S. Korea pounds Mongolia to grab quarterfinal berth in women's hoops
Lee Hae-ran of South Korea, center, drives to the basket against Bulbul Murat, left, and Bolortsetseg Tsendjav of Mongolia during the teams' Group C game of the women's basketball tournament at the Asian Games at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, Monday. Reuters-Yonhap
South Korea hammered Mongolia 88-61 on Monday to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of the women's basketball tournament at the ongoing Asian Games.
Forward Lee Hae-ran led the balanced attack with 20 points at Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, central Japan, where South Korea enjoyed its second straight victory in Group C.
South Korea, after opening the competition with a 106-40 win over Malaysia on Friday, clinched a ticket to the quarterfinals before playing Chinese Taipei on Tuesday at the same Nagoya gym.
There are two groups of four and one group of three in the women's event. The top two teams from each group, plus the two best third-place teams, will advance to the quarterfinals.
All three third-place teams have two losses, meaning South Korea will at least squeeze into the quarterfinals as one of the top third-place teams even if it loses to Chinese Taipei on Tuesday.
In Monday's game, South Korea outscored Mongolia 28-9 in the first quarter to set the tone early. Mongolia won the second half 42-37, but that was not nearly enough to overcome the early deficit.
Captain Kang Lee-seul, who sat out the opening game to nurse an Achilles injury, dropped 15 points in just 16 minutes of action Monday.
The South Korean women are trying to improve on the bronze medal from three years ago. Their last gold medal came in 2014.
On Sunday, the South Korean men's team won gold over Japan.