Tall Blacks score rare home win over Australian Boomers

RNZ News

11-05-2025

Taylor Britt running the ball for the Tall Blacks against the Australian Boomers, in the third international, at Globox Arena, Hamilton, on Sunday.
Photo:
PHOTOSPORT
The Tall Blacks have had a rare home win over the Boomers, while the Tall Ferns have lost their third straight test to the Opals in the Trans Tasman Throwdown series.
Australia won both men's and women's series, with victories in the first two tests in Adelaide and Sunshine Coast.
But the Tall Blacks avoided a series sweep, winning the third test 106-97 in Hamilton, with a much more aggressive display on attack.
It was Australia's first test in Aotearoa for nearly 10 years, but they could not find the dominance they had in their 80-68 and 92-67 victories
from the first two
games
in their own country
.
The Tall Blacks rocked them in the first three quarters at Globox Arena and held a 24-point lead going into the final stanza.
The Australians rallied, narrowing the gap to just seven points with a few minutes remaining, but the New Zealanders held their nerve in the dying stages, with match star Taylor Britt being the steady influence as he dropped in a three-pointer with 90 seconds remaining.
Britt was the individual star, with 23 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, stepping up with aplomb given the absence of injured mainstay Shea Ili.
Reuben Te Rangi added 18 points and three assists, Kaia Isaac 14 points and seven rebounds, Tohi Smith-Milner 13 points and four boards, Carlin Davison 12 points and four rebounds, and Walter Brown nine points, seven boards and four assists.
The Tall Blacks pulled in 50 rebounds, to 28 from Australia.
Elijah Pepper topscored for the Boomers, with 28 points.
The Tall Ferns' Ella Tofaeono shooting for goal against the Australian Opals in the Trans-Tasman Throwdown, at Globox Arena, Hamilton, on Sunday.
Photo:
Photosport
The Tall Ferns couldn't make it a home double, going down 86-71 to the Opals, but they had their rivals under the pump a number of times.
Skipper Esra McGoldrick scored the most points in the game, with 19, one more than Australia's Courtney Woods, as the young New Zealand side put in an improved performance after the Opals won the first two tests, 88-70 and 98-57.
Tall Ferns coach Natalie Hurst said she was very proud of her players, who had pushed Australia hard with a display that built on what they had learnt in the first two tests.
"They are tired, physically and mentally, and to push through into lead changes seven times and to keep these guys to 86 we are very happy with," Hurst told Sky Sport.
Sharne Robati and McKenna Dale both scored 11 points for the Tall Ferns.