体坛英语新闻：China holds off Czech Republic 71-54 in women's basketball warmup

HENGYANG, China, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China recorded their second straight win in 2016 Four-Nation Women's Basketball Tournament after upsetting the Czech Republic 71-54 here on Sunday.

Compared with a 60-point win over New Zealand in Saturday's tournament opener, China made one change to the starting line-up, as Sun Mengran went in. She was dynamic in the offensive end with eight points on two 3-pointers, which earned the hosts a 12-3 spurt to force the opponents into a timeout. China led by 20-13 as the first quarter ran out.

Sun Mengran finished with a team-high 13 points. Teammate Chen Nan added 10 points and six rebounds.

"We play a better defense than they do and make them take some tough shots. If we can improve 10 percent, I think we would have a very nice game," said China's head coach Thomas Maher.

China extended their advantage to double digits on Lu Wen's one of two free throws midway through the second period. China shot 14 of 29 in field goals, and outrebounded at 25-20 in the first half, earning them a 13-point advantage into the locker room.

The visitors once cut the deficit to 10 points on a 7-0 run with three minutes to go in the third quarter, before veteran Chen Nan made two consecutive shots to help the hosts maintain a double-digit margin. The Czech Republic never got closer than nine points in the second half.

Julia Reisingerova had a game-high 15 points for the Czech Republic, helped by Alena Hanusova's 12 and Tereza Vyoralova's 11.

"I feel a little disappointed about the loss, but our players did not surrender throughout the game. I'm satisfied with that," said Ivan Benes, the Czech Republic's head coach.

China will face their final rival Montenegro next Monday.