New Zealand U17 women topple Samoa in opening match of Under 17 FIBA Oceania Championship

Tasiaelasilelagi Stowers

The National Under 17 Women opened their FIBA Under 17 Oceania Championship account with a 93-35 over Samoa at L'Arne du Sud this afternoon. The first three minutes of the opening quarter was slow, with both sides struggling to put the ball in the basket. The game was tied at four-all before the Kiwis went on a 9-0 run to push their lead out close to double-digits. A free-throw to Samoa's Tasiaelasilelagi Stowers (165-G-02) broke her side's two-minute scoring drought, but this did not stop the onslaught from the women in white. New Zealand scored 12 more points before the period's end and led Samoa 27-10 at the end of the first. The second quarter saw the Kiwis focus on their ball movement, with several easy twos coming from the extra pass. Head Coach Hernando Planells gave all twelve of his players game time in the opening 20 minutes, with only two players not registering points in that time. Forward Ashlee Strawbridge had her hand in everything, finishing the half with six points, five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Her presence, along with teammates Arielle and Olivia Williams guided their team to a 55-22 advantage at the break. A sturdier defensive effort from the Samoans after the interval kept their opposites in check for the majority of the period. The Kiwis shooting was below par in the third quarter, only mustering 37% on the 17 shots attempted. For all the good Samoa were doing to protect their basket, it didn't translate to points at the other end of the court. New Zealand also struggled to convert on their open looks but similarly to their foes got to work on their side of the halfway. They went on to win the quarter 16-11. The final period was all one-way traffic for Samoa, as the Kiwis laid on a further 22 points and only gave up an elbow jumper to forward Shaylee Coulter-Faamafu. The dominant defensive display from Planell's side will give the coach added confidence going into Wednesday's clash with reigning champions Australia, who earlier beat Guam 144-9. New Zealand plays Guam tomorrow morning at 10am, where they will look to build on their production from today's clash and bank a second-successive win in the championship.
Courtesy of: nz.basketball