TENERIFE, Spain, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- China finished second in Group D after withstanding late rally from Senegal to triumph 75-66 in the final round match at the 2018 FIBA Women's World Cup here on Tuesday.
Li Meng scored a team-high 15 points for China. Captain Shao Ting had 10. Chinese youngsters continued to show progress as Li Yueru grabbed 11 rebounds and Li Yuan dished out seven assists.
China opened their scoring on Shao Ting's layup. Shao also ended both sides' scoring drought for three and a half minutes. In a quarter characterized by fierce body contact, China conceded seven turnovers and shot just 29 percent, but managed to build a 10-8 lead as the quarter expired.
After establishing a comfortable cushion on consecutive shots beyond the arc from Sun Mengran, Wang Xuemeng and Li Meng, China built a double-figure advantage for the first time thanks to Li Yueru's layup with 4:25 remaining in the second quarter. China led 30-19 into the halftime thanks to four three-pointers.
China built a 17-point lead early in the third period, but the African runners-up displayed resilience thereafter and drastically improved their three-pointer shooting efficiency, cutting China's lead to five points through Mame Diodio Diouf's buzzer beater.
Senegal continued to press on and were four points behind after Mame Marie Sy-Diop hit a three-pointer. Then China buckled up their defense and pulled away again on Shao's two layups in a row.
Senegal came as close as two points when Bintou Dieme made a layup with 1:25 from time, but China steadied firm through Sun Mengran's layup and a pair of free throws from Wang Siyu. Li Meng sealed China's victory with her three-pointer on target with seven seconds remaining.
Senegal's Astou Traore finished a game-high 21 points, added by Yacine Diop's 13 and Sy-Diop's 12.
The United States, who have secured a top place with consecutive victories over Senegal and China, will play Latvia later on Tuesday.
