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Han Xu powers China past Puerto Rico 75-72, sending them to a quarterfinal matchup with France
China defeated Puerto Rico to advance in the tournament; the team will now face France in the upcoming quarterfinals
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BERLIN (AP) — Han Xu had 21 points and 11 rebounds to help China top Puerto Rico 75-72 Wednesday in the qualifying round of the women's FIBA World Cup.
Yang Shuyu scored 15 points and Zhang Ziyu added 13 for China, which will face France in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The 7-foot-3 Zhang made five of her six field goal attempts.
With the game tied at 66, Han hit a 3-pointer with 2:56 left to put China up. Luo Xinyu then followed with another 3-pointer a minute later to extend the advantage to six. Puerto Rico cut its deficit to 72-70 on Arella Guirantes basket with 25 seconds left.
Yang made two free throws eight seconds later which basically sealed the win.
Trinity San Antonio had 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead Puerto Rico. Imani Stafford-McGee added 16. Puerto Rico saw its tournament come to an end, one round earlier than in 2022.
China advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth straight World Cup. They won the silver medal in the 2022 tournament, falling to the U.S. in the gold medal game.
Italy and Australia meet in the late game on Wednesday trying to earn the final spot in the quarters where the winner will face Spain.
See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
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