At the Australian U18 state championships in Brisbane today.the New Zealand women, coached by Brent Matehaere, could find no answer to Vic Country, falling behind 4-18 after a quarter and eventually finishing 41-82 behind.

The NZ team, playing without shooting guard Jess Renata, shot 25% from the field and committed 29 turnovers.

Harbour’s Olivia Berry and Khaedin Taito from Hawke’s Bay each scored eight points, and their side shot four three-pointers in the final quarter, which they won 17-15.

The Kiwi women (1-4) have Northern Territory (0-4) at 3pm (NZT) tomorrow.

Three games and three losses reflect some hard lessons for the NZ teams contesting the Australian U18 state championships in Brisbane today.

After opening their tournament with a pair of wins, the Kiwi men balanced out their ledger with two losses, while their female counterparts could not dent a Victoria Metro juggernaut that continued its unbeaten way through pool play.

Judd Flavell’s men were right in their morning contest against Victoria Country, despite trailling by 10 points at the end of the opening quarter.

They righted their ship with a 21-12 third quarter to trail by just two entering the home straight, but fell short of victory 54-60.

With nothing much separating the two sides, Vic Country visited the free-throw line more often and made more of those opportunities (15/25) for their narrow win.

North Harbour Jaylen Gerrand led New Zealand with 13 points, while Harbour team-mate Denhym Brooke chipped in a double double of 10 points/18 rebounds. Nelson’s Angus Riley also hauled in 13 boards.

Later, the Kiwi men led by one at halftime against New South Wales Metro, but fell away after the break to lose 62-78. They conceded 17 offensive boards and again sent their rivals to the line too often (12/15).

They also had trouble stopping NSW’s Jonah Bolden, who finished with an impressive stat line of 28 points, 19 rebounds (eight offensive), four assists, five steals and five blocks.

New Zealand were still only three behind midway through the final period, but NSW scored nine straight points to clear out again in the final moments.

Waikato’s Jayden Bezzant led his NZ team with 20 points (4/8 3pt), while Dane Brooks of New Plymouth had 11 points/eight rebounds.

The Kiwi men (2-2) play Queensland South (2-2) at 5pm (NZT) tomorrow.

Australian U18 State Championships
Brisbane
Men
Victoria Country 60 New Zealand 54 (Jaylen Gerrand 13, Denhym Brooke 10)
Q1 20-10
HT 29-18 (9-8)
Q3 41-39 (12-21)
FT 60-54 (19-15)
Box Score

New South Wales Metro 78 New Zealand 62 (Jayden Bezzant 20, Dane Brooks 11, Izayah Mauriohooho Le’Afa 11)
Q1 17-16
HT 34-35 (17-19)
Q3 56-47 (22-12)
FT 78-62 (22-15)
Box Score

Women
Victoria Country 82 New Zealand 41 (Khaedin Taito 8, Olivia Berry 8)
Q1 18-4
HT 43-18 (25-14)
Q3 67-24 (24-6)
FT 82-41 (15-17)
Box Score