The KB Stars picked up a comfortable win over Hana Bank in their season opener.
KB Stars defeated home team Hana Bank 64-56 in the opening game of the Hana Bank 2024-2025 Women’s Professional Basketball League on Sunday at Bucheon Gymnasium in Gyeonggi Province.
KB was shorthanded under the basket following Park Ji-soo’s transfer to Galatasaray (Turkkiye), but the perimeter players, led by Heo Ye-eun and Kang Yi-seul, stepped up to the plate and spoiled 엔트리 파워사다리 Hana Bank’s home feast.
The win extended KB’s winning streak against Hana Bank to 10 games dating back to last season.
Hana Bank was brought to its knees by KB last season, losing all six games in the regular season and three games in the quarterfinals of the playoffs, and tasted bitterness in the first meeting this season.
Despite the departure of Park Ji-soo, KB actually led 33-27 at halftime.
That’s because Hana Bank, which tried to take advantage of its height advantage by sending both Jin-an and Yang In-young onto the court at the same time, struggled with its under-the-basket offense due to poor organization.
When Jinan settled down under the basket, she would use Yang In-young to attack 2-on-2 from the top, and when the players tried to put the ball in, Jinan would get frustrated and come to the outside to receive the ball.
With 3:50 left in the second quarter, Na Yoon-jeong nailed a three-pointer to extend KB’s lead to 29-11. Hana Bank went into the half with the gap down to six points after Jin An stepped up and converted back-to-back one-on-one attacks from under the basket.
Jinan, who struggled in the first half with 12 points and eight rebounds, continued to lead Hana Bank’s offense in the third quarter with six points and five rebounds.
However, the gap widened to 42-56 at the end of the third quarter. KB’s point guard Heo Ye-eun was unable to contain the offense.
Heo poured in eight points, including two three-pointers, and added three assists to help KB take a 23-15 lead in the third quarter.
A deflated Hana Bank cut the deficit to 53-62 on five straight points from Yang In-young with just over two minutes left in the game, and closed the gap to six points with just over a minute to go when Heo Ye-eun capitalized on a miscue by Uhm Seo-yi with a fastbreak layup.
However, with 31 seconds left in regulation, Heo stole a pass from her opponent and delivered a pass that led to a fastbreak layup by Nakata Moe.
Heo finished with 19 points, seven assists, and four steals. National team shooter Kang Yiul added 17 points, including three 3-pointers.
For Hana Bank, “transfer student” Jin An led the way with 23 points and 19 rebounds.