Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers made the most of their World Cup debuts to help the United States rout China in the opener of the tournament.
Clark had 14 points and 11 assists and Bueckers added another 14 points as the Americans topped China 94-61 on Friday.
It was the first of likely many times that Clark and Bueckers will play together in the US backcourt over the next decade for the senior national team.
“It’s just organic. We know how to play well off of each other,” Bueckers said. “She draws so much defensive attention, so a lot of the defense is worried about her.”
Clark loved having so many offensive options, including Bueckers. Everywhere she turned to pass there was a teammate waiting to score.
“Obviously being around so many talented players, obviously our guards are incredible and our bigs too, but you know anybody I pass the ball to, it feels like they’re never going to miss a shot,” Clark said. “That’s one of my goals when I come into the game – to facilitate.”
Clark’s 11 assists were the most by a US player since Dawn Staley had 12 against Russia in 1998, which tied her for the most ever with Teresa Edwards, who had a dozen against China in 1986.
The US beat China for the gold medal in the 2022 World Cup, but that Chinese team didn’t have 7ft 3in Zhang Ziyu. The 19-year-old had her own impressive debut in the World Cup, finishing with 13 points and hitting nine of her 10 free throws.
The towering Zhang had just two blocked shots, but made the Americans think twice about driving to the basket. Bueckers took a few foul line jumpers instead of attacking Zhang.
“I like to think I’m pretty smart. I thought that a layup over some 7-3 center is probably not the best idea,” Bueckers said, smiling.
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Clark agreed that Zhang presented a difficult challenge, but the US frontcourt of Breanna Stewart, Napheesa Collier, Aliyah Boston and Angel Reese held their own, collecting a combined 24 rebounds.
“This was a different type of basketball game that I 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 gotta give our post players a lot of credit.”
Reese and Boston also were making their World Cup debut. In total, nine of the 12 players on the American roster, which is full of WNBA All-Stars, were playing in their first World Cup. They were able to keep the US rolling.
The win was the 31st in a row for the Americans, who have a day off Saturday before facing Italy on Sunday and the Czech Republic on Monday.
“It was great. Obviously the first one we got to shake off our rust,” Bueckers said. “Get back into game shape. Get back into game mode. And it’s our first time playing together as a team, as a unit. So we got a couple of days of practice, but there’s nothing like getting game reps, getting game experience together.”