At the time, the Junior Tall Fern knew China’s Zhang Ziyu was relatively tall — but it was not until Carline was up close that she realised just how tall.
Ziyu, 17, made headlines during the recent Fiba under-18 Asia Cup for her height, standing at 2.20m and towering over most of her opponents.
"It wasn’t until we went out on to the court, and I stood next to her, and I felt like the tiniest person ever," Carline said.
But that did not deter Carline, who is rather lofty herself at 1.85m, from enjoying the chance to test herself against a different style of player.
"We weren’t going to be able to stop her, because she was so much taller than us.
"But I was still able to disrupt the ball getting into her and block her once — that’s my claim to fame."
Carline, 17, who plays for Queen’s High School and the Andy Bay Falcons, relished the chance to pull on the national singlet again.
"It’s really hard to get recognised coming from Dunedin ... we don’t get as much exposure.
The forward loved being able to hold her own on the world stage and competing against bigger countries, including Japan, China, Indonesia, South Korea and Chinese Taipei.
The Junior Tall Ferns, the only self-funded team, finished fifth, and while Carline knew they were the "underdogs", she felt they showed their skills well.
"Just not shying away from the style of play, because it was much faster and much more physical than we play back here.
"That was quite exciting to play."
It has been a big year for Carline.
After missing a national selection camp, she worked hard at the under-18 national championships in what she felt could be her last chance to be recognised.
She made the national tournament team, and weeks later she received an email from Basketball New Zealand saying she was part of the Junior Tall Ferns travelling team for the Oceania Cup in Papua New Guinea last October.
"That was completely out of the blue."
Then in March, she got a call from Rob Adams, brother of New Zealand NBA player Steven, asking her to attend the Team Adams USA tour in April.
Carline, who will volunteer at the Steven Adams Camp in Dunedin on August 8, travelled to Los Angles, met Adams, and played in two different AAU tournaments in front of various scouts.
Carline now plans to trial for the Southern Hoiho, and has received interest from coaches in Canada to play college basketball next year.
