China wins 3rd straight in women's basketball warmup

Chinese women's basketball team met little resistence in a 74-35 win against Montenegro on Monday, finishing the 2016 Four-Nation Basketball Tournament here with a 3-0 record.

After sweeping Venezuela in April's three warmup matches, Chinese girls have been riding on a six-game winning streak in their preparation for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in June.

Wu Di had a game-high 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting attempts. Chen Nan helped with 11.

"I was happy. I thought there were times that our energy was not 100 percent, and that's not good," said China's head coach Thomas Maher.

China trailed by 5-7 after the tip-off, which was the vistiors' last lead throughout the game. The Chinese team used a 15-0 run to come back into the game, and led by 20-7 after the first quarter.

Montenegro was restricted to no field goals in one-quarter span, before Kristina Rakovic ended the drought with a jumper three minutes into the second period.

China had 50% shooting percentage in field goals, while their opponents shot just 5 of 23 in the first half. The hosts built a 23-point margin into the locker room.

China adpoted five-player rotation tactics early in the third quarter, giving more players opportunity to gain experience.

Leading 52-27 to begin the final 12 minutes, China stretched the lead to 39 points on their way to the buzzer.

Natasa Popovic scored a team-high 12 points for Montenegro.

"Our team has many young players, so obviously, China is much stronger than us," commented Momir Milatovic, Montenegro's head coach.

The tournament's next stop will be held in Xilinhot, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, from May 19 to 21. Endit