TEHRAN - After going winless in 2021, Iran continued to turn heads as they secured their seat in the Semi-Finals of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup 2023 Division B with a 54-41 win over Kazakhstan on Thursday.

True to the form of how both teams have been playing in Bangkok, it was a physical affair and defensive slugfest between both teams.

 In the end, that played to the advantage of Iran as they were able to punish Kazakhstan with their defense, forcing 23 turnovers out of their opponents.

Negin Rasoulipour, who was among the players to watch, continue to be a standout performer and led Iran in scoring with 16 points. Faezeh Shahriari was a bit behind with 14 points for Iran and grabbed 7 rebounds.

Iran got their lead early in the first quarter and even though Kazakhstan never allowed the lead to balloon, it was enough for Iran to hang on until the final buzzer.

Photo credit: FIBA