CHENGDU, China, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Sichuan shocked title contenders Xinjiang 87-81 in the 2020-21 Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) league season opener here on Thursday.

The game was still hanging in the balance late in the last quarter. Sichuan withstood Shao Ting's foul-out with over three minutes remaining to taste victory in front of the more than 200 fans allowed to enter the venue.

Shao put a team-high 20 points on the board before earning a rare fifth foul with 3:43 left to play. Gao Song, the other national team player recruited by Sichuan during the offseason, nailed 15 points.

Shao admitted that the victory arrived in an unexpected manner.

"After all, we are a new team and don't have much time to work together. We are getting more familiar with each other," said China's national team captain.

Zhang Wanglai became a surprise in Sichuan's offense by chipping in 19 points.

"The win was not just about my contribution, but everyone's effort including players, coaches and staff. It boosted our confidence as a new group," she said.

In a tightly contested first quarter, the two sides saw many lead changes before it was knotted at 21-all.

National center Han Xu made the most of her height to convert consecutive baskets for Xinjiang after the tip-off. Her teammate Wang Lili followed to score five points in a row, but Zhang stepped up to register 10 points for Sichuan in the first quarter.

Three-pointers highlighted both teams' attack in the second quarter. Shao led the charge into the second quarter by scoring seven straight points and feeding Huang Ping-Jen's three-pointer thereafter. Sichuan then began to pull away from their opponents, leading by as many as eight points. But Xinjiang roared back into contention, also from the 3-point range, through shots from Liu Tongyi, Wang Lili and Liu Xiao to compile a 50-49 lead into halftime.

Fierce contention went on as players came back from the locker room. With the score tied at 68-all before the final quarter, Sichuan took charge of the last 10 minutes despite Shao's earlier departure.

"We have nothing to lose. We just want to show our new look," Sichuan's coach Pan Wei reflected.

Wang Lili contributed a game-high 22 points. Han pocketed 16 points and nine rebounds. Wang Siyu and Liu each bagged 13.

"They showed more desire to win than us. In the fourth quarter, we didn't deal with some details quite well," Wang Lili commented.

"We didn't expect it to be such a tough game. Our defense was not quite good, and we had many problems on offensive end," Xinjiang's coach Gao Fengjuan lamented.

Sichuan will encounter Dongguan on Monday, while Xinjiang's next opponents will be Wuhan. Enditem

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