Defending champions Inner Mongolia Nongxin defeated Sichuan Yuanda Merlot 104-95 in Game 1 of the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) Finals on Tuesday.

The two teams will move to Chengdu for Game 2 and 3 in the best-of-three series.

Yang Liwei hit a 3-pointer and Zhang Ru scored a mid-range shot as Inner Mongolia opened the game with an 8-0 run, forcing Sichuan to call a timeout.

Coming back from the timeout, Wang Siyu's two 3-pointers helped Sichuan cut down the deficit, but Inner Mongolia regained its momentum as Yang and Zhang frequently attacked in the paint.

In the second quarter, Sichuan frequently made turnovers and could only rely on Gao Song's inside scoring to fight back, while Inner Mongolia expanded its lead with Shen Yi's shots, ending the first half 57-41.

Inner Mongolia implemented patient ball movement to find Li Yueru inside for easy scoring, and the team took 82 points in three quarters.

Sichuan suddenly made a push in the fourth quarter, scoring consecutive free throws, but Huang Sijing's three 3-pointers helped Inner Mongolia soon stabilize the situation and win the game eventually.

Huang Sijing and Yang Liwei each contributed 25 points for Inner Mongolia, while Li Yueru scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

On Sichuan's side, Wang Siyu scored 25 points while Li Meng got 18 points and dished out 11 assists.

"For me personally, today is a bit sad because it's our last home game. I'm very excited to present such a wonderful game in front of home fans, and I hope to bring the champions' trophy back to Inner Mongolia," said Huang, who made six 3-pointers.

This season's WCBA Finals are played in a home-away format.

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