South beat North 81-62 in women's basketball

Basketball

Published: 29 Sep. 2023, 20:19

South beat North 81-62 in women's basketball

South Korea's Park Ji-su, center, defends against North Korea's Pak Jin-a, left, in the second women's basketball Group C game at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China on Friday. [YONHAP]

The South Korean women’s basketball team crushed North Korea 81-62 in their second game of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

One of several South-versus-North contests at this year's Asiad, the game marked a striking departure from the 2018 Games in Jakarta, Indonesia where the two Korea's competed as one team and took silver.

South Korean women's basketball team dominates Thailand with a 90-56 victory

South Korea won the first bucket of the game with a two-point shot from Park Ji-su, but North Korea pushed back, bumping their lead to 8-2 before South Korea came back with a two-pointer from Kim Dan-bi.

South Korea trailed North Korea for most of the first quarter but closed the gap to end it 13-11, with North Korea in the lead.

The South Korean team came back strong in the second quarter, claiming a dominant lead to put the scoreboard at 33-25 by halftime.

South Korea again outscored North Korea in the third quarter, bucketing 29 points to North Korea’s 17, heading into the final quarter with a 20-point lead.

The top South Korean scorers of the night were Park Ji-su, with 18 points, followed by teammates Kim Dan-bi and Kang Lee-seul, with 16 points each.

Park, 24, is one of the only Koreans ever to play in the WNBA. She played for the Las Vegas Aces in 2018 and 2019, missing out in 2020 due to an injury. She returned to the American team in 2021 while maintaining her career in the WKBL, playing for the Cheongju KB Stars during the WNBA offseason.

The South Korean women’s team started their Asiad tournament strong, handily defeating Thailand 90-56 in the first round of the group stage.

A total of 12 countries, divided into three groups, are shooting for women's basketball gold in this year’s Asiad. Top two teams from each group and two best third-place teams reach the quarterfinals.

The last time the South Korean women’s basketball team won a gold in the Asiad was in 2014, when they beat China in the final.

BY MARY YANG AND PAIK JI-HWAN [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]