China Drubs Croatia in Women's Olympics Basketball

China Drubs Croatia in Women's Olympics Basketball
2012 London Summer Olympics

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London, England

Center Chen Nan asserted her might in the paint, scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 boards, to lead China to an impressive 83-58 drubbing of Croatia, its second victory in the women's basketball competition at the Olympic Games.

The 6-6 Chen shot 14-of-23 from the field while point guard Miao Lijie chipped in 17 points, dished out 10 assists and had five rebounds in China's second straight victory. The Chinese defeated Czech Republic, 66-57, in their opening game.

Fourth in the 2008 Beijing Games, China will take Angola and Turkey in the preliminary round before taking on the mighty United States, which they never beat at the Olympics. The Americans defeated Croatia, 81-56, in their first game.

"We took the game really serious and that's why we beat them by a big margin. I think the United States was not taking the first game serious, so they won it little," Miao said about the 25-point winning margin.

"Croatians are very skillful and better than us in 1-on-1. We changed the defense to zone in the second quarter, which was the key to the victory," Chinese coach Sun Fengwu said.

"The Croatian team is playing similar game with us -- small but fast. Today we were faster, and did better job on pick-and-roll. It's a game of speed and preciseness," he added.

Croatia entered the game strongly, even grabbing the lead but the Chinese eventually took control, 24-21, at the end of the first period.

The Chinese turned a 39-31 halftime lead into a more comfortable advantage after a 21-9 run sparked by Chen's three three-point plays and series of jumpers from the shaded area.

Croatia committed 23 turnovers, which were turned by the Chinese to 23 points. China only had 11 turnovers and 25 assists compared to just 12 by the Croatians.

"I don't know why. We had too many mistakes, and turnovers. I don't know what's the problem with our defense," Croatian coach Stipe Bralic said.

Sandra Mandir led Croatia with 22 points and Andja Jelavic added 11, but the backcourt pair had 11 turnovers together.