Beijing defeat Shanxi 75-61 in WCBA finals opener

Beijing held off defending champions Shanxi's comeback in the last quarter to record a 75-61 home victory, earning a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five Chinese Women's Basketball Association (WCBA) finals on Thursday.

"We had a good start. They are a strong team, and caused us troubles, especially for Maya Moore. We didn't do well in rebounds and defending Moore," said Xu Limin, Beijing's head coach.

Shao Ting had 20 points for Beijing and Brittney Griner chipped in 18 points and grabbed nine boards.

It was a repeat of last season's WCBA finals match-up, when Shanxi won their second WCBA title by beating Beijing 3-1.

Shanxi opened the score with Wu Jinzhu's three-pointer, but just to see a strong response of 16-0 run from their opponents. Moore answered with a three-pointer, trying to snap visitors' slide, while Beijing built up a 13-point advantage at the end of the first first quarter.

Shanxi converted three out of 21 shots in field goals against Beijing's 11 of 24 with the home team leading 33-25 into halftime.

Ji Yanyan, who joined Shanxi in the middle of regular season, failed to score in the first half and then made her first shot midway through the third period, followed by Moore's shot beyond the arc, helping Shanxi cut the deficit within three with 20 seconds to go in the quarter.

Shanxi extended their efforts to come back to the game early in fourth quarter thanks to Ma Xueya's second-chance shot. But WCBA All-Star MVP Shao Ting refused to give Shanxi a successful rally, putting out the reigning champions spark by scoring six points in a row.

Combined with Zhang Fan's two layups, Beijing had the game under control and secured their win with a 12-point lead in less than one minute to go.

Moore had a game-high 32 points and 11 rebounds. Wu Jinzhu scored 12.

"The beginning was the key to this game. We tried to come back, but it seemed very difficult," said Lucas Mondelo, Shanxi's head coach.

The second game will be played on Saturday in Shanxi.