SHENZHEN (China) - Japan waxed hot early and overwhelmed New Zealand, 84-47, for a blazing start to their FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup 2024-Division A campaign, Monday evening at the Longhua Cultural and Sports Center.
Game heroes: Kokoro Tanaka led the pack with 21 points as she set the tone in their fiery first-quarter showing, nailing 4 of their 7 triples without a miss as the perennial contenders built a 26-8 lead, proving to be the start of a one-sided show.
Tanaka shot 8-of-10 from the floor and also collected 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals in the 20 minutes she played, tallying an efficiency of 25.
The duo of Kanon Suzuki and Riona Matsumoto, on the other hand, made 12 points apiece in the win that saw all but one of the 12 players score at least 2.
Turning point: It was all Japan right from the very beginning as they started with a 12-1 run, with Saki Higashi tallying the first points of the game before Tanaka and Himeka Sone joined in the fray by nailing outside shots to further extend the lead.
Stats don't lie: The team would end up with 13 treys in the victory in an offensive showing that also witnessed Coach Natsumi Yabuuchi's wards dish 22 assists.
Their defense was on-point, too. The unit collected 20 steals as they forced New Zealand to commit majority of their 28 turnovers in the contest.
FIBA