge defensive effort putting the Poles under extreme pressure right from tip off.

The JTF’s were in a fight for the first half, up by 3 at the end of the first quarter, and down by 1 at the half.  The third quarter was the turning point, where we outscored them 23-10.  The Poles were forced to take an early time out to try and stop momentum, however the JTF’s came out even stronger and defensively caused the Europeans to turn the ball over, grabbing 11 steals, with a 70% conversion rate down the stretch.

The JTFs have bonded really well off the floor, and it is evident by the heart and passion shown in tonight’s game.  It was like watching rugby players dive on the ground for the loose ball. The girls put their bodies on the line and hustled like their lives depended on it.

The effort and tenacity led by Alyssa Hirawani and Clarke created a domino effect for the rest of the team.  The top rebounders were Charlotte Whittaker, Darcy Finnigan and Katie Diakhaby with 6 each.

Coaches Matehaere and Davidson should be extremely proud of how well the girls adjusted to pre-game scouts and preparation.  The major adjustments were on-ball defense, and full court defense after scores, and tweaking to the offensive sets at training this morning.

The JTFs would like to take this opportunity to thank both Stacey and Summer, our interpreters for Yuqing County.

Final Score;

Poland Under 23’s 54

JTF”s 72 – Leger Walker 18/3rebs/2assists, Jillings 15/1/1a/1^st, Clarke 11/1/1stl, Finnigan 8/6/2st, Whittaker 6/6, Hirawani 4/1/2/4st, Ruske 4/3/2/3st, Diakaby 2/6/1stl, Dunn 2/4, Baudry 2, Penese 0/3.

The team now travels to Weng’an on Sunday to undertake the third and last leg of the Chinese tour. The team and support staff will travel in good spirits but will be hoping to see a little sunshine after battling the smog in Foshan and more recently the cloud shrouded Yuqing.

Junior Tall Ferns captain Zara Jillings with 6’9″ Chinese centre Han XU

Game five on the Junior Tall Ferns tour of China was played in Yuqing on Friday against the host country. The Ferns led 13-11 at the first interval and trailed by just four points, 45-41, at three quarter time. They silenced the local crowd by taking the lead early in the final quarter but couldn’t hang on in the closing minutes losing 68-58 in a highly creditable performance.

Report from Brent Matehaere (Junior Tall Ferns head coach).

To beat China in China, you have to execute down the stretch and take the crowd and any other possible influence on the game out of the equation.

The JTF’s took the lead for the fifth time in the game with just under 6 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The closing minutes became very physical. Bodies were left scattered at the defensive end where rebounding was like trying to hold up the running of the bulls.  On the offensive end going to the basket would have had Genghis Khan thinking twice.

That being said, the team really stood up and the small ball basketball was performed to a very high level.

The JTF’s forced 27 turn overs, 11 in the first quarter, but were unable to consistently convert those into points at the offensive end.  Alyssa Hirawani, Tiarna Clarke, Zara Jillings and Charlisse Leger-Walker were all over the Chinese guards.

Forwards Charlotte Whittaker, Aliyah Dunn and Katie Diakhaby were staunch in their defense against the young female version of Yao Ming, 6’9” Han Xu.  Coola Baudry’s stat line won’t show the great screens and disruptive defense that she performed.  It was an effort worthy of increased minutes and respect.

Charlisse Leger-Walker led all scorers with 14 points and Zara Jillings, despite being off colour and Tiarna Clarke also reached double figures.

The JTF’s will be happier with their shooting percentages from the floor (39%) and the 3 point line (33%) but free throws (7from17) left a lot to be desired and will be a focal point of training in the morning before taking on Poland.  With only four games remaining the learning that is taking place has been immense and the JTF’s will be looking to taste success before returning home.

Final score;

China 68

JTF’s 58 – Leger-Walker 14pts/6rebs/4steals, Clarke 12/2a/3st, Jillings 10/3/4st, Dunn 9/6, Diakaby 6/1, Hirawani 2/3, Penese 2/6/3a, Finnigan 2, Ruske 1/2/2st, Baudry 0/2, Whittaker 0/2blks, Watling 0/1

Charlisse Leger-Walker demonstrated her class against USA Select

The Junior Tall Ferns faced a rematch with the USA Select team on Thursday in Yuqing as the tour of China entered its second phase.

A full day of travel the previous day, plus a welcoming banquet beginning at 10pm, was not ideal preparation for coach Matehaere and his troops but the team gave a good account of themselves.

Game report from Brent Matehaere (Junior Tall Ferns head coach).

In front of a sold out crowd of 2,400 the Junior Tall Fern’s went down 81-63 to USA Select but not without firing a few shots and gaining confidence for the next two games in this city.

Defense and keeping opposition teams under the 70 points mark has been a feature of this team and tonight we let that slip.  The US team came out and shot the ball really from behind the arc knocking down 11 threes.  It was the first time that the US had been a threat from deep and they made us pay for helping down on their quality post players.

North Harbour’s Zara Jillings led the Kiwi’s with 16 points including 4 of 6 from 3-point land.  Waikato guard Charlisse Leger-Walker seemed to have all the time in the world with the ball and was able to demonstrate her creativity with moments of absolute brilliance. She scored 11 points in a game that didn’t finish until 11.15pm.  Forward Katie Diakhaby was really effective in her time on the court using her strength to grab 5 offensive rebounds.

The team fought back in the last 15 minutes of the game closing the gap from being down 26 – 66 and looking like we could be handed a real pasting!  The US team continued to pressure us and we were able to find space and convert.  The other telling factor was the full court pressure that we put on for the whole game started to pay dividends as we created 17 turnovers.

The team will focus on China tomorrow who survived a tight game against Poland tonight.

Rumour has it that the Kiwis edged the dance battle on the bullet train from Foshan the previous day.

Final score;

USA 81

JTF’s 63 – Jillings 16p/2blks, Leger-Walker 11/4rebs/2st, Diakaby 9/7rebs, Clarke 6/5rebs/3a, Finnigan 5/3rebs, Dunn 5/2rebs, Ruske 4/3rebs/3st, Hirawani 3/4rebs/3st, Penese 3/5rebs, Baudry 1/2a