China beats Nigeria in first Women's Basketball World Cup qualifier

Li Yueru of China competes during the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying basketball match between China and Nigeria in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 10, 2022. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

BELGRADE, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- China outplayed Nigeria 90-76 in their qualifier for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in the Group B tournament in Belgrade, Serbia on Thursday.

China took a 6-0 lead with two consecutive three-pointers early in the first quarter, and expanded the lead to 18 points by half-time thanks to points from Li Meng and Li Yueru.

China routinely increased their advantage to nearly 30 points in the third quarter, thanks to excellent pace and scoring precision, but allowed it to melt to just 14 points in the final quarter.

Li Meng and Li Yueru scored 19 points each, while Han Xu added another 15. For Nigeria, Amy Okonkwo shone with 15 points.

China coach Zheng Wei said after the match that his side had done well in both offense and defense at the beginning of the match and "did what it was prepared for", but had not performed equally well in the second half.

"When we got the lead, the players on the court relaxed a little bit, so defensively we didn't do very well and we made mistakes," she admitted.

"In the next games this will be a problem and we need to fix it," she said.

Zheng added that the team had not played international games for around six months due to the pandemic so "the players needed time to adjust to this kind of intensity".

Li Meng agreed that the team had played with only half its potential, especially in the second half.

Nigeria coach Otis Hughley Jr. said China's team "is really great, no excuses" and expressed faith in his team's future.

Okonkwo said Nigeria "came out there and gave our all" and that they will learn from their mistakes in order to win the two remaining games and qualify for the World Cup.

China continues the qualification tournament tomorrow against Mali, while Nigeria meets France.

Eight teams are competing in two groups in Belgrade until February 13 for a place among the 12 teams at the World Cup in Australia in September.

Three teams from each of the groups will qualify, with Olympic champions the United States and hosts Australia qualifying automatically. Besides the tournament in Belgrade, two more tournaments are held in Osaka, Japan and Washington, U.S.. 

Players of China bow after the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying basketball match between China and Nigeria in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 10, 2022. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

Coach Zheng Wei of China gestures during the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying basketball match between China and Nigeria in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 10, 2022. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

Coach Zheng Wei of China gestures during the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying basketball match between China and Nigeria in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 10, 2022. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)

Li Yueru and Pan Zhenqi of China cheer for the team during the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying basketball match between China and Nigeria in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 10, 2022. (Photo by Predrag Milosavljevic/Xinhua)