CHENGDU, China, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Sichuan used a strong first half to beat Dongguan 96-77 in the third game of the 2024-25 Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA) finals on Thursday, pulling one game back in the best-of-five series to keep its hopes of title defense alive.

Sichuan surged into a 19-2 lead at the opening stages and led by 23 points at halftime, before weathering Dongguan's second-half comeback to protect its home court.

Li Meng finished with a game-high 24 points for Sichuan. Jonquel Jones contributed with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Elizabeth Cambage and Gao Song had 17 and 16 points respectively.

"Tonight we finally played as we played the whole season," said Sichuan coach Milos Paden. "We played defense, we played with transition that we did the best the whole season, and how we scored the most points."

After suffering consecutive losses in the two previous games, Sichuan made three changes to its lineup, with Gao, Jia Saiqi and Zhang Manman getting the nod as starters.

"Refresh the team, and give new energy and new blood," said Paden about his decision.

Jia had a layup soon after the tip-off, while Yang Liwei responded on the other end of the floor. Jones followed with a 3-pointer to kickstart a ferocious 17-0 run as Sichuan built a 32-18 cushion as the first quarter ran out.

Sichuan continued to keep its offense flowing entering the second period, scoring 10 unanswered points for a 24-point lead. Relying on full court press from its reserve players, Dongguan once cut the deficit within 15 points, but Gao steadied Sichuan with a layup, followed with another two by Wang Siyu and Li Meng. Sichuan went ahead 57-34 at the break.

A resilient Dongguan rode on a 12-0 run midway through the third quarter to keep the game within striking distance, and reduced the deficit to 11 points heading into the final 10 minutes.

Yang's layup helped Dongguan cut the deficit within single digit at the start of the fourth quarter, but Sichuan answered with consecutive baskets from Li and Jones, going 80-66 up with six minutes left to play, and a 9-0 run afterwards secured Sichuan's win.

Aliyah Collier led Dongguan with 21 points. Yang Shuyu bagged 12 points, and Yang Liwei had 10.

Dongguan coach-player Huang Sijing said her team could settle for the defeat. "So far we have showcased what we have. Obviously we had something that we didn't do well on, but the series is not over, and hopefully we can put on a more excellent game on our home court."

Dongguan hosts Sichuan in the fourth game on Sunday.

"It will be hard to play there. But if we play like this, if we play with good energy and a heart, I believe we can win bring back the fifth game here," said Paden. Enditem