APIA (Samoa) - Australia win their fourth consecutive FIBA U17 Women's Oceania Cup title over New Zealand while Cook Islands win a historic bronze against hosts Samoa.
The Sapphires came into the Final undefeated in all games of the past three U17 Women's Oceania Cup and were able to keep that streak alive with a 112-59 win over New Zealand.
The victory confirms yet another title for Australia in the competition, making it their fourth in total.
Australia went up ahead on a Sitaya Fagan three-pointer for the first points of the game and never let their foot off the pedal until the final buzzer. A 13-0 run that stretched from the last seconds of the first quarter deep into the second gave the Sapphires a comfortable cushion to cruise along to the win.
All of Australia’s players got on the scoreboard in their title-clinching win with at least one field goal made. Five players scored in double figures, led by Aspen Crase's 16 points. Isabel Smith and Madison Ryan also chipped in 14 points each.
Keija Miringaorangi led New Zealand with 12 points.
"It was great," said Ryan. "It was a hard, fought-out win.
"The girls absolutely killed it."
"We've had heaps of ups and downs, but I think our willingness to stay together the whole time and keep on pushing through has helped us."
"Obviously, I've played before and it’s really good to help the new girls to come in and get a taste of kind of the Australian play," she added of her leadership role. "I think we’ve all just gelled really well."
Samoa has left a lasting impression on Ryan and the team and not only because they stood tall as the champions.
"It's been really cool. The beaches - it’s beautiful. Samoa as a place is wonderful."
Both Australia and New Zealand will be returning to the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2026 in Malaysia.
"We're all from different states," said Ryan of how they'll prepare for the regional competition next year. "We're going to go back to our states, working our [best] off to keep on going and then, hopefully coming back together next year and do Asia and get gold again."
In the game for Bronze, the Cook Islands upset Samoa, 58-54, for their first-ever podium finish in a youth FIBA competition.
Cook Islands had suffered a defeat last time these two teams faced each other almost a week ago, 74-59, in their opening game of the competition where hosts Samoa led from start to finish.
This time around, the script was flipped as the Cook Islands went up ahead early and never looked back. They led by as much as 14 points in the second quarter before Samoa launched a spirited rally. Samoa held Cook Islands scoreless in the last two minutes but there was not enough time left to complete the comeback run.
Aphrodite Piri had a double-double for Cook Islands with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. Dynahia Marsters was close to a double-double as well with 9 points and 9 rebounds in the historic victory for Cook Islands.
"It feels so good," Marsters said of the victory.
"It feels so good to represent our country. Play as a team, have fun, and get the win."
"We played really well at the start. We had a little quiet moment. Then Samoa, they never backed down. We just had to pull ahead through and finish it off."
Samoa's Azaria Maua led all scorers in the game with 15 points and also grabbed 6 rebounds.
Both Cook Islands and Samoa have qualified for the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup Division B 2026 next year in Thailand.
Final Standings at the FIBA U17 Women's Oceania Cup 2026:
1 Australia 2 New Zealand 3 Cook Islands 4 Samoa 5 Fiji 6 Guam
The FIBA U17 Oceania Cup and FIBA U17 Women’s Oceania Cup were hosted by the Samoa National Basketball Association in Apia from December 8 to 13. The event was supported by the Government of Samoa under the Ministry of Sport and Recreation, with the two teams qualifying for the FIBA U18 Asia Cup and FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup 2026.
All games were livestreamed via the FIBA YouTube Channel in collaboration with BluWave Media.
FIBA