Wang Siyu (L) of Xinjiang team competes during the 1st round final match between Inner Mongolia team and Xinjiang team at the 2020-2021 season Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) league in Bengbu of east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 1, 2021. (Xinhua/Huang Bohan)
HEFEI, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Title favorite Inner Mongolia defeated Xinjiang 77-71 in the finals of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) in Bengbu, east China's Anhui province on Friday, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three final series.
The two teams went head to head before Inner Mongolia launched a 7-0 scoring run to break the 26-26 tie. With a tough defense that allowed Xinjiang to score only 10 points in the second quarter, Inner Mongolia expanded their lead to 39-28 at halftime.
Xinjiang won both the third and fourth quarters by 17-15 and 26-23, but Inner Mongolia got away with a victory 77-71 thanks to their big lead in the first half.
Yang Liwei scored a game-high 22 points, leading four players in double-digit points for Inner Mongolia. Han Xu collected 12 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for Xinjiang.
"Xinjiang was the only team that defeated us in the regular season, therefore we did a lot of preparation before the game, especially on how to defend Xinjiang's center Han Xu," said Li Yueru, who bagged 12 points for Inner Mongolia.
The second game will take place on Sunday in Bengbu. Enditem
