DANDONG, China, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Sichuan rolled to its third straight victory after triumphing 100-74 over Hubei, ending the latter's unbeaten record in China's 15th National Games women's basketball qualifiers here on Wednesday.
Featuring several student players, Hubei impressed with three straight wins since the start of the tournament.
Despite resting its starting center Han Xu, Sichuan showed its class from the outset, capitalizing on a 9-0 run for an early initiative. An energetic Hubei side harried the opponent into turnovers to remain in contention.
Sichuan point guard Li Yuan snatched 17 points in the first half, helping her side move ahead 53-41 at the break. But Sichuan's top scorer Li Meng, who had averaged 26 points in the previous two matches, was held to just four points at halftime.
With its starting center Gao Jianjun fouling out early in the third quarter, Hubei could not keep Sichuan's paint attack at bay as the gap was widened to 20 points.
Liu Bei led Hubei's comeback effort with eight points in a row, but Sichuan soon regained its foothold, extending its lead to 24 points.
Li Yuan led five Sichuan players in double-digit scoring with 21 points. Veteran Gao Song added 18.
Liu scored a game-high 26 points for Hubei, and Peng Huaqian helped with 15.
"We showed our cohesion in these four matches," Peng told Xinhua. "We launched our offense through defense and rebounding. For the remaining two games, we will continue to fight and show our attitude."
In another match, Shanghai hammered Shanxi 102-57. Center Zhang Zhiting had 10 points in the first quarter, as Shanghai went ahead 21-11 at the quarter's end and stretched its margin to 24 points at the intermission.
Shanxi continued struggling back from the locker room, and conceded its fourth loss.
Shanghai outscored Shanxi 37-13 on points off turnover, and 27-12 on second chance points.
Xinjiang and Heilongjiang both entered Wednesday's duel with winless records, before Xinjiang notched a wire-to-wire 79-46 victory.
In Group B, Beijing pummeled Tianjin 111-45, Liaoning crushed Hebei 92-61, and Zhejiang beat Henan 85-79. ■
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