You Tang of China controls the ball against Tayla Dalton of New Zealand during the FIBA Women's Asia Cup, Sydney 2023. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Tall Ferns have fallen 47-94 to China in their first game of the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in Xi'an, with the young New Zealand squad putting up a valiant effort against the second-best team in the world.
It was always going to be a tall task to beat China - the FIBA Women's World Cup 2022 runners-up, led by FIBA Asia Cup MVP Xu Han, in front of a raucous home crowd.
But the Kiwis were not intimidated by the imposing Chinese front-line, attacking their opponents in the paint and being aggressive throughout.
Despite this, New Zealand struggled throughout the game against China's size and defensive presence; held to just 30.5% shooting from the field, and giving up 17 offensive rebounds and 20 turnovers to their opponents.
China was led by the towering duo of 6'9" Han (21 points on a perfect 9-9 shooting) and 6'7" Yueru Li's 16 points and 12 rebounds.
New Zealand was paced by Esra McGoldrick's 11 points, while Tera Reed added 10 and guards Tayla Dalton and Lauryn Hippolite chipped in with 7 points each.
The game also marked a trio of Tall Fern debuts, with Lauren Whittaker (4 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists) leading the team in rebounds and assists in a starting role, while Sharne Robati and Pahlyss Hokianga earned valuable minutes.
Hokianga became New Zealand's youngest ever Tall Fern when she checked into the game in the first quarter.
McGoldrick helped keep it close in a foul-heavy first quarter, scoring back-to-back baskets as the Kiwis finished the period down 12-22.
A sweet reverse lay-up by Reed opened up the scoring in the second quarter, but turnovers were an issue for New Zealand; China's full-court pressure leading to multiple steals and easy China fast break scores.
A third foul on Kiwi captain Stella Beck midway through second was cause for concern, as was the scoring outburst from WNBA player Meng Li - who scored 10 in the period and led a 16-0 China run to extend the lead to 36-18.
New Zealand was unable to stop Han, who tallied 17pts on 7-7 shooting in the half to put the home team up 53-22 at the break.
McGoldrick was a lone bright spot for the Kiwis with her 8 points on 4-9 shooting, while 18-year-old Whittaker showed flashes of her all-around game.
China embarked on a 13-0 run in the third period; the run broken by a pair of impressive lay-ups by a lightning-quick Dalton.
Down by 43 points to start the fourth, the Tall Ferns managed to hold their own in the final quarter; scoring 13 points to China's 17 as the home team powered to a 94-47 win.
Following the loss, Tall Ferns Coach Guy Molloy said it was a great lesson to play against such a powerful team.
The Tall Ferns return to action on Sunday morning, taking on Puerto Rico at 12am NZT for their second of three games.