China used their considerable height to battle past the Czech Republic 74-70 in an overtime thriller at the Fiba Women’s World Cup on Sunday, with the New York Liberty’s nearly 2.13-metre-tall (7 foot) centre Han Xu’s double-double making the difference.
In a later match, the United States survived their toughest test at the tournament in two decades with a 55-52 win over Italy, with Jackie Young scoring 10 points.
Han powered China to the comeback win with 22 points and 14 rebounds to get their campaign back on track, after a demoralising 94-61 opening defeat by the US.
“I feel so proud of my teammates and coach,” Han said, after her team recovered from a five-point deficit with less than 30 seconds left on the clock to force the overtime. “Even in the last quarter, we lost six points but we never gave up.”
Han had put China level at 53-53 in the final quarter after her team had trailed for most of the game.
Zhang Ziyu had a tougher time in her second match of the tournament. Photo: AP
Eliška Joklová put the Czechs 64-59 up with 27 seconds left only for Luo Xinyu to respond with a three-pointer and Yang Shuyu to level at 64-64 with three seconds to go – after Joklová missed two free throws.