Asian champion South Korea downs New Zealand 90-78

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Asian champion South Korea notched down its first win here on Sunday by beating New Zealand 90-78 on the second day of the women's basketball international tournament.

Kim Jung Eun had 26 points and Jung Sunmin chipped in 18 points and nine assists to lead the South Koreans.

The Asian champion was faster and quick-handed as it had 10 steals and 23 assists in total to conquer its opponents.

"We didn't shoot well on 3-pointers though everybody says we are better off on long-ranged shots," Korea's coach Jung Duk Hwa said when his teams shot 6-out-of-15 from behind the arc compared to New Zealand's 6-16.

Angela Marino led New Zealand with 22 points and Jillian Harmon adding 18 points, but the team shot 43 per cent in the field when South Korea played one of the best defensive games in the internationals.

In earlier match, the United States had little challenge to thrash Cuba 92-60, thanks to Sylvia Fowles' 25 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks.

After losing 74-60 in Saturday's opener to Australia, the U.S. picked up the offence and defense as well. Five players had double-digit numbers and they beat Cuba 57-34 on the board and made 16 blocks in total.

"To enter the game earlier. It's a lesson we learned from last night's loss. I did it well today," Fowles said.

Suchitel Cazanas led Cuba with 17 points while Yayma Peillon contributing 14 points and 10 rebounds.