The Opals have given themselves a shot at a fifth successive Olympic Games medal, booking their tickets to London next year by beating New Zealand in their qualifying series.
Australia's 92-73 victory in Brisbane on Friday night put it 2-0 up in the best-of-three Oceania championship series and ensured direct qualification for London.
The Opals, silver medallists at the past three Olympics, had won game one in Melbourne on Wednesday night.
Bench tall Elyse Penaluna starred along with giant centre Suzy Batkovic, as the Tall Ferns struggled to cope with their size and power in the paint.
Batkovic top-scored with 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds after a similar starring role in game one, while Penaluna poured in 11 of her 17 points in a third quarter burst which swung the match the Opals' way.
Guard Micaela Cocks and forward Natalie Taylor top-scored for New Zealand with 17 points apiece.
The Opals ambushed the Tall Ferns with their size advantage in the first quarter, taking a 14-point lead to the first break as Batkovic and Abby Bishop dominated early at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.
Despite New Zealand pulling them back in the second quarter, it always looked a retractable lead the Opals were capable of stretching once they found another gear.
That they did late in the third quarter.
Australia pushed its lead out to 14 again by the final break as Penaluna lit up, hammering home once more the Opals' size advantage and depth.
Opals coach Carrie Graf paid tribute to a squad without its WNBA stars and key injured players being able to get the job done.
"It was ultimately about finding ways to win, so credit to this particular team of Opals to do their job as part of our Olympic campaign, to make sure we're qualified and going to London," she said.
"I thought our containment defence at time was lacking, our ability to make two-foot shots was a problem.
"There's still a lot of things for us to tidy up."
Graf said she was likely to experiment in game three at the Sydney Entertainment Centre now it was effectively a dead rubber.
Game three in the Oceania series will be played in Sydney on Sunday.
New Zealand coach Kennedy Kereama hopes his side can now gain the required funding from Kiwi authorities to compete at next year's repechage tournament, as well as some good quality lead-up games.
The top five sides from the 12-team tournament - which will also feature teams from Europe, Africa, South and Central America who have not qualified directly - will win inclusion for London.
AAP
Tags: basketball, sport, brisbane-4000, qld, australia, new-zealand First posted September 09, 2011 19:31:20
No comments:
Post a Comment