Taiwan's B team had its second defeat at the Jones Cup yesterday, falling to South Korea 69-76.
Taiwan had trouble getting into a groove offensively from the first half, shooting just 13-32 from the field. Chiang Feng-chun led Taiwan with nine points, but also made just three of her 11 attempts, and South Korea maintained a 32-27 lead at half-time.
South Korea began pulling away in the third with a series of fast breaks, capitalizing on five turnovers by Taiwan and shooting 55 percent to Taiwan's 40 percent. Wen Chi scored 11 points in the fourth quarter -- 23 overall -- to bring Taiwan within five points with 1:20 left on the clock, but the rally fell short to drop Taiwan's record to 1-2.
Japan continued to have a rough time, getting blown out by the US 72-144 to drop its record to 0-3. The US had five of their players reach double-digit point totals, with Jackie McFarland leading the way with 22 points in just 14:46 minutes of play.
The second game of the day was also a one-sided affair, with New Zealand beaten by Australia 52-99. New Zealand went into half-time with a ray of hope, behind 33-44, but Australia exploded for 31 points in the third period, and New Zealand limped into the final period behind by an insurmountable 42-75.
Still, it was just New Zealand's first loss of the tournament for a 2-1 record, while Australia continue to look like the favorites.
Australia's Natalie Porter shot 7-11 from the field and was perfect during two trips to the free throw line. For New Zealand, only Micaela Cocks managed to reach double-digits with 15 points.
Taiwan's B team will get a day off tomorrow, while the A team are back in action against Australia at 5:30pm.
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