AUS/NZL - We can get through to London: Taylor

SYDNEY (FIBA Oceania Championship for Women) - If you weren't impressed by the play of New Zealand Tall Ferns guard Natalie Taylor in the FIBA Oceania Championship for Women, the odds are you weren't watching!

While the Tall Ferns were swept 3-0 in the series by the world number three Australia, in each game they fought doggedly, being within single figures in the second half of every encounter.

The leader of the Tall Ferns' spirited resistance was Taylor, a 180cm guard who plays everywhere on the court and averaged 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.7 steals per game and for the series.

Taylor's intensity was a standout, and she thinks she knows why. "I am one of seven kids, and I think it's brought out the mongrel in me a little bit!" she laughed.

Following the final game of the series, Taylor spoke to fiba.com about standing up to the Australians, her own sporting background and her team's chances in next year's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women.

FIBA: That was a tough series, your team never gave up, but what is the mindset going into those games knowing how big an underdog you are?
Taylor: Ive played against them the past few years, and when I first came into the program they were always like these really big Australians who I'd never played against, there was a bit of a fear factor. But the last few seasons Ive played in the (Australian) WNBL and I know them quite well, as do a few of our girls, so there's not as much of that pressure coming into this series. It's more about capitalising on the weaknesses of theirs that I know, and capitalising on my strengths against them.

FIBA: The Australians had such a tough time guarding you and keeping you off the boards, where do you think the enormous amount of intensity you play with comes from?
Taylor: I am one of seven kids, and I think it's brought out the mongrel in me a little bit! I come from a really competitive sporting background, both my parents played basketball, and all my brothers and sisters play, bar one. So I don't know, but maybe that has brought out the fight in me!

FIBA: How would you describe your personal game? You seem to play almost every position on the floor and do it well.
Taylor: I try to be an all-rounder. I don't want to be good at just one thing, and I think that is a bit of the competitive side of me - if there's something in my game that's lacking then I'll work really hard to try and improve it, and that's at both ends of the floor.

I think, being a guard, it helps us that if we get into foul trouble I can help out inside, but it's not ideal because being six foot it's still not tall enough against Australia!

FIBA: The Tall Ferns have played in the last three Olympic Games, winning one game in each, do you think this team is actually improving?
Taylor: Yes I definitely think so. The last qualifying for this would have been a 30-point loss for us, and the first result was a 13-point game. We talked about it in the locker room, our last nine games have been against teams ranked third, sixth and eighth in the world, and we've won one of those and lost five of them by 13 or less.

So even though we are coming away with losses, we are performing better than we have in the past. Now we just have to get to the stage where we can win the games.

FIBA: What about next year's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women, what do you guys need to do to get one of those three remaining spots at the London Olympics?
Taylor: I think a lot of us have to go away and work on certain areas of our game. I know personally I didn't shoot the three as well as I would have liked throughout the series, and I think as a team we need to shoot well.

FIBA: And what's you honest assessment of your team's chances?
Taylor: I think we match up well with Asian teams like Korea and Japan who we'll be playing in the qualifying tournament, and we've played athletic teams like the African teams and some of the American teams that will be there. I think it will be a good challenge for us, but I definitely think they are winnable games and we can get through.

FIBA