S. Korea Crushes Malaysia by 66 Points in Women's Basketball Opener; Lee So-hee Scores 21

The South Korean women's national basketball team secured a massive 66-point victory over Malaysia in their opening match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Led by head coach Park Suho, South Korea (ranked 14th by FIBA) defeated Malaysia (ranked 83rd) 106-40 in their Group C preliminary match at the Aichi International Arena in Nagoya, Japan, today (the 18th).

Except for the 2006 Doha Games (4th place) and the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games (silver medal) where they competed as a joint inter-Korean team, the South Korean women's basketball team has never failed to win a medal at the Asian Games. They are now challenging to reclaim the top spot for the first time in 12 years since the 2014 Incheon Games.

In this year's women's basketball tournament featuring 11 countries, the preliminary round is played across three groups. The top two teams from each group, along with the two best third-place teams, will advance to the quarterfinals to compete for medals in a knockout stage.

South Korea will continue its group stage matches against Mongolia on the 21st and Chinese Taipei on the 22nd.

Without key players Park Ji-su (KB) and Park Ji-hyun (Los Angeles Sparks), South Korea fielded an 11-player roster. Early in the game, perhaps due to a slow start, their field goals were not dropping, resulting in a performance similar to C-group underdogs Malaysia.

Starting the game with Lee Hae-ran, Kang Yu-rim (both from Samsung Life Insurance), Ahn Hye-ji, Lee So-hee (both from BNK), and Jin An (Hana Bank), South Korea failed to score a field goal for about three minutes and thirty seconds, relying only on free throws to tie the game at 4-4. This prompted coach Park Suho to substitute all five players to make a tactical change.

With 5 minutes and 54 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Heo Ye-eun (KB) drove to the basket for South Korea's first field goal. Trailing 6-8, South Korea sparked a 9-0 run starting with a three-pointer by Choi Lee-sem (BNK) to turn the game around and take a 22-10 lead.

South Korea further widened the gap in the second quarter as their shooting touch came alive.

Leading 24-15, they reeled off 10 unanswered points, including an outside shot by Lee So-hee, pulling ahead 34-15 with about 6 minutes and 30 seconds left. With 2 minutes and 36 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Heo Ye-eun's three-pointer hit the net, extending the lead to 52-20.

By halftime, South Korea held a commanding 59-22 lead.

Right at the start of the second half, South Korea created scoring opportunities through aggressive pressing and fast transitions, pushing their lead beyond 40 points with another outside shot from Lee So-hee.

As Malaysia managed only 10 points in the third quarter, the score widened further to 81-32, and with the margin exceeding 60 points in the fourth quarter, South Korea comfortably closed out the match.

Except for shooter Kang I-seul (Woori Bank), all 10 available players on the roster stepped onto the court and scored.

Lee So-hee led the team with 21 points, including five three-pointers, while Choi Lee-sem scored 19 points and Lee Hae-ran added 12.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.