The Chinese women's national basketball team claimed their first victory in the ongoing 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after beating the African champions Senegal with a 101-64 win to keep their hope alive at the prestigious quadrennial sporting event on Monday.

According to Xinhua, China started the match with an 11-0 charge and never trailed in the first half of the game. Senegal only managed to get close to one point twice, but the Chinese hoopsters were able to stretch their lead and capped the first half with a nine-point advantage 47-38 going into the second half.

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The Chinese team played their best quarter in the competition so far in the third period as they established a 20-point lead 73-53.

The Chinese team is looking for another win to qualify for the quarter-finals when they face the world No. 3 Spain, Serbia, and the top-ranked United States in the following games.

"Defensively we pushed them out. The pressure builds up, and all of sudden, the pressure explodes. They just fell apart," China's head coach Thomas Maher said. "If we can put pressure like that, we are capable of doing more."

Veteran national team center Chen Nan, who poured in with 11 points in 14 minutes of playing time, said,

Sun Mengran and Shao Ting both had 17 points.

China became the second team to score over 100 points joining the United States as the only other team to hit the century mark in women's basketball at the 2016 Olympics.

China is seeking to win its first Olympic gold medal at the event. In the eight appearances of the Asian giants in the quadrennial event, China won silver and bronze medals in 1994 and 1983 respectively.

Tagschinese women's national basketball team, 2016 Rio Olympics, Chen Nan, Sun Mengran, Fiba rankings