LACEY LOWDOWN

A double double from Jillian Harmon not enough for Tall Ferns

The Tall Ferns lost their decisive Olympic Qualifying tie against Cuba in agonising and slightly controversial fashion overnight in Nantes going down 64-62. The Ferns exit the tournament having also lost their other pool game 70-52 to France the night before.

The scores were tied 62 apiece when a rebounding foul was called on Micaela Cocks sending Cuban captain Cepeda to the foul line to make the winning free throws with just 1.2 seconds left on the clock.

New Zealand coach Kennedy Kereama felt it was a harsh way to lose, “It’s not a nice way to lose a game on a foul shooting situation when both teams are in the bonus. For us it’s a tough way to go. At the end of the day there had to be a winner and a loser and unfortunately we were on the wrong end of the result.”

Forward Jillian Harmon gave a herculean performance recording 25 points (9/17FG) and 14 rebounds. She scored 21 points in the second half as the Tall Ferns fought back from a 48-39 three-quarter time deficit.

Kalani Purcell and Micaela Cocks scored 9 points each, Toni Edmondson had 8 but collectively the three only shot 7 from 24 on the night.

Just 18 hours after going down to France Chevannah Paalvast opened the Tall Ferns scoring but a sluggish first quarter ended with Cuba ahead 14-10.

New Zealand began the second quarter equally slowly prompting coach Kereama to call an early timeout with his team trailing 18-10. Penina Davidson and Harmon responded with baskets but Cuba moved ahead 26-16 at the mid point of the period. Purcell and Davidson made a couple of valuable baskets but the Tall Ferns headed to the locker room 32-24 behind reflecting on a 32% (10/31) shooting effort and ice cold 0 from 9 three point shooting.

The Tall Ferns playing with much more urgency had a 5-0 run courtesy of Cocks and a Purcell triple. When Harmon made an and 1 play the Cuban lead was cut to just three points, 37-34. The momentum then swung to Cuba who reeled off a 6-0 run of their own and it took a buzzer beating three from Edmondson to keep the Kiwis in the hunt at the final break, 48-39 down.

Points from Purcell and Cocks reduced the lead to 48-43 but a harsh unsportsman like foul called on Davidson handed Cuba their first points of the quarter.

Harmon was carrying the offensive load for the Kiwis with 7 consecutive points and Purcell helped reduce the lead to 58-53 with less than 4 minutes to play.

Harmon made another four points from the foul line but the Kiwis still trailed 62-59 inside the last 30 seconds only for Micaela Cocks to knock down a three with thirteen seconds to play.

The foul call and winning Cuban free throws ensued, the Tall Ferns without time to get off a shot in the 1.2 seconds that followed.

Kereama lamented his team’s slow start to the game.

“It is totally disappointing not to come away with a win. It’s pretty obvious to those that watched the game we were severely flat to start the game, we lacked energy. We invested a lot of emotional energy in the game the night before (against France) and had a very short turn around and recovery. We did everything we could to be ready to play but unfortunately it took us some time to get going. Once we managed to get going I feel like we ran out of time.”

Jillian Harmon was equally disappointed, “I agree with coach I thought we were pretty flat at the start as I think we had about 15 hours to turn around from last night’s game. We did really well to stay in it but we just ran out of time.”

Final Score:

Cuba 64 – Gelis 16, Casanova 11, Cepada 11

Tall Ferns 62 – Harmon 25pts/14rebs, Purcell 9pts/8rebs, Cocks 9pts/6assists, Davidson 8, Edmondson 7pts/6rebs/6assists, Paalvast 2, Beck 2Agony for Tall

Toni Edmondson top scored against France

The Tall Ferns began its 2016 Olympic Qualifying Tournament campaign with a 70-52 loss against France in Nantes on Tuesday and now face a must win game against Cuba on Wednesday. (1.00am Thursday NZ time).

The Ferns put together a terrific opening half leading 29-27 against the world number four ranked French. Only down 52-46 at the three-quarter time mark, the Tall Ferns eventually ran out of steam losing the final stanza 18-6 in front of a raucous home crowd.

Penina Davidson made a statement on behalf of the Tall Ferns – blocking the first French scoring effort.

She could do nothing about a couple of shots that followed but Micaela Cocks tied the scores at five apiece with a triple and a brace of free throws.

Kalani Purcell scored off an in bounds play to edge the Kiwis ahead 9-8 and when Penina Davidson and Jillian Harmon made back to back baskets to give their team a 13-10 lead France called a timeout.

The Tall Ferns ended an impressive opening quarter with Josie Stockill nailing a pair of free throws to lead 17-16. The commentary team noted, “New Zealand looked impressive.”

France came out with more intent at the start of the second with big centre Isabelle Yacoubou making baskets and garnering offensive rebounds. Edmondson countered with a baseline triple to keep the Kiwis in touch, as did Chevannah Paalvast with a neat basket.

