Otago was unable to advance in either of its semifinals at the under-23 national championships yesterday.
After its men fell 106-81 to Waikato Country, the women were beaten 82-56 by Tauranga.
A stretch early in the third quarter proved the key period in the men’s downfall, as Waikato Country went on a 13-0 run.
After giving up the lead midway through the second quarter, Otago remained in touch early in the third, trailing 52-47.
However it could not get a shot to go down over the next four minutes.
It trailed 65-47 at the end of that stretch, a scoreline it was always going to struggle to pull in.
Big man Hyrum Harris was the key player in the game, proving a beast inside to have 26 points and 25 rebounds for Waikato Country.
Foul trouble hurt Otago from the outset, but it looked well in the game up until its third-quarter woes.
Josh Aitcheson managed 22 points, while Hamish Robertson had 14 points and six rebounds.
Richie Rodger was classy but was a victim of foul trouble, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds in just 16 minutes.
In the women’s match, a fast start to the second quarter proved key for Tauranga in its win.
Otago trailed 17-15 at the first break, but soon found itself down 27-17.
It closed the deficit to eight at the half, but Tauranga made a similarly fast start to the third quarter and shot out to a 44-29 lead.
Otago fought its way back to a single-digit deficit but Tauranga withstood that and then pulled away again.
Jeanie Pattison had 21 points and five rebounds for Otago.
Tauranga, whose roster resembled its WBC squad, had big nights from Mikayla Daysh, (25 points and 10 rebounds on 90% shooting) and Briarley Rogers (30 points).
The Otago women will play Canterbury for third and fourth, and the men have a rematch with Hutt Valley.
Canterbury will meet Waikato Country in the men’s final. Tauranga faces an impressive Waikato outfit in the women’s.
