South Korea defeats Japan in women's basketball final — Korea Herald

South Korea's women's national basketball team defeated Japan 75:70 in the final of the Aichi–Nagoya Asian Games, held in Nagoya, Japan. Forward Lee Hae-ran was the top scorer for the winners with 24 points, while captain Kang Lee-seul added 21 points.

As Korea Herald reports, this is the South Korean women's national team's first Asian Games gold since 2014. Six days earlier, the country's men's team also defeated Japan in the gold medal game.

Lead before halftime

Japan opened the scoring with a three-pointer by Miyu Okamoto, but the South Korean team responded with 11 consecutive points. Late in the first quarter, Park So-hee scored from beyond the arc to extend the lead to 25:10, and the opening period ended at 27:15.

At the start of the second quarter, Kang Lee-seul made a three-pointer to make it 30:15. Lee Hae-ran also scored from long range, and before the buzzer Park So-hee hit a long three-pointer. South Korea led 42:23 at halftime.

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Japan cuts the deficit

In the third quarter, the South Korean team extended its lead to 20 points, but the Japanese side managed to restore suspense. Before the final quarter, South Korea's advantage stood at 12 points, and at the start of the last period Japan cut the deficit to 66:62.

With five minutes remaining, Lee So-hee and Kang Lee-seul scored four consecutive points to make it 70:62. In the closing stages, Japan narrowed the gap to 72:70, but Kang Lee-seul made two free throws and Lee Hae-ran added another point from the free-throw line. Lee Hae-ran also finished the game with nine rebounds.

South Korea made 39% of its three-point attempts and 44% of its field-goal attempts. The Japanese team made 21% of its long-range attempts and 37% of its field-goal attempts.