Tall Ferns return to winning ways at William Jones Cup

The Tall Ferns have bounced back from last nights loss, by beating Republic of China White 68-65 to move to 3-1 at the William Jones Cup.

After falling 79-60 to Republic of China Blue yesterday, the Tall Ferns made sure they responded with a strong performance today.

"It was a very good game, we tried a number of different combinations on the court today, and I think the Republic of China White team is a very good team," head coach Kennedy Kereama said.

The Ferns were led by a second straight double-double for Kalani Purcell, who combined 11 rebounds and 12 points, and Josephine Stockill, who picked up 22 points and five rebounds.

The Kiwis made a quick start to their fourth match of the tournament, racing out to a 23-10 first quarter lead.

They were pulled back by their opposition though, as a low second quarter shooting percentage hurt the Ferns, who went into the break down 31-30.

"They started how we thought they were going to start, we both just went after it from the beginning," Purcell said.

There was little to separate the two sides after the break, but Jillian Harmons second half haul of nine points and four rebounds off the bench helped the Ferns do enough to pick up a three point victory.

"Playing a team like this, you cant afford to slack off," Purcell added.

"Being able to go neck and neck with this team and for us to pull off the win, it really says something for us."

The 68-65 victory leaves the Tall Ferns second on the tournament ladder, and theyll face their toughest test yet tomorrow, when they meet the unbeaten Japan at 6pm NZT.

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