Home crowd favorite Ji Yanyan snatched the Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy with a game-high 31 points, helping the North beat the South 116-110 in the 2017 Chinese Women's Basketball Association (WCBA) All-Star Game on Saturday.
Ji shot 10 of 11 in the paint field and 3 of 7 from beyond the arc. Her teammates Shao Ting and Sylvia Fowles added 16 apiece.
"Thanks my teammates for creating many opportunities for me," commented the newly-crowned MVP.
After Wu Di opened the North's scoring account with a three-pointer, both team were involved in a fierce contest, and the South led by just one point as the first quarter ran out.
Ji Yanyan built a good second-quarter start for the North with two consecutive layups, before her teammate Yang Banban extended the margin with a three-point play. With 6:30 remaining, the North built a double-digit lead for the first time throughout the game. Fueled by Shao Ting's spotlight performance, the North made a good comeback to lead at 66-57 into the halftime.
Ji continued her hot momentum in the second half with three 3-pointers in just two minutes, earning the North a double-figure lead again.
The South cut the deficit to three with eight points in a row early in the final period, and tied at 105 with 3:40 remaining on Sun Mengxin's layup. Ji's three consecutive layups pulled away the game, before Wang Chengcheng's three-pointer sealed the win for the North with 33.5 seconds to go.
Sun Mengran had a team-high 26 points and five rebounds for the South. Sun Jie and Huang Sijing finished with 18 apiece.
Shen Binbin of Shanghai clinched the skills challenge title with 33.6 seconds, one tenth second ahead of Ji Yanyan. Liang Jiamei of Liaoning was the three-pointer champion with 19 points, overshadowing Gao Song and Jin Jiabao.
