Basketball: Jillian Harmon paces Tall Ferns in opening win over Singapore

Jillian Harmon of New Zealand in action against France at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Photo/Photosport

Led by 18 points from Jillian Harmon and a near double double of 16 points/nine rebounds from Kalani Purcell, the NZ Tall Ferns have opened a three-game series against Singapore with a 80-55 win.

The Tall Ferns won the opening stanza 17-10, but couldn't break clear of the hosts and only led 36-32 at half-time.

Singapore grabbed the lead briefly in the third quarter (43-40), before the Kiwis, on the back of a dominant rebounding count (58-32), cleared out to a 57-48 three-quarter time lead.

The final quarter was largely one-way traffic, as the Tall Ferns eased to a fifth win in six games on tour, following up their 4-1 record at last week's William Jones Cup in Taiwan.

"We made a very slow start in the first half, but credit to Singapore," said Tall Ferns coach Kennedy Kereama. "They really came out and took it to us, they came out fighting and made us have to work hard for anything we got on the floor.

"The second half was much better for us - we dominated the game in all areas, doubling their rebounding count, including 25 offensive rebounds. We had 22 assists and only 14 turnovers, although we need to continue to improve on that.

"Eighty points for the game is not bad for us, although we failed to execute and finish as well as we might have. So, although the performance is statistically pleasing, we know we can get a lot better for the next game."

Toni Farnworth scored 10 points, and there was a nice return of nine points/seven rebounds from Natalie Taylor.

Taylor has, as planned, joined the team in Singapore, after sitting out the Taiwan leg of the build up to the Asia Cup.

The Brisbane-based guard adds depth and experience to the Tall Ferns squad, bringing the playing numbers up to the full quota of 12 players.

The second game against Singapore is on Friday.

Tall Ferns 80 (Harmon 18, Purcell 16, Farnworth 10) Singapore 55