SHENZHEN (China) - New Zealand picked themselves up and let out all their frustrations by beating Indonesia, 75-45, to enter the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2025 win column, Tuesday at the Shenzhen Sports Center.
Still stung by that 78-76 heartbreaker at the hands of Park Jisu and Korea some 24 hours ago, the Tall Ferns ensured that none of that won't happen again by taking control early - and playing consistently all the way.
Another nip-and-tuck affair was thought to take place when Timnas tied things up at 14-all, but the crew unloaded an 11-0 run abridging the first and second quarters toward a 25-14 lead with 8:58 on the clock.
And that rally proved to be the difference as New Zealand stayed ahead since, relying on their hot shooting from deep to widen the gap to 20 for the first time, 48-28, during the third canto to break away for good.
The Tall Ferns would eventually hike their card to 1-1 in Group A following the big win, which should serve as a solid morale-booster as they face reigning champions China tomorrow, Wednesday, July 16, at 19:30 local time.
"It was a very physical game; super important for both teams ... Very proud of our girls for fighting for 40 minutes, and getting a great win for New Zealand," offered head coach Natalie Hurst.
Esra McGoldrick top-scored for the victors with 18 points and 6 rebounds, while Rebecca Pizzey registered a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds as the two spearheaded the balanced attack.
All 11 players scored in the rout, with Emilia Shearer and Charlotte Whittaker finishing with 8 points apiece as the tandem played crucial roles in the aforementioned run to put themselves in the lead permanently.
After Ayu Sriartha knotted the game up, Bailey Flavell responded with a jumper before Whittaker knocked down a triple, then came Shearer with a perfect trip to the line to end the first in their favor, 21-14.
Pizzey then opened the second chapter with an underbasket stab. Shearer followed it up with a wide-open jumper from the baseline to push their lead to 11, and the game would never be in question from that point on.
"Very physical game. Just glad we actually stayed together throughout, and pulled it away towards the end," said the 25-year-old McGoldrick, who hit three of New Zealand's 15 three-pointers in the victory.
The Tall Ferns as a whole dished 23 assists but it was their dominance on the boards that spelled much of the difference as they hauled down a total of 62 rebounds - a far cry from their foes' 36.
Kim Pierre-Louis was the only player in double digits for Indonesia with 11 points in the loss, which kept them winless with a 0-2 card, thus making their meeting versus Korea tomorrow at 16:30 local time so important.
FIBA