China thump Czech Republic 66-57 in the tournament opener – Olympics Women Basketball Recap
China played against the Czech Republic in the opening game of the 2012 London Olympics Women’s basketball tournament. And after a closely fought game, China came out with a 66-57 victory to begin their campaign strongly.
Zeng Yu Ma had a fantastic game for the Chinese side. The forward went 3 of 3 from the distance to score a game high 16 points. She had 4 rebounds and 4 assists to go with her game high figures. Eva Viteckova fought hard to keep
the Czech team in the contest and finished with a team high 14 points and 6 rebounds.
China opened the game strongly after the Czech Republic scored the first points of the night with a two point shot by Ilona Burgrova. The Chinese allowed the Czech side only one more field goal after that in first seven minutes
of the 1st quarter, and raced to a 15-4 lead. The Czech came back strongly late in the period to go on a 10-3 run and reduce the deficit to 18-14. The Asians closed the first period with a 20-16 lead.
The second quarter was much more closely contested, with China barely managing to retain the new lead in the opening minutes of the period. The Chinese rushed to a 32-24 lead with 3:47 left in the half but the Czech once again
closed in at the end of the period to trail 36-29 at halftime.
China opened the 2nd half with momentum and soon stretched their lead to 45-33, after opening the third period with a 9-4 run. The Czech side made yet another attempt to close back in on the Chinese before the end of
the period but this time around, the Chinese kept their offensive momentum going and led 51-44 going into the final period.
5 straight points by the Czech side had the game tied at 53 with 7:36 left in regulation. China then scored 6 straight points as they went on a 12-2 run to take a decisive 65-55 lead, denying the Czech any opportunity of stealing
the match away. The Chinese eventually won 66-57.
Lifie Miao had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists while Song Gao added 10 points and 5 rebounds. Nan Chen had 10 points and 8 rebounds for the night. Katerina Elhotova added 13 points and 4 rebounds for the Czech side and Hana
Horakova managed 4 points and 9 rebounds.
China were the better team from the floor on the night. They went 38.3% from the field as compared to 31.8% for the Czech. The Asians were 5 of 12 from the distance while the Czech team only managed 4 three pointers in 14 attempts.
The win puts China at the top of Group A.
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