Women’s professional basketball’s Yongin Samsung Life got their new season off to a flying start with a win over Bucheon Hana OneQ.
Samsung Life defeated Hana Won Q 67-66 in their home game of the 2023-2024 Woori Bank Woori WON Women’s Professional Basketball League regular season at Yongin Gymnasium on Saturday.
Samsung Life, which finished third in the regular season last season and entered the playoffs before suffering a shutout loss to Busan BNK, kicked off the new season with its first victory over Hana OneQ in a close game.
Hana OneQ, who finished last season with a record of 6 wins and 24 losses and finished at the bottom of the standings for the second consecutive season, fell to Samsung Life in a see-saw game.
Hana OneQ started off strong in the first quarter, scoring evenly through Shin Ji-hyun and Yang In-young.
Kim Jong-un, who tasted the sweetness of victory three times in the past six seasons with Woori Bank before returning to his native Korea this season, also led the team’s offence with two assists.
Samsung Life pulled within three points of Hana OneQ at the end of the first quarter, thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Shin Isul.
Neither team scored for more than two minutes into the second quarter, but Hana OneQ started to open up the scoring and widen the gap.
Hana OneQ maintained an eight-point lead behind three points from Jeong Yerim and two points from Kim Sion, who transferred from BNK ahead of this season.
At the end of the second quarter, three-pointers from Kim, Shin Ji-hyun, and Kim Anna split the rim to give Hana OneQ a 36-28 lead going into halftime.
Samsung Life began to close the gap in the third quarter, starting with two 3-pointers from Park Hye-mi.
After a brilliant pass from Shin Isul to Lee Hae-ran to tie the game, Samsung Life scored nine straight points until Park Hye-mi’s basket.
Hana WonQ, which struggled on defence, was also out of sync on offence and committed turnovers, and Samsung Life quickly took a five-point lead when Lee Hae-ran made a three-point play after breaking under the basket.
At the end of the third quarter, Hana OneQ came back with back-to-back baskets by Yang In-young and a free throw by Shin Ji-hyun, and Samsung Life responded with a free throw by Lee Hae-ran to keep the game close.
The fiery battle between the two teams continued in the final quarter, when Samsung Life took a one-point lead.
With 5:20 left in the game, Hana OneQ tied the score after Shin Ji-hyun’s hastily thrown three-pointer hit the rim as the shot clock expired, but Kim Anna’s three-point play with just over four minutes to go gave Hana OneQ the lead for good.
Samsung Life regained a two-point lead on a basket by Lee Ju-yeon with 3:02 to play, but Hana OneQ answered with two free throws by Shin Ji-hyun with 59 seconds left.
With Kim Jong-woo replaced due to bleeding from a collision, Hana OneQ’s last attempt with 16 seconds left in regulation came up empty, but Samsung Life sealed the win with a dagger from Shin with three seconds left.
For Samsung Life, Park Hye-mi scored 19 points and Lee Hae-ran had 18 points and eight rebounds. The game-winner, Shin Isul, contributed 12 points and seven assists.
For Hana OneQ, Yang In-young scored 22 points, Shin Ji-hyun added 16 points, and Kim Anna recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, but they fell short by one point. 파워볼사이트