Tall Ferns finish William Jones Cup tied for best record

The Tall Ferns have finished tied for the best record at the William Jones Cup, following tonights 75-72 win over Japan.

Their 4-1 record ties them with Japan, who were unbeaten coming in to tonights fixture.

"It was a truly competitive game, a game of good execution for both teams at both ends of the court," head coach Kennedy Kereama said.

That comment is reflected in the stats, as the two sides couldnt be separated at halftime at 37-37.

13 third quarter points for Micaela Cocks helped the Tall Ferns take a hold of the match after the break though, as they pulled out to a nine point lead with a quarter to play.

It was no surprise to see Japan throw everything at them in the final stanza, but the Tall Ferns held firm to close out the three point victory.

"Its always good to have really close games, because going into the World Cup Qualifiers (Asia Cup), thats how were going to get better," Cocks said.

Cocks had a standout game, shooting a game-high 27 points to go with five rebounds.

Her efforts were assisted by 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists for Antonia Edmondson, while Rebecca Ott was a force off the bench with a team high seven rebounds.

The win wraps up a strong William Jones Cup for the Tall Ferns, who continue to build towards the Asia Cup at the end of the month.

Theyll now head to Singapore for a series beginning 11 July, with Kereama happy with his sides progress.

"Although we have a lot of experience, we have a lot of debutants as well, and we were very pleased with the performance of our veterans, as well as our younger players," Kereama said.

"For us, it was a very successful tournament, but well make some adjustments, and, of course, weve got lots of improvement to make."

Tall Ferns Programme:

William Jones Cup / 5-9 July / Taipei, Taiwan

Singapore Series / 11-16 July / Singapore

Preparation Camp / 18-22 July / Bangalore, India

FIBA Asia Womens Cup (WC Qualifier) / 23-29 July, Bangalore, India

William Jones Cup - Competing Teams:

Japan, South Korea, India, Chinese Taipei, Chinese Taipei B

For more on the FIBA Womens Asia Cup, go to the FIBA webpage here.

For more go to www.basketball.org.nz and Tall Ferns social media channels: @TallFerns Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

- This story has been automatically published using a media release from Basketball New Zealand