January 24, 2018
The playoffs started on Wednesday with teams looking to start well in each best of five series. Zhejiang drew the first blood, beating Beijing 88-80 at home as they prepare to visit the top seed for the next two games. Wang Jiaqi was magnificent and Natasha Howard chipped in as the defending champions were left stunned. Jonquel Jones delivered the performance of the day, dominating everywhere as she formed a lethal inside-outside combination with Wu Tongtong in Shanxi’s 92-81 win. Heilongjiang got excellent domestic production from Liu Jiacen, Zhang Jiahe, and Ji Yanyan, but it was not enough. Shanghai started their quest to avenge last year as Breanna Stewart led them past Jiangsu 98-71. The hosts did get a good game from Viktoria Medvedeva, but will face a tough task after a strong regular season. The series of big travel started with Xinjiang beating Guangdong 91-86 as the teams now cross the country with the second seed looking to complete a sweep to avoid another long trip. Candace Parker had a big game as expected with Wang Lili adding her usual scoring while Dilana Dilixiati also stepped up to provide extra impact. Li Yueru and Glory Johnson led the hosts inside as expected.
Zhejiang vs. Beijing 88-80 ZJ Wang JQ 24/8r/11a Howard 23/11r Dan 19 Wang HM 14 BJ Fowles 17/8r Gao 15 Shi 13 Qi 10
Heilongjiang vs. Shanxi 81-92 HL Liu 23 Zhang 20/7r Ji 20 Zou 10 SX Jones 48/26r Wu 31
Jiangsu vs. Shanghai 71-98 JS Medvedeva 22/10r Jiang 12 Li 12 SH Stewart 26/12r Zhang 19/12r/6a Huang 16/7r Shen 13
Guangdong vs. Xinjiang 86-91 GD Li 22/11r Johnson 21/8r Yang 16 Shen 13 XJ Parker 30/12r/6a Wang 23/7r Dilana 23