ATHENS, Aug. 14 (Xinhuanet) -- China beat arch-rivals South Korea 71-54 here on Saturday for its first victory at the Olympics women's basketball in eight years.

    Chen Nan scored 17 points and Miao Lijie added 16 to help China,who missed the Sydney Olympics four years ago, revenge its defeat to the South Koreans at the Asian Championship in January.

    "We played very well today, especially in defense," said Chinese head coach Gong Luming.

    "We did a good job in defending the outside shooters of the South Korean team," Gong added.

    The South Koreans, who are famed for their sharp shooting, onlymade three three-pointers in 17 attempts.

    "China played very good defense today," said South Korean head coach Park Myung-soo. "We just could not get our three-pointer shooting going."

    Miao scored nine points in a 14-4 run of China early in the second half to boost the Asian champion to a comfortable 47-25 lead. South Korea cut its deficit to 54-42 late in the third quarter, but that's the closest they could go.

    "South Korea is a very tough team and never gives up, we kept our concentration through the match for the win," said Miao, who added five rebounds and three assists for China.

    "There are two veterans missing from the South Korea team, and the young players are not as experienced," said Chinese point guard Pan Wei. "I think that gave us a little bit advantage."

    With all players making their debut at the Olympics, China committed 23 turnovers, compared with 16 for South Korea.

    "We made a lot of mistakes, but it's understandable," Gong said."Because it's the first Olympic Games for all my players."

    Beon Yeon-ha led South Korea with 19 points.

    The Chinese women crowned at the Asian championship in Sendai, Japan in January, but lost to South Korea in the group stage.

    Twelve teams are competing in two preliminary groups at the Olympics women's basketball tournament with top four finishers from each group qualifying for the quarter-finals. Enditem