Playing for pride at the Hwaseong Sports Complex Gymnasium, the women's team outplayed its Mongolian counterpart 68-50 after taking a lead from the first quarter itself.
The Smruthi Radhakrishan-led side covered all bases from the start and kept increasing the lead as they progressed.
Indian coach Francisco Javier Garcia Alvarez was seen celebrating the win with assistant Divya Singh but a tougher test lies ahead.
Thailand and Mongolia will clash in the 7th-place play-off.
The Indian men's team had crashed out of the Asiad after losing to Iran in a preliminary round match on Wednesday.