Rhyne Howard scored 14 points and led Team USA from behind the arc with four 3-pointers. Milad Payami / FIBA via Getty Images
Team USA opened defense of its gold medal at the FIBA Women’s World Championship with a 94-61 victory in Berlin on Friday.
The Americans, with a stacked roster of WNBA players, were led by Caitlin Clark, who scored 14 points and added 11 assists in her debut for Team USA. Rhyne Howard also scored 14 points and hit a game-high four 3-pointers. Paige Bueckers, who was in foul trouble early on, added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
“Paige was really key for us in that second half,” coach Kara Lawson said. “Playmaking, I thought Paige and Kaitlin played off each other really well against that zone. They can both stretch the floor. … I limited Paige in the first half just because she was in foul trouble. It’s not like she did anything wrong.”
The Americans defeated a Chinese roster that included 19-year-old Ziyu Zhang, listed at 7-foot-4. She scored 13 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes. Friday’s game gave scouts a look at how Zhang, one of the top prospects in the 2027 WNBA Draft, will fare against the league.
China’s 7-foot-4 Ziyu Zhang towered over Team USA on the court Friday in a FIBA game. (Marco Steinbrenner / DeFodi via Getty Images)
When asked after the game about “looking up” when playing against Ziyu, Clark laughed and admitted she’s not used to dealing with that height in the WNBA.
“This was a different kind of basketball game than I’ve probably ever played in my life,” the Indiana Fever guard said. “I’ve never played against a woman that size. She obviously presented some challenges for us. You have to give credit to our players. They really battled.”
Clark and Team USA will play the second of three group stage games against Italy on Sunday.
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