Hosts India outclass newbies Nepal 106-37

BENGALURU: Teamwork and coordination remained India’s biggest takeaways against debutants Nepal as the hosts sealed a 106-37 win to begin their quest for promotion to Division A with gumption in the FIBA U-16 Women’s Asian Championship at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium courts here on Sunday.
On the eve of the championship, coach Zoran Visic had stressed on the need for his new-look Indian squad to find the right combination early, given their limited preparations for the event. Against Nepal, who were making their first-ever appearance in a FIBA championship, India’s man-to-man defence and scoring in transition helped the hosts get a morale boosting win ahead of tougher opponents such as Malaysia and Kazakhstan, who they will face in the knockouts.
Forward Vaishnavi Yadav’s game-high 23 points and centre Pushpa Senthil Kumar’s brilliant double-double (18 points, 11 rebounds) were the cynosure as four players scored in double figures. The loudest cheers, however, were reserved for Karnataka’s Sanjana Ramesh, who was making her India debut as captain.
Nepal’s biggest drawback remained their height. At 5’0, point guard Nilam Sherpa had no chance of dictating play against India’s centretrio - Sanjana (5’11”), Pushpa (5’10”) and the 6’1” Ann Mary Zachariah. India raked in 45 points in turnovers as the hosts never looked back from a 49-16 lead at the break.
Results: Division ‘B’: India 106 (Vaishnavi Yadav 23, Pushpa Senthil Kumar 18, Monica Jayakumar 13, Neha Karwa 10) beat Nepal 37 (Pratikshya Magar 11); Malaysia 130 (Lai Toong Tan 15, Shi Yu Lim 15, Zi Wei Wong 13, Siew Hong Yap 12, Edna Lee 15, J Lim 10) beat Maldives 14