Unexpectedly, China Women’s Basketball Team Outplays the United States Team, Beats Italy by 20 Points as Twin Stars Score 34

China’s women’s basketball team produced its best performance since the start of the World Cup, defeating Italy’s women’s team by 20 points. The result was unexpected, with China appearing to have performed better than the United States team, which had only beaten Italy by 3 points. China played extremely well in this game.

China started strongly, opening with a 5-0 run and hitting three consecutive three-pointers. Luo Xinyu made one, Yang Shuyu made one, and Han Xu also hit a three-pointer as China took a 14-5 lead. With two minutes left in the first quarter, Zhang Ziyu entered the game and scored two consecutive baskets. China led 19-7, and the first quarter ended with China ahead 23-7 by 16 points.

Two and a half minutes into the second quarter, both teams had scored 2 points. Wang Si and Tang Shuting combined for a fast-break play as China extended its lead to 29-9. Chen Yujie also made her first three-pointer, putting China ahead 32-9. Yang Siyu scored on a drive, and Han Xu added a mid-range shot as the gap continued to grow. China led 40-16, and the first half ended 40-21 with China ahead by 19 points. The largest lead in the first half was 24 points.

At the start of the third quarter, Zhang Manman hit a three-pointer to give China a 46-23 lead. China then faced pressure, as Italy went on a 6-0 run. The score moved to 48-31 after Italy hit a three-pointer and continued to cut into the deficit. At the end of the third quarter, China maintained a 13-point lead.

In the fourth quarter, China hit several three-pointers in succession. Yang Shuyu, Yang Xu, and Luo Xinyu each made a three-pointer, giving China a 66-46 lead. Late in the fourth quarter, Chen Mingling scored two consecutive baskets. The game ended with China defeating Italy 71-51 for a 20-point victory.

In this game, China performed better than the United States team, winning the rebounding battle and shooting 40 percent from three-point range (8 made out of 19 attempts), while Italy shot 2 of 17 from three-point range. China showed high quality on both offense and defense, with 11 of the 12 players who appeared scoring. The top performers were the twin stars Han Xu and Yang Shuyu, who scored 19 and 15 points respectively, combining for 34 points. Zhang Ziyu also played better than in the previous game, scoring 8 points in the first half.

China showed strong momentum and advanced to the crossover round as the second-ranked team in its group. The opponent is Puerto Rico, which is considered relatively less strong, giving China’s women’s basketball team a good chance to reach the quarterfinals.