Cheongju KB of the Korean women’s professional basketball league won its first game of the season, led by “pillar” Park Ji-soo .KB defeated Incheon Shinhan Bank 82-57 in a home game of the Woori Bank Woori WON 2023-2024 Women’s Professional Basketball League regular season at Dowon Gymnasium in Incheon on March 8.KB, which finished fifth in the regular season last season after losing key player Park Ji-soo to panic disorder and a finger injury at the end of the season, proved to be the favorite to start the new season with a victory after a 12-year absence from “spring basketball .On the other hand, Shinhan Bank, which finished fourth in the regular season and lost to Asan Woori Bank in the playoffs, suffered a loss in the first game of the new season at Anbang .Woori Bank, Yongin Samsung Life Insurance and KB have won one game each, while Busan BNK, Bucheon Hana One Q and Shinhan Bank have lost one .In the first quarter, Shinhan Bank, which had four steals, took a 24-23 lead with a quick basket .To start the second quarter, Shinhan Bank extended its lead to 28-23 after back-to-back bank shots by Lee Kyung-eun and Kim Tae-yeon, but Park Ji-soo changed the game.
Down 28-33 with 3:52 left in the second quarter, Park scored eight unanswered points to give KB a 36-33 lead with 2:25 left, and she scored the final points of the quarter to give them a 39-38 lead at halftime. Park finished with 13 points and four rebounds in the second quarter alone .Shinhan Bank, which had matched Park Ji-soo’s strong play, fell apart quickly after third-year forward Byun So-jeong, who had been performing well on the night by grabbing seven rebounds, injured her knee on defense early in the third quarter and had to be helped off the floor.KB cut the deficit to 55-45 on a basket by Kim Min-jung with 2 minutes, 5 seconds left in the third quarter, and ended the third quarter with a 60-48 lead. Park Ji-soo scored just nine points in the third quarter, less than she did in the second, but she dominated the glass by pulling down nine rebounds .KB gradually increased its lead in the fourth quarter, and when it reached 20 points, 72-54, with 2:14 left, it rested its main players, including Park Ji-soo and Kim Min-jung, to close out the game .Park dominated the court with 30 points, 21 rebounds, five assists, a steal and three blocked shots on the night, while Kang Isul added 15 points and six rebounds and Kim Min-jung chipped in 15 points. For Shinhan Bank, Kim Sonia 스포츠토토존 chipped in with 22 points and five rebounds.