Overview
- Team USA opened Group D with a 94-61 victory over China on Friday in Berlin, and Caitlin Clark produced 14 points and 11 assists in 25 minutes off the bench.
- FIBA confirmed Clark’s 11 assists are the most ever by an American in a Women’s World Cup debut and that she is the first player since assists and turnovers were tracked in 1994 to record 10 or more assists without a turnover.
- The win showed Team USA’s depth: all 12 players scored, the Americans shot 45 percent, and the coaching staff used pace and interior physicality to counter China’s 7-foot-3 center Zhang Ziyu.
- Clark posted “Grateful” on Instagram after the game and was named Team USA Player of the Game, while a social-video-circulated incident of clothing being dropped toward her as she left the court created an uncomfortable fan moment.
- The U.S. is 1-0 in Group D and will face Italy then Czechia next, with the team hoping early momentum and Clark’s playmaking ease rotation strains caused by recent veteran withdrawals from the roster.