Jiangsu sailed past Shaanxi 89-69 here on Wednesday, starting the 2020-21 Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) campaign with a 3-0 record.

Outscoring its opponent 28-14 after the first quarter, Jiangsu was never really challenged by Shaanxi over the ensuing three quarters.

Luo Xinyu bagged 18 points for Jiangsu, who also got 14 points apiece from Xu Chenyan and Jiang Jiayin.

"We played great in the first half, but after bench players came in, they suffered a bit and failed to maintain the level on both ends," said Jiangsu coach Ding Tie.

Jiangsu took to attacking the basket from the paint early on, before going up 20-9 on a 14-0 surge.

With several different players contributing in offense, Jiangsu went on another 16-3 run to start the second quarter to extend its advantage to almost 30 points, which gave little room for Shaanxi's fightback. Shaanxi came no closer than 14 points during the entire second half.

With a perfect record in the new season, Jiangsu expects a tough route ahead as title contender Xinjiang awaits them on Saturday.

"Xinjiang has more star players than us. We just have to relax and prepare for a fight. Nothing else," Ding added.

Shaanxi's backcourt duo of Chen Yanyu and Chen Xinlei, who combined for 57 points in their last game, were restrained to nine and three points respectively.

"We had a poor start as our players didn't show enough mentality, but I'm satisfied with the players' performance in the following three quarters," Shaanxi coach Jiang E'Ying commented.

Shaanxi can still find positives despite the loss, as Yu Jiarui, in her second year, shot 11 of 22 from the field to post a career-high 35 points.

"Coach Jiang always told me to show my courage in the paint without being afraid of opponents. I have to admit that I lack game experience, so I need to grow up every single game," Yu said. 

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