Both Kiwi teams have fallen short on the opening stop of the Trans-Tasman Throwdown in Adelaide.
In the first match-up of the highly anticipated Trans-Tasman Throwdown the 2degrees Tall Ferns going went toe-to-toe with the Seven Consultant Australian Opals.
Early excitement for the 2degrees Tall Ferns began as debutant, Ella Brow, got handed the start by coach Natalie Hurst.
Sharne Robati started proceedings with back-to-back triples to score the Ferns first three points of the evening, before another triple found the bottom of the net from McKenna Dale. The Opals had an answer for each triple, to start the ‘Triple T’ with a bang!
Towards the end of the first stanza, the Opals put their foot on the gas to try to extend their small lead, and got up by five before Coach Hurst took her first timeout, with the score at 19-14 in favour of the home team.
Unfortunately for the Tall Ferns, the Opals continued to push the pace and they would open up a double-digit lead heading into the quarter break, 27-17, despite ten first quarter points from Sharne Robati.
Miela Sowah the leading scorer for the Opals, with a tidy ten points off the bench.
A Steph Reid lay-up in the early stages of the second quarter opened up a 15-point Opals lead, as the Tall Ferns looked to wrestle momentum back their way.
With bodies flying all over the floor and plenty of hustle from the younger Kiwi’s, saw them slowly chip into the deficit. A 10-5 run, the way of the Ferns to close out the quarter saw them reduce to lead to single figures with a big second half effort needed to best the old foe.
Whatever was said by Coach Nat Hurst at the break, did the trick! After McKenna Dale opened up the scoring in the third with another triple, and a pair of Ella Brow free throws, Pahlyss Hokianga scored five straight for the visitors as they cut the lead to five.
Alexandra Fowler would go on a little mini-run of her own for the Australian’s to extend the lead back out to 14, just before Tegan Graham, Ashlee Strawbridge and Ella Brow knocked down triples. Suddenly the 2degrees Tall Ferns were back within four, and that was the margin heading into the final period of play, 61-57 – advantage Opals.
To begin the final period, the Opals looked to extend their lead yet again, as Alexandra Sharp and Courtney Woods dropped back-to-back buckets. However, yet again, the resilient Tall Ferns answered back.听 Bailey Flavell and Tegan Graham drained triples, meant it was just a one possession game.
Much as the nature of this back-and-forth battle, Australia’s sharpshooter, Miela Sowah, drilled a triple knocked down her third and fourth triples of the evening to put the Opals out by double digits with just over three minutes to go.
The Opals would finish with a strong 12-2 run in the last minutes of the quarter, running out 88-70 winners over a valiant Tall Ferns side.
Australian Opals 88 (Sowah 23, Fowler 12, Woods 11) defeat 2degrees Tall Ferns 70 (Robati 19, Hokianga 10, three players 7)
Q1: 27-17
HT: 39-30
Q3: 61-57
FT: 88-70
In the second game of the night saw the men take to the stage.
And what a start it was for the men in black!
Back-to-back and-ones from the experienced heads of Reuben Te Rangi and Shea Ili gave the Tall Blacks the early jump on their Australian counterparts, with a quick six-point lead before Boomers Coach Dean Vickerman called time.
A slight pause in Tall Black scoring as the Boomers found their feet, until captain Reuben Te Rangi dropped five straight for the Kiwi鈥檚.
Dejan Vasilijevic began to put together some nice jumpers, and again cut the Tall Blacks lead, but the experience of the Tall Blacks shone through 鈥� Tohi Smith-Milner with a nice drive to the bucket for two to finish the quarter with Tall Blacks leading 27-23.
As he finished the first, Vasilijevic started the second with a triple, before a Angus Glover bucket gave Australia the lead.
The experienced trio of Ili, Smith-Milner and Te Rangi, once again steadying the ship for the Tall Blacks. The trio combining for a whopping 31 first half points to lead the New Zealanders to a 42-37 lead heading into the halftime break.
A tight start to the second half saw leads chop and change, and ties aplenty. After the initial flurry of third quarter points a fairly non-eventful 3 minute period took place where both sides struggled to tick the scoreboard over before Boomers skipper, Mitch Norton, finally broke the deadlock to give the Australians a one point lead.
DJ Vasilijevic found his stroke again, knocking down a triple to extend the home side鈥檚 lead to six, before Angus Glover tickled the twine from range to give them a 60-51 lead at the end of three.
The Tall Blacks鈥� struggles from the field continued into the fourth quarter. Boomers seven-foot giant, Harry Wessels, with some big buckets on the low block to help extend their lead, ballooning to double digits. NBL1 standout, Elijah Pepper, continued his hot-form drilling a few late triples to bury the Tall Blacks.
A nice flurry of highlights from international debutant, Carlin Davison, pulled it back to 12-points, but the Tall Blacks drop game one, 80-68.
Australian Boomers 80 (Vasilijevic 23, Pepper 16, Glover 10) defeat Tall Blacks 68 (Te Rangi 15, Ili 12, Davison 11)
Q1: 23-27
HT: 37-42
Q3: 60-51
FT: 80-68
听
All four Trans-Tasman Throwdown squads will travel tomorrow to the Sunshine Coast, where games 3 & 4 of the series will be.
听
Wednesday 7th May
Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
Australian Opals 88-70 2degrees Tall Ferns
Australian Boomers 80 – 68 Tall Blacks
Friday 9th May
UniSC Arena, Sunshine Coast
Australian Boomers v Tall Blacks
7:40pm tip off (NZT)
Australian Opals v 2degrees Tall Ferns
9:55pm tip off (NZT)
Sunday 11th May
Globox Arena, Claudelands, Hamilton
Australian Boomers v Tall Blacks
2:10pm tip off (NZT)
Australian Opals v 2degrees Tall Ferns
4:10pm tip off (NZT)