The defensive efforts of the Tall Ferns, both individually and collectively, was impressive and at the other end Stella Beck landed a long three to give the team in black a 29-27 half-time lead.

Davidson with a nice finger roll inside play opened the second half Tall Ferns scoring and Edmondson moved into double figures with a triple and pair of free throws as the scores were tied 40 points each at the mid point of the third.

Back to back baskets from France gave them the biggest lead since the opening moments of the game and coach Kennedy Kereama called a timeout to stall home team momentum.

Paalvast scored a nice back door basket off a Cocks pass and although trailing 52-46 at three-quarter time the Tall Ferns were well in the contest.

Yacoubou (19pts/11rebs) was proving the difference between the teams, her inside presence causing the Tall Ferns major problems and her back to back baskets extended the home advantage to double figures, 56-46.
From there the Tall Ferns offensive effort ground almost to a halt and, it was six minutes into the period before Stockill scored the Kiwi’s first points of the period as a brave challenge fell away, the Ferns going down 70-52.

Tall Ferns coach Kereama congratulated France on an excellent second half but felt his team went away from what was working in the first half.

“France were a lot bigger than us, they pounded it inside, we expected it, we prepared for it but we didn’t execute for 15 minutes of that game which was disappointing. Our focus now turns to Cuba who we believe, if we play as well as we did for 25 minutes and some of this game, we give ourselves a chance.

“We know if we play 40 minutes of basketball we give ourselves a chance against anybody. We know if we carry out our game plan and execute we can compete.”

Toni Edmondson felt French centre Yacoubou was the difference, “She was unstoppable, her offensive rebounding and her presence in there tonight was probably what decided the match.”

“I was really proud of our group for probably two thirds of that game. It was disappointing that we lapsed for about the last couple of minutes of the third quarter and they really stepped on us,” she said.

The Tall Ferns now have a short turn around having to face Cuba in a must win game just 18 hours later.

Final Score:

France 70

Tall Ferns 52 – Edmondson 10pts/6rebs, Paalvast 7, Cocks 6, Purcell 6, Stockill 6, Davidson 6pts/3 blocks, Beck 5, Harmon 4, Rooney 2

13-19 June – Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Nantes, France

Tuesday June 14, v France. 8.30pm local time (6.30am Wednesday NZ time)

Wednesday June 15 v Cuba. 3.00pm local time (1.00am Thursday NZ time)

The Tall Ferns have assembled alongside 12 other nations at the women’s qualifying tournament in Nantes, France: Spain, France, Belarus, Turkey (Europe); Cuba, Argentina, Venezuela (America’s); Cameroon, Nigeria (Africa), China, South Korea (Asia); and New Zealand (Oceania). Only the top five will earn a place in Rio

Micaela Cocks led the Tall Ferns scoring

In the words of New Zealand coach Kennedy Kereama, “The beast was awoken”, as Spain avenged yesterday’s defeat at the hands of the Tall Ferns to win 80-60 in Oviedo on Thursday.

The Tall Ferns started well landing five triples in the opening quarter courtesy of Micaela Cocks (twice), Penina Davidson, Jordan Hunter and Stella Beck to trail by just three points at quarter time, 20-17.

Smarting from their 54-52 defeat at the hands of the Tal Ferns the previous day, world number three ranked Spain made a telling run in the second period to lead 45-29 at half-time.

The third quarter was an even affair, a late Hunter triple keeping the Kiwis in touch, down 66-49 at the last break.

Any thought of another upset were snuffed out in the final period as the Ferns were kept to just 11 points, Spain easing to a twenty points win although Kereama felt the scoreline didn’t do justice to his team’s effort.

“Tonight’s margin was not a true reflection of how close the game was at different stages. I think Spain shot the ball tremendously, making tough contested shots; I don’t know if they will shoot that well again.

“I thought the game was pretty similar to yesterday in terms of our scores, they just made more trips to the foul line and shot a better percentage than we did.

“I am confident that we are performing well and in tune for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the excitement is building for the most important part of our campaign.”

Micaela Cocks led the Kiwi scoring with 18 points and there were good contributions off the bench from Beck and Hunter but the usually reliable Toni Edmondson only managed two points although the Cantabrian did dish a game high 6 assists.

Davidson and Jillian Harmon, the only other Kiwi to score double figures, helped ensure the rebounding count was even and there was good production off the bench from Beck and Hunter as the Tall Ferns gave another good account of themselves in there final game ahead of the Olympic Qualifying tournament next week.

Final Score;

Spain 80

Tall Ferns 60 – Cocks 18, Harmon 10pts/5rebs, Davidson 7/7rebs, Paalvast 6, Hunter 6, Beck 5, Purcell 4, Edmondson 2 + 6 assists, Wallbutton 2

14pts and 10rebs from Jillian Harmon helped Tall Ferns overcome Spain 

The Tall Ferns tore up the form book on Wednesday in Gijon beating Spain, the number three ranked team in the world, 54-52.

