Caitlin Clark had 14 points and 11 assists to help the United States beat China, led by 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu, 94-61 in its women’s basketball World Cup opener Friday in Berlin.
Rhyne Howard scored 14 points and Jackie Young added 12 for the Americans, who have now won 31 consecutive World Cup games dating back to a loss in the 2006 semifinals.
This is a period of transition for the U.S. with a young roster that includes the trio of Clark, Paige Bueckers and Angel Reese. None of them were in the starting lineup, but they were on the court together to close out the opening quarter, which the Americans dominated to go up 27-14.
China fought back at the start
China fought back at the start of the second quarter behind Zhang. The 19-year-old, who was making her first World Cup appearance, towered over the Americans. On defense, she stood under the basket, making it difficult for the Americans to score inside or get second shots off misses. On offense, the Americans constantly double-teamed her when she caught the ball.
Zhang’s first basket of the game got China within 33-25 with 6:21 left in the half. The U.S. then went on a 16-4 run to close the first half up 49-29. Young had a three-point play and Breanna Stewart scored the final four points of the spurt.
China paired Zhang with 6-10 Han Xu in the third quarter, presenting an even more potent defensive wall against the U.S. China got within 53-37, but no closer as Clark, Bueckers and Reese helped spark a 17-5 run to close the period.
Zhang finished with 13 points, hitting nine
Zhang finished with 13 points, hitting nine of her 10 free throws. Han added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“Their size in the frontcourt clearly is a matchup problem for, I think, every team in the world, and I thought we did a pretty good job managing that,” USA ahead coach Kara Lawson said.
“You’ve got to give our post players a lot of credit,” Clark said. “They really battled, and Coach Kara really challenged them before the game to be physical … Aliyah [Boston] came in and gave us great minutes guarding [Zhang].”
The U.S., which is normally jeered by opposing
The U.S., which is normally jeered by opposing crowds in international tournaments, had the fans backing it Friday. Clark, who routinely spends time before games signing autographs for fans when she plays in the WNBA, signed a basketball and took a photo with a young girl who was wearing a Fever T-shirt with Clark’s name on the back.
“It’s so fun to see all of the fans, and their excitement, and how much the women’s game is growing globally,” Clark added. “Even after the game, there’s just so much excitement — and not only for myself, for so many players on this team, and that’s a really cool thing. I think that’ll only continue to grow as we progress through the tournament.”
The U.S. will play Italy on Saturday in another pool game, while China faces the Czech Republic on Saturday.
Elsewhere in tournament play, Saki Hayashi knocked down
Elsewhere in tournament play, Saki Hayashi knocked down nine 3-pointers to lead Japan to a 102-97 win over Mali. Altogether, Japan hit 20 3s to beat its shared team record from 1994. Japan next plays home team Germany on Saturday.
Australia also won its opener Friday. Steph Talbot scored 19 points to lead the Aussies over Puerto Rico 70-54.
Australia lost its opening games at the last World Cup and at the Olympics, so the victory takes the pressure off coach Sandy Brondello’s team with the four group winners in the expanded 16-team tournament progressing straight to the quarterfinals.
Australia next faces Turkey on Sunday.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: www.espn.com
