Bengaluru: The Indian women’s basketball team has begun its 39th William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament campaign with a 52-75 loss to New Zealand.
The Indian women, seeking valuable exposure before the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup later this month, were hoping for a positive start.
But their opponents, the ‘Tall Ferns’ raced to a 9 point lead at the first quarter, and extended it to 16 points by half time.
The New Zealanders were led by Micaela Cocks with 21 points, supported by Chevannah Paalvast and Jillian Harmon who dropped 15 and 11 points respectively.
The ‘Tall Ferns’ lived up to their moniker, out- rebounding the Indian team 43-31.
In contrast, the Indian women shot 42 percent from the field, and will definitely look to improve from beyond the arc (6/21) and the free throw line (2/7).
Next up, the Indian women play Japan on July 6.
—PTI