Basketball: Cotton leads Tall Ferns to fourth win

Seasoned forward Rebecca Cotton accumulated a double to lead the New Zealand women's team to a 78-67 win over local club side Zheijiang in Taiwan.

Point guard Angela Marino's 21 points and Cotton's 12 points and 10 rebounds enabled the Tall Ferns to have a firm control of the game.

They led 21-17 after the first quarter and extended that margin to 15 points by the end of the third.

"We faced a fired up and physical team, but again showed poise and a great attitude to deal with a different style of game in what was another good build-up match to the Oceania series next month," coach Mike McHugh said.

"It was a great effort. Zheijiang had two fiery American imports and the 2m tall former Chinese international Wang Fu Jing, who did their best to intimidate us.

"We stuck to the team culture we are trying to develop to come away with a solid win."

The victory in their final game of the tournament left the Tall Ferns with a 4-1 record and runners-up behind Taiwan, who inflicted their only loss.

The Ferns had a chance to avenge that loss overnight in an exhibition game.

Taiwan have qualified for next year's world championships as the third-placed Asian team.

- NZPA