Women’s Olympic Basketball Match Report: Li Meng & Li Yueru + China Beats Puerto Rico, Preserves Chance for Elimination

On the afternoon of August 3rd, in the final round of the Olympic women’s basketball group stage, the Chinese women’s basketball team faced off against Puerto Rico. In the first quarter, Jones scored with a three-pointer, and the Chinese women’s basketball team started the game with a slow start. Li Yueru missed both of her free throws, but she then scored with a strong drive inside after one and a half minutes. Soon after, Li Meng hit a three-pointer from the arc, and the Chinese team took the lead at 5-3. Zhang Ru then countered with a fast break layup, followed by Jones hitting a three-pointer from a step-back move on the baseline, resulting in a score of 7-5, with a two-point difference. Then, Holinghede scored with a jump shot from the baseline without a follow-up free throw, making it 7-7. Both teams struggled with their shooting, but Wang Siyu hit a three-pointer to start the second half, followed by Li Meng hitting another three-pointer. Then, Zhang Ru was fouled, and Gilantes made one of his two free throws. Perez scored a buzzer-beating layup, and Wang Siyu responded with a fast break layup. The Chinese team maintained its lead.

The second quarter saw Sun Mengran scoring a three-pointer immediately, followed by Li Meng making one of her two free throws. Li Yueru scored with a turnaround jump shot and added a bonus free throw, which she also made. This opened up a 6-0 lead for the Chinese team, stopping Puerto Rico’s momentum, with the score now at 24-11, a 13-point lead. After a timeout, Antonio made one of her two free throws, and Zhang Ru was fouled, making one of her two free throws. Then, Gilantes scored with a turnaround shot, and Li Yueru responded with a turnaround jump shot. Next, Gilantes made a back-and-forth jump shot, followed by Wang Siyu assisting Li Yueru with an alley-oop dunk. The Chinese team maintained a double-digit lead at 29-16. After a Puerto Rican timeout, Gilantes made a fast-break layup, and Wang Siyu hit another three-pointer. Gilantes made both of her free throws, and Beñites scored with a low post move. Li Meng made both of her free throws. The Chinese team led 36-24 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Wang Siyu hit a three-pointer from the corner, followed by Li Yueru scoring with a layup and adding a bonus free throw. Then, Jones hit a three-pointer from the arc, and Li Meng assisted Sun Mengran for a dunk. Then, Holinghede hit another three-pointer, and Rosado scored with a layup and added a bonus free throw. The Chinese team widened its lead to 47-37. Then, Zhang Ru was fouled, making one of her two free throws, and Han Xu scored with a dunk. Sun Mengran and Holinghede got into a conflict, each receiving a technical foul. Then, Gilantes scored with a jump shot, and Han Xu continued to score. Li Meng hit a three-pointer as a quick follow-up, causing Puerto Rico to call a timeout. After the timeout, Li Meng made both of her free throws, and Holinghede made a shot. The Chinese team led 62-45 at the end of the third quarter.

In the final quarter, Mendez scored with a fast-break layup, and Perez made a turnaround jump shot. Then, Huang Si Jing hit a three-pointer from the arc, and Wu Tongtong continued with a three-pointer. The Chinese team answered with a 6-0 run, increasing its lead to 19 points. Puerto Rico called a timeout, and after returning to the court, the head coach received a technical foul. Li Meng scored with free throws, widening the gap to 20 points. Huang Si Jing hit another three-pointer, giving the Chinese team a 72-49 lead over Puerto Rico. Then, Puerto Rico scored four consecutive points, while the Chinese team’s offense stalled. Fortunately, Wang Siyu made a fast-break layup, bringing the lead back to more than 20 points. Gilantes made one of his two free throws, and Han Xu came onto the court, scoring with a mid-range jumper. The opposing player scored off a baseline drive, and Huang Si Jing scored four consecutive points, but Puerto Rico missed both of its free throws.

Finally, the Chinese women’s basketball team defeated Puerto Rico with a score of 80-58.

Player statistics:

• Chinese women’s basketball: Li Meng scored 18 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, made 7 assists, and had 1 steal; Li Yueru scored 14 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, and made 1 assist; Wang Siyu scored 13 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, made 3 assists; Han Xu scored 10 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and made 1 assist; Huang Si Jing scored 10 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and made 3 assists; Sun Mengran scored 5 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and made 3 assists; Zhang Ru scored 4 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and made 2 assists; Wu Tongtong scored 3 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and made 1 assist; Yang Lvyi scored 3 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, made 5 assists, and had 1 steal;
• Puerto Rican women’s basketball: Gilantes scored 20 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and made 2 assists; Jones scored 13 points and grabbed 2 rebounds; Perez scored 6 points and grabbed 1 rebound; Holinghede scored 5 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and made 3 assists; Mendez scored 4 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and made 2 steals; Antonio scored 4 points, grabbed 1 rebound, and had 1 steal; Gibson scored 2 points and grabbed 2 rebounds; Benitez scored 2 points and made 1 assist; Roma scored 6 rebounds and 5 assists; Pagan made 1 steal; Quiñonez grabbed 1 rebound;

Player list:

• Starting lineup for Chinese women’s basketball: Wang Siyu, Li Meng, Zhang Ru, Huang Si Jing, Li Yueru
• Starting lineup for Puerto Rican women’s basketball: Jones, Rosado, Roma, Holinghede, Gilantes