SYDNEY (Australia) - Kang LeeSeul was slightly out of breath, but definitely full of emotion at the end of her previous win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"It’s really nice for Korea to win for the first time in 12 years."

She had just played in all but two and a half minutes of the game for Korea and she made every one of those seconds count. Kang came to play, saw the open shots she was getting, and conquered.

The 28-year-old guard set the Women’s World Cup efficiency record with 44 EFF, surpassing Liz Cambage who previously had 41 EFF in 2018. Kang recorded 37 points on 7 made three-pointers, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. It was just one of those games where you just kept glued to the screen, just to see how far she could go.

But at the end of the game, as she caught up in the moment of everything, Kang broke the silence with a quick statement even before she could be interviewed by anyone.

"This is my first win in the Women's World Cup."

It might have seemed like merely a throwaway factual statement, but you could sense in the tone of how she said it just how much it meant for her. She had played in the Women’s World Cups in Tenerife in 2018 and in Ankara in 2014 and in both competitions, Korea were unfortunately unable to get a win.

More than this just being an individual accomplishment for Kang, it also meant so much for the team as a whole to get this victory here in Sydney.

"It’s really nice for Korea to win for the first time in 12 years," said Kang of the 33-point victory. "It means a lot to just win, but to win with a big gap means a lot to us."

However, no matter how humbly Kang wants to deflect the credit and attention, the spotlight was focused on her in this game as she kept knocking down three-pointer after three-pointer to build Korea’s lead. With 7 made triples, Kang had come to within one three-pointer of tying the Women’s World Cup record of made three-pointers in a single game since 1994 (as far as the statistic was officially archived). The record is currently held by two players - including Korea sharpshooting legend Beon Yeon-Ha who rained in 8 three-pointers back in 2002 in a lost to France.

It was such an incredible performance that Kang herself seemed as if she couldn’t believe it happened. It was also definitely a big deal for her to get so close to tying the record of a legend, one she had watched and learned from growing up, in Beon Yeon-Ha.

"Including in the domestic league, this is my first time scoring as many three-pointers so it’s an honor for me. It’s also an honor to be compared to a legend like Beon Yeon-Ha," said Kang.

Aside from her grand amount of long range shots made, Kang also scored 37 points which is the most amount of points in a Women’s World Cup game by a Korean player since 2002. The last player to score more points for Korea in the competition was none other than the Korea Basketball Queen herself, Jung Sun-Min, who poured in 42 points against Lithuania almost exactly 20 years ago.

Of course, this is the same Jung Sun-Min that is now strolling along the sidelines of the Korea bench here in Sydney, serving as the head coach of the team as they are hopeful for a berth in the Quarter-Finals.

Whether it was Beon Yeon-Ha or coach Jung, both have played a huge role in inspiring players like Kang to stay committed to playing basketball and developing their games, which is the impact that Kang wants to have on Korea basketball as well.

"Obviously, my role model was Beon Yeon-Ha and here I am," said Kang. "I think the young players just need to work hard and they can be better at the next stage, too."

In the end, no matter how big of a performance it was for Kang LeeSeul, she’s never hesitate to redirect the credit of the performance to her team instead of soaking in the spotlight.

"It was a very special experience to have a game like that at the international stage, so I’m really honored and happy with it," she said. "I think my personal record was great but it was my team’s effort to make my record, everyone played as one so it was a very meaningful game for us."

Truly spoken like a role model aiming to inspire the next generation of Korea’s next wave of talented players.

FIBA