New Zealand 92
Samoa 28
A contest between a fired-up Silver Ferns and a rookie Samoan outfit always loomed as a mismatch and so it proved.
Ruth Aitken used her 12-strong roster as she watched her team destroy a plucky Samoa 92-28 in Porirua yesterday. The 64-goal winning margin represented the biggest ever for New Zealand against the Pacific nation, beating the 53 they managed in an 81-28 victory seven years ago.
In front of a vocal crowd of 3000 the Ferns had scored 32 consecutive goals before Maria Tutaia missed their first shot nine minutes before halftime. Circle partner Irene van Dyk gave up her 100 per cent record four minutes later.
The Ferns took a 46-15 lead to the halftime break with their top seven, but there was no let up in the second half despite a complete reshuffle. At times it resembled a training run for the well-drilled Ferns and it took the Pacific Islanders eight minutes before they opened their second half account.
While their speedy midcourt was the key to their dominance, the Ferns also made full use of their height advantage. Eight of the Ferns are taller than the 1.77m Monika Fuimaono, the tallest in the Samoan lineup.
Aitken was pleased the team never let their standards drop, despite the lop-sided scoreline: "The first group set the intensity and the second matched it.
"Despite the margin the players kept pushing and wanted to do the best they could do," Aitken said. "They are an incredibly driven bunch and there is a real competitiveness within the group.
"This is the starting point for us, we will obviously be looking at fewer combination changes going ahead but we have the luxury of horses for courses, especially at the defensive end."
Aitken singled out debutante Grace Rasmussen for special praise: "She had a soft start, but opened up some real space in the circle. She is a good team player and very dynamic."
Rasmussen certainly offers a more mobile option at goal attack than her Mystics team-mate Tutaia and, while there are obviously much tougher tests to come, it was a promising start for the youngster who combined well with van Dyk and Daneka Wipiiti.
The coach was also happy with returning defender Anna Scarlett, who looked as if she had never been away and had "hands all over the place."
However, given the high standards they set internally, it wasn't perfect from the Ferns. There was the occasional errant pass, a held ball and their towering defenders were sometimes out of position. Aitken concedes they are always looking for the total team performance.
"We could have had a bit more pressure through court on defence. When we did apply pressure, we got turnover ball but I would like to see our shooters create that turnover ball a little bit earlier."
Aitken has used the dreaded 'rotation' word and among those in the 'B team', wing attack Liana Barrett-Chase showed some real touches of flair. One particular mid air tip-on in the third quarter was balletic and defender Katrina Grant looked comfortable in combination with Scarlett.
Joline Henry, forced out of the defensive circle by the return of Leana de Bruin, was a revelation at wing defence in the first half.
Captain Casey Williams, who did not appear happy to be on the bench for the entire second stanza, made some trademark intercepts. She also produced two beautiful flat long range passes that skimmed over the heads of the Samoans like tracer bullets straight to van Dyk.
Van Dyk potted 48 from 50 attempts, while Tutaia (16/17), Rasmussen (16/17) and Wipiiti (14/18) all enjoyed pressure-free games under the hoop.
The Samoans started nervously, fluffing their first centre pass but they improved as the match went on. They employed a 'give and go' style on attack in an attempt to nullify the huge height advantage of the home side and were sometimes able pick their way through the Ferns' zonal defence.
Frances Solia of the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic was the standout for the visitors, with burly shooter Fuimaono keeping the score respectable with some shots from near the circle line among her 16 goals.
The Ferns' next match is against Jamaica in Christchurch on August 18.
