Division B matchups revealed, Australia and New Zealand remain undefeated

GUAM (FIBA U17 Women’s Oceania Championship 2017) - Tahiti bounced back well, taking care of Marshall Islands for their first win, 101-33. Tahiti have earned themselves a medal chance when they play in the Division B Gold medal game tomorrow. Marshall Islands will now move onto the Division B Bronze medal match. Hereiti Salem led Tahiti with 18 points, followed by Leilanie Teua with 16.

Australia was not daunted by Samoa’s perfect record as they took out the win, 111-27. Samoa started strong scoring most of their points in the first half but proved no match for Australia’s caliber of play. With no losses at hand, Australia has shown no signs of weakness and is expected to finish top of the tournament. Captain Miela Goodchild, led Australia once again with 21 points. 

New Zealand showed another pristine performance against Palau, winning 135-8. Palau struggled to handle the ball and find open shots while New Zealand used their height and speed to seize the game. New Zealand is now focusing on their next game against Samoa in hopes of advancing to a potential Gold Medal matchup against Australia if they can knock off home nation Guam. More than half of New Zealand’s squad ended with double-digit points, but Lawrin Tipene scored with 26.

Ending Day 3, the host nation Guam, got a huge win over New Caledonia, 79-71. This means Guam will advance to a big semi-final matchup against the dominant Australia. Both teams played a great game going back and forth in desperation for the win. Despite being equally aggressive on both sides of the court, New Caledonia wasn't able to hold on and Guam was able to come up with a final blow and leave tonight with a big win. Guam’s Mia San Nicolas owned the paint as she collected 29 points and 22 rebounds.

Wednesday’s Results

Marshall Islands 33 - 101 Tahiti

Samoa 27 - 111 Australia

New Zealand 135 - 8 Palau

New Caledonia 71-79 Guam

Thursday’s Games

Division B Bronze – Marshall Islands v Palau

Division B Gold – Tahiti v New Caledonia

FIBA