POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
New Zealand - Guam 92:27
New Zealand opened their Oceania championship campaign today. They faced Guam in the opener and rallied to a resounding 65-point victory. Guam entered the game having one win in store but could not match a fierce New Zealand team. Kiwis came up with 11 steals in the starting frame forcing their opponents to 14 turnovers at the same time. Guam scored only 5 points in the first frame and appeared trailing by 21 points at the first intermission. Things got little better for Guam in the second frame. New Zealand team got sloppy committing 8 turnovers on their own and scoring only 12 points in the quarter. It did not help Guam though. The gap grew at 25 points at halftime. New Zealand did not waste too much time after the major break before dismantling Guam. The Kiwis fired 28 points in the third stanza to accumulate an insurmountable 48-point buffer after three quarters of action. New Zealand sealed the deal in the fourth quarter celebrating a confident victory at the end.
Natalie Moore and Zoe Kensington stepped up with 15 points apiece for New Zealand. Miriam Slatter had 14 points and 7 boards for the winning team. Ritalynn Anderson responded with 10 points for Guam. Derin Santos notched 8 points in the losing effort.
New Zealand: Natalie Moore 15, Zoe Kensington 15, Miriam Slatter 14
Guam: Ritalynn Anderson 10, Derin Santos 8
CNMI - New Caledonia 48:85
New Caledonia celebrated the first win at the Oceania championship in Saipan. They defeated the hosts today to climb at 1-1 record. Northern Mariana Islands slipped at 0-2 record at the bottom of the ladder.
New Caledonia used an aggressive first half to pile up a decisive lead in this one. The hosts shot just 2/18 from the field in the opening frame to account for only 4 points. New Caledonia capitalized taking a 13:4 lead into the second period. New Caledonia overcame 11 turnovers in the second period to stretch the lead to as many as 24 points at the interval. Northern Mariana Islands gained the tempo in the third frame. They fired 20 points but New Caledonia matched the effort. They maintained the lead and entered the fourth period ahead by 27 points. The home team had little chance of threatening the margin. New Caledonia poured in 26 points and finalized a comfortable victory at the end. Vahiana Fuller nailed 17 points and pulled down 10 boards to pace New Caledonia. Yolaine Koteureu had 15 points, 10 boards and 2 assists, while Myriam Fenuafanote topscored with 21 points for the winners. Li'Amwar Ramgamar responded with 13 points and 6 steals for Northern Mariana Islands. Concepcion Camacho knocked down 12 points in defeat.
CNMI: Li'Amwar Ramgamar 13, Concepcion Camacho 12
New Caledonia: Myriam Fenuafanote 21, Vahiana Fuller 17+10 boards, Yolaine Koteureu 15+10 boards
