This season, the WCBA has also implemented foreign player reforms, similar to the CBA, with fewer restrictions on foreign player appearances. As a result, many teams have added several foreign players. However, Sichuan team has only had Cambage join in the last three games after playing more than twenty rounds. It can be said that among the 23 consecutive victories of the Sichuan team, the main force was still the national team players centered around Li Meng, who achieved an impressive record.
However, the team encountered a tough opponent when they played away against the second-ranked Shanxi team. This team previously had Liu Yutong, a powerful inside player, but after playing seven regular-season games, Liu Yutong announced that she would temporarily leave basketball to pursue further studies. Despite this, the team still had three foreign players. Shanxi team recently welcomed a six-game winning streak. This season, they have 18 wins and 5 losses, ranking just below the Sichuan team.
In this strong matchup, the two teams fiercely tied in the first three quarters, leading to a fierce battle in the final quarter. However, Shanxi team had multiple foreign players and limited the performance of the Sichuan team. They eventually won the precious victory with a score of 81 to 75, welcoming a seven-game winning streak while breaking the undefeated record of the Sichuan team and handing them their first loss of the season. Unlike Inner Mongolia and Dongguan teams, which have strong local players, Shanxi team does not have any national team players.
Li Meng scored the highest points for the team with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 turnovers, all of which were the highest in the team. She scored 12 points in the first quarter but did not score much in the key sections. Unfortunately, her teammates were not very supportive. Gao Song scored 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists; Wang Siyu scored 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists; Jin Weina scored 3 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists; Han Xu scored 13 points and 5 rebounds; Cambage scored 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers. Facing the opponent's fast and flexible playstyle, she was somewhat unaccustomed, and with age, her state has declined. She still needs some time to adapt to the team. The team had as many as 18 turnovers, which was the key to the defeat. The bench players didn't play much and didn't contribute much either. Besides Cambage, the other bench players only scored a total of 6 points.
Sichuan team relies somewhat on outside three-pointers, with a low efficiency of only 5 out of 24 attempts.
On the other hand, Shanxi team's Mitchell scored 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists; Chen Yujie made 3 out of 3 three-pointers for 18 points and 3 rebounds; Song Kexin scored 11 points and 6 assists, becoming the team's organizational core. Shooter Zhai Ruo Yun scored 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals, performing comprehensively. Aoda scored 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists; Huo Juntong scored 2 points and 6 rebounds; Feng Kexin scored 7 points. The team had 8 fewer turnovers than their opponents.
In fact, the two teams had faced each other once before, about a month ago, when Sichuan team won by a large margin of 22 points, and at that time, Liu Yutong was no longer in the team. In that game, Han Xu scored the highest with 27 points, and Gao Song also scored 21 points. Instead, after Cambage joined, Sichuan team lost to their former defeated opponent.
This defeat also serves as a wake-up call for the Sichuan team. As foreign players become more familiar with the team and the opponents gain a deeper understanding of your tactics, the team's advantages are not as significant as at the beginning of the season. Many teams have more foreign players than the Sichuan team, which poses a potential threat in the playoffs. Local players also need more games to maintain good form, but the Sichuan team often easily defeats their opponents without experiencing many tough battles, which is also one of the reasons for their loss.
There are only eight regular-season games left. If the Sichuan team wants to maintain their playoff championship, they need to improve themselves even more, or perhaps find another foreign player.