Caitlin Clark and Team USA opened up the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup with a Group D win, taking down Zhang Ziyu and China 94-61 on Friday morning. Now, Team USA will look to make it two in a row, remaining in Berlin, Germany, to face Italy on Sunday afternoon.
Clark, in her first FIBA World Cup game, had arguably the best performance of the day. The Indiana Fever guard tallied 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting, three rebounds and 11 assists in 25 minutes of action. Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers had a nice game as well, adding 14 points and four assists.
As for China, New York Liberty center Han Xu added a double-double of her own, securing 11 points and 10 rebounds. But it was China’s other center, Ziyu, that stole headlines.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Ziyu, standing at 7-foot-3, made her professional debut for the Shandong Six Stars of the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association in January 2026 after earning the U18 Asia Cup MVP two years ago. And Ziyu had a solid performance against Team USA in her World Cup debut, tallying 13 points on 2-of-4 shooting and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line, to go with six rebounds and two blocks.
After the USA vs. China game, Clark sat down for a postgame interview. And when asked about playing against Ziyu, Clark shared her thoughts on the 7-foot-3 China star.
“This was a different type of basketball game than I’ve probably ever played in my entire life,” Clark said. “I’ve never played against a woman of that size. She obviously presented some challenges for us, but you’ve got to give our post players a lot of credit. They really battled and Coach Kara (Lawson) really challenged them before the game to be physical, try to push them out of the paint.
“If she makes a couple, stay resilient, stay in it. I thought Aliyah (Boston) came in and gave us great minutes guarding her… I think, especially in the second half, we were able to get more buckets in transition, especially when she was in as well.”
Clark and Team USA will take on Italy on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. ET.
