KEY POINTS:
After beating Australia yesterday for the first time, New Zealand were brought down to earth, going down 67-70 to Korea in the playoff for fifth spot at the Good Luck Beijing women's basketball tournament in China today.
The Tall Ferns succumbed to a three-point barrage in the final quarter to let Korea sneak through for victory.
Leading 54-43 with 10 minutes remaining, New Zealand's defence were unable to stop a long distance barrage from Korea.
New Zealand held the upper hand through most of the encounter, rattling off seven unanswered points just before halftime for a 32-28 margin at the break.
They extended their advantage when Suzie Bates and Angela Marino struck from the arc in quick succession midway through the third period.
Their lead quickly evaporated however as Yeon Ha Beon and Jung Eun Park found their range and sparked a 12-point burst that gave Korea control.
"That's what they're good at - they're a great three-point shooting team - and we knew it would happen," New Zealand coach Mike McHugh said.
"We played pretty good defence the whole game - we kept them to 28 points in the first half, then they scored 27 in the final quarter.
"We are just not experienced enough yet to respond appropriately when they put pressure on us.
"At this level, it's a game of centimetres - a missed box out here and a missed free throw there - we just can't afford to give top-10 teams those sorts of opportunity."
New Zealand were still within two points with 25 seconds left, but had to foul for possession and could not take advantage of Korea's shakiness at the line.
Jillian Harmon led all scorers with 20 points and six rebounds before fouling out in the final seconds.
Forward Lisa Wallbutton compiled a double double of 14 points and 13 rebounds.
New Zealand enjoyed a rebounding edge over their rivals, including 17 offensive boards, but did themselves no favours by committing 23 turnovers.
New Zealand finished the official Olympic basketball test event with just one success - the historic first-ever win over Australia.
McHugh feels though preparations for the Olympics in August is on track.
"I'm very impressed with what we have done this week," said McHugh.
"We lost a couple of games by less than two baskets and beat the world champions.
"We came over here with a team that hadn't played at this level before and the experience has been of tremendous benefit to us. It would have been nice to cap it off with a win over Korea."
Korea 70 (Beon 13, Park 12) NZ Tall Ferns 67 (Harmon 20, Wallbutton 14, Marino 10). Halftime: 28-32.
- NZPA