This was a significant result for the Kiwis just days out from the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in France next week. It was the type of game, a defensive arm wrestle, that the Ferns need to lock into if they are to enjoy success next week and beyond.

Not blessed with outstanding scorers low scoring contests, keeping teams to 60 points or below is the route to success for this group, a team that possesses a number of lock-down defenders.

France on their home court in Nantes next week will be tough, maybe too tough, but Cuba the next day is now looking more intriguing. The fixture has taken on a completely different picture with not only the success against Spain but also the fact that Cuba were hammered 83-40 by the Spaniards three days ago.

Spain scored the first 5 points of the game but then the Tall Ferns, courtesy of scores from Jillian Harmon, Micaela Cocks, Penina Davidson and Toni Edmondson reeled off 10 straight points to lead 15-9 at quarter time.

Threes from Cocks and Chevannah Paalvast in the second period helped keep the Ferns in the ascendancy at half time leading 27-22.

The forward trio of Davidson, Paalvast and Harmon accumulated 25 rebounds to give the Kiwis parity on the boards and with Paalvast, promoted to the starting five, nailing 6 points in the third period the lead was extended to 43-32 at three-quarter time.

As expected Spain came surging back in the final quarter but a brace of triples from Cocks and Edmondson kept the Ferns in front and although Edmondson fouled out the Tall Ferns held on to take a notable scalp ahead of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in France next week.

The two teams meet again tomorrow, the last game for each team ahead of the OQT.

Naturally Tall Ferns head coach Kennedy Kereama was very satisfied with the performance of his team.

“I am really proud of our efforts today to beat third ranked Spain. It was a true defensive job and all players were locked in and focused for fourty minutes.

“ These moments are pretty special but it only lasts a short time because we have to back up and play them again tomorrow. We need to show that this was no fluke and we can also improve on this game. We need to grind teams down with our defence and keep teams to low scores if we want to compete with the best.

“All the players were great today and its hard to single anyone out, it was a true team effort.”

Final Score;

Spain 52

Tall Ferns 54 – Harmon 14pts/10rebs, Cocks 12, Davidson 9/8, Paalvast 9/8, Edmondson 7, Beck 1, Rooney 1, Purcell 1

Charlotte Whittaker showed composure beyond her years

The second of two games featuring New Zealand Select and China B was played at AUT Sports Centre on Monday night. Once again the Chinese proved too strong for the Select team running out comfortable winners 84-51.

New Zealand added 17 year old Junior Tall Fern Tiarna Clarke to the team that played the first game but used the same starting five of Janet Main, Brooke Blair and the Canterbury Wildcats trio of Ashley Gayle, Shea Crotty and Charlotte Whittaker.

15 year old Whittaker scored the first couple of baskets for NZ Select but they quickly found themselves 15-4 down, coach Jody Cameron calling a timeout after 4 minutes.

Things didn’t improve greatly as the Chinese displayed excellent shooting efficiency converting 12 from 15 shots in the first quarter to lead 29-10.

Gayle made four points at the outset of the second period and Mary Goulding helped the defensive intensity of the Kiwis. Clarke knocked down a jump shot immediately after her introduction but the Kiwis were finding points hard to come by and trailed 50-22 at half-time, Whittaker the best of the Kiwis with 6 points.

In the half China had been damaging from beyond the three point arc connecting with 4 from 5 attempts and shooting an impressive 66% overall.

An attempted dunk from Ashley Gail failed to find the net whilst at the other end China continued to hit from long range extending its lead to 62-26 at the mid point of the third stanza.

Clarke showed a glimpse of her potential with a shimmy to open the lane for a banked floater but getting good looks at the basket remained an issue for the home team trailing 73-36 at three-quarter time.

Shea Crotty sunk three from four three point attempts

Shea Crotty drew applause from the crowd with a pair of long triples and a Fran Edmondson put back gave the Select team some scoring momentum. Edmondson then followed up her own block for a break away layup and Crotty nailed her third three as the Kiwis finished a tough night on a positive note by winning the final period 15-11.

NZ Select coach Jody Cameron was pleased with the effort of her team.

“Our experienced guards really set the tone by playing with great heart and competing on every play. Also our youngsters, we had four teenagers in the team, showed glimpses of their potential.

“I like the concept of the Select team as it gives a wider group of players the experience of playing international basketball and I hope this can be repeated in the future.

“The result has to be put into perspective. We had a group of amateur players playing with two practices before the first game and China had a professional team that had been together for three months. Despite that our team played with a lot of spirit in both games.”

Final Score:

China 84

NZ Select 51 – Gayle 10pts/4rebs/4 steals, Crotty 9, Edmondson 8, Whittaker 8pts/4rebs, Clarke 6, Jodi Hikuroa-Jeffrey 4, Goulding 3pts/6rebs, Main 2pts/4rebs, Terai Sadler 1pt/5rebs

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.