Thembi Kgatlana and Chiwendu Ihezuo were on target as Beijing Phoenix edged Henan Huishang 2-1 in Friday's Chinese FA tournament encounter.
Six minutes from the half time break in Beijing, the South African forward broke the deadlock with her third goal of the season since arriving in February from Houston Dash.
Former BIIK Kazygurt star Ihezuo scored her second goal in two games to level matters for the visitors 12 minutes after the restart.
But the Nigerian's effort was not enough to save her side from defeat as Wang Chen struck late to grab the winner.
South Africa's Linda Motlhalo was in action for Bejing in last 30 minutes, while Nigeria's Onome Ebi played for the entire duration for Henan.
In other matches played on Friday, Nigeria's Francisca Ordega featured for the entire duration as Shanghai held Changchun to a 0-0 draw.
Elsewhere, Ghana's Elizabeth Addo made a winning start with Jiangsu Suning as they earned a 5-0 win over Hebei.
With this, Beijing will take on Shanghai, and Henan battle Changchun as Jiangsu face Guangdong.