CHENGDU, April 14 (Xinhua) -- An overseas trio combined for 56 points as Sichuan cruised past Shanxi 95-61 in the opening game of the 2025-26 Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) league finals on Tuesday.
Sichuan, appearing in the finals for the fifth consecutive season, led wire to wire. Australian center Elizabeth Cambage had a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Natasha Howard and Arike Ogunbowale chipped in with 19 and 18 points respectively.
Howard, winner of the regular season's Best Overseas Player award, shot seven of eight to score 14 points in the first quarter. Coupled with Cambage's eight points and Ogunbowale's buzzer-beating 3-pointer, Sichuan built a 32-20 lead at the quarter's end.
Ogunbowale and Cambage helped Sichuan extend its lead to 19 points midway through the second quarter. After Shanxi rode a 7-0 run, veterans Gao Song and Wang Siyu proved their value, hitting consecutive baskets to help steady Sichuan, who led 53-36 at halftime.
Sichuan dominated the third quarter, outscoring Shanxi 23-11 to pull away from the game. Shanxi, playing in its first finals since 2017-18, failed to mount pressure from there.
Shanxi went ice-cold from 3-point range, only making three on 22 attempts. Shakira Austin led the team with 14 points. Lin Yu-Ting and Zhang Ru had 11 and 10 points respectively.
Shanxi will host Sichuan in Game 2 on Friday. ■
