Ferns thump Indonesia
New Zealand's 15 made three-pointers at a 54% clip nearly quadrupled their output from the previous night against South Korea.
Rebecca Pizzey's dominance on both ends enabled her to finish with a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double, while captain Esra McGoldrick top-scored with 18 points and added six rebounds.
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Otago Daily Times
20-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Ferns thump Indonesia
The Tall Ferns thumped Indonesia 75-45 in their second group A game of the Fiba Women's Asia Cup in Shenzhen, China, last night. New Zealand's 15 made three-pointers at a 54% clip nearly quadrupled their output from the previous night against South Korea. Rebecca Pizzey's dominance on both ends enabled her to finish with a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double, while captain Esra McGoldrick top-scored with 18 points and added six rebounds.
RNZ News
19-07-2025
- RNZ News
Basketball: Tall Ferns finish 5th at Asia Cup after gutsy win over Philippines
New Zealand basketballer McKenna Dale in action at the 2025 FIBA Women's Asia Cup. Photo: ADEK BERRY New Zealand has finished fifth at the 2025 FIBA Women's Asia Cup, after posting a 78-71 win over the Philippines in Shenzhen, China. It was a gutsy victory for the Tall Ferns in the topsy-turvey 5th/6th playoff match, with key players Esra McGoldrick, Emme Shearer and McKenna Dale again to the fore. New Zealand started strongly, leading the Philippines by six points at the end of the first quarter, only to have the lead cut to four by the end of the first half. The Philippines then had their best quarter, outscoring the New Zealanders by seven points to take a three-point lead into the final quarter. But New Zealand found another gear just when they needed to, as Shearer and Dales nailed key baskets, to get the team back in front. Their superior rebounding was also a big factor in the comeback, as they dominated the glass, out-rebounding their opponents 66-35, with 31 of the rebounds at the offensive end. McGoldrick, who is also the captain, finished the game with 17 points, seven rebounds, while Shearer had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. Dale contributed strongly as well with 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Coach Natalie Hurst said it had been a period of adjustment for the squad. "We don't really talk about our lead up, but with this particular group, you know, I had a Tall Ferns squad in May, we had four days of practice. We played three games against the Opals, then I get a Tall Ferns squad in July with five people changed. We have three practices and two practice matches and then we come to Asia Cup. "With the new staff, I've had eight practices in total, with two different squads, and we've come out and we've done ourselves proud here at the Asia Cup," she said. Shearer was also happy with the way the group stuck to their processes throughout the game. "I think we grinded out a really tough game. We stayed together really well as a team, and I think the fact we can go through those ups and downs and still find a way to win and kinda like Nat said - the short amount of time we had together, everyone buying in to what we had to do… at the end of the day, that's what helped us be super successful." The squad and coaching staff will turn their attention to World Cup qualification, which will begin next year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
18-07-2025
- RNZ News
Basketball: Tall Ferns out of Asia Cup contention
Esra McGoldrick shoots the ball during the match between New Zealand and Japan at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2025 in Shenzhen. Photo: LU HANXIN A defeat to world number nine Japan saw the New Zealand women's basketball team miss out on a semi-final spot at the 2025 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in Shenzhen, China. New Zealand lost 77-62, despite an encouraging performance in the first half, which saw them in the lead 41-39 at the major break. Captain Esra McGoldrick was a powerhouse during the first half, scoring 17 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. Youngster Bailey Flavell capped off the half in style - hanging in the air for what seemed to last an eternity before flipping up a tough lay-in, just moments before sinking a clutch mid-range runner at the buzzer to give the Tall Ferns a well-earned two-point halftime lead. Japan emerged a different team in the third quarter, as guards Kokoro Tanaka and Noriko Konno took control at the offensive end, while the Tall Ferns struggled to crack some tough defense. Japan ended up outscoring New Zealand 22-8 in the third quarter, and when they went on a 7-0 run to start the final quarter to increase their lead to 19 points, the margin ended up being too big for the Tall Ferns to overhaul. McGoldrick, finishing the game with 28 points and 12 rebounds, continued to battle hard, scoring five straight points to try and spark her teammates, before assisting a McKenna Dale three-pointer that briefly cut the lead to 10. But another Japanese surge halted any hopes of a comeback, as they closed out the game to advance to the semi-final against hosts China. The result left coach Nat Hurst in a reflective mood. "First 20 minutes we're pretty happy with. We wanted to fix a couple of things at halftime and I just think we came out in the third quarter and the game got a little bit away from us. But we were able to get back to what looked like us in the fourth, so happy about the bounce-back. "The fight that the girls show every game, every minute to prep themselves for this, all that kind of stuff… to continue to fight for 40 minutes when things were down, just super proud to head coach this team." New Zealand's final match of the tournament will be against the Philippines later on Saturday, with the winner finishing in fifth in the eight-team event. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
