New Zealand women's national basketball team

New Zealand
FIBA ranking21 Increase 5 (8 August 2025)[1]
FIBA zoneFIBA Oceania
National federationBasketball New Zealand
CoachNatalie Hurst
Nickname(s)Tall Ferns
Olympic Games
Appearances3
World Cup
Appearances1
Asia Cup
Appearances5
MedalsNone
Oceania Championship
Appearances15
MedalsGold Gold: (1993)
Silver Silver: (1974, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1989, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015)
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
First international
 Australia 78–42  
(Malacca, Malaysia; 6 June 1988)
Biggest win
  124–21 New Caledonia 
(Lower Hutt, New Zealand; 2 June 1997)
Biggest defeat
 Spain 117–54  
(Hobart, Australia; 2 June 1994)

The New Zealand women's national basketball team represents New Zealand in international basketball competitions. They are nicknamed the Tall Ferns. The team has been coached by Guy Molloy since 2018.

The New Zealand women's national team has taken part in three Olympic Games, and one FIBA Women's World Cup. Since participating at the FIBA Women's Asia Cup in 2017, their top performance is a fourth place finish in 2023. In the past, the Tall Ferns have also competed at the FIBA Oceania Women's Championship.

Competitive record

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year Round Position Pld W L
Canada 1976 Did not qualify
Soviet Union 1980
United States 1984
South Korea 1988
Spain 1992
United States 1996
Australia 2000 Group stage 11th 6 1 5
Greece 2004 Quarter-finals 8th 7 2 5
China 2008 Group stage 10th 5 1 4
United Kingdom 2012 Did not qualify
Brazil 2016
Japan 2020
France 2024
Total 18 4 14

FIBA Women's World Cup

FIBA Women's World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W L
Chile 1953 Did not participate
Brazil 1957
Soviet Union 1959
Peru 1964
Czechoslovakia 1967
Brazil 1971
Colombia 1975
South Korea 1979
Brazil 1983
Soviet Union 1986
Malaysia 1990
Australia 1994 Group stage 15th 8 1 7
Germany 1998 Did not qualify
China 2002
Brazil 2006
Czech Republic 2010
Turkey 2014
Spain 2018
Australia 2022
Germany 2026 To be determined
Total 8 1 7

FIBA Women's Asia Cup

FIBA Women's Asia Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W L
India 2017 Quarter-finals 6th 6 3 3
India 2019 Play-offs round 5th 5 2 3
Jordan 2021 Play-offs round 5th 5 2 3
Australia 2023 Fourth place 4th 6 3 3
China 2025 Fifth place 5th 5 2 3
Philippines 2027 Qualified
Total 27 12 15

Team

Current roster

Roster for the 2025 FIBA Women's Asia Cup.[2][3]

New Zealand women's national basketball team roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr.
SF 2 Emilia Shearer 23 – (2002-01-22)22 January 2002 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Mackay Basketball Australia
G 3 Bailey Flavell 18 – (2007-02-15)15 February 2007 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) Hawaii Rainbow Wahine United States
PG 4 Pahlyss Hokianga 17 – (2007-10-09)9 October 2007 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) Tokomanawa Queens New Zealand
F 8 Rebecca Pizzey 26 – (1999-01-27)27 January 1999 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) Eltham Wildcats Australia
SF 10 Ashlee Strawbridge 23 – (2002-01-25)25 January 2002 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) West Adelaide Bearcats Australia
F 13 Esra McGoldrick 25 – (1999-10-24)24 October 1999 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Casey Cavaliers Australia
PF 14 Ella Tofaeono 27 – (1998-03-11)11 March 1998 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) Melbourne Tigers Australia
C 15 Ritorya Tamilo 20 – (2005-06-15)15 June 2005 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) Hawaii Rainbow Wahine United States
SG 22 Olivia Williams 22 – (2003-01-26)26 January 2003 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) San Francisco Dons United States
G 26 Tayla Dalton 23 – (2001-10-01)1 October 2001 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in) Townsville Fire Australia
G 44 McKenna Dale 26 – (1999-06-16)16 June 1999 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) Mandurah Magic Australia
PF 45 Charlotte Whittaker 24 – (2000-08-12)12 August 2000 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Toulouse Métropole Basket France
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Australia Kerryn Mitchell
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Club – describes last
    club before the tournament
  • Age – describes age
    on 13 July 2025

Notable past players

References

  1. ^ "FIBA Ranking Presented by Nike". FIBA. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  2. ^ "Coach Hurst names two debutants in 2025 Asia Cup squad". nz.basketball. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  3. ^ "Team roster: New Zealand" (PDF). FIBA. 7 August 2025. p. 5.