Liberty Center, China Fall to Spain in Olympic Basketball Opener

Spain brought only pain to New York Liberty fan favorite Han Xu and the Chinese women’s national basketball team.

China opened women’s basketball group play at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris on Sunday but emerged on the wrong end of a 90-89 overtime thriller. Megan Gustafson (Las Vegas) was the Spanish star in the Group A tip-off, scoring 29 points and needing but a single free throw to do it, The former Iowa star sank 14-of-21 from the field, including 3-of-4 in the overtime period.

The Liberty’s second-round pick from the 2019 draft, the 6-11 Han stayed in China to focus on international duties this season. That includes attempting to guide China to its first women’s basketball Olympic medal since 1992, especially after a fifth-place finish in Tokyo three years prior.

Stationed behind Li Yueru (Los Angeles) on the Chinese depth chart, Han did not enter the game until the third quarter but made the most of her time, putting up eight points and four rebounds in a dozen minutes. Her most notable contribution came at the end of the third quarter, when she hit a buzzer-beater that extended a slim Chinese lead to six.

The Paris Games are the second Olympic excursion for the 24-year-old Han, who previously appeared on the aforementioned 2021 squad in Tokyo.

Han and Li offered a literally sizable advantage for China (0-1), leading to a plus-15 advantage in rebounding. Li pulled in10 offensive boards alone, accounting for all but six of China’s tallies in that department.

Turnovers, however, equally defined the way, as China had a matching margin in the red thanks in part to 14 Spanish steals. Despite the issues, China still had a chance to escape with the opening win but Leonor Rodríguez hit an equalizing triple with just seven seconds remaining to force an extra five. Rodríguez missed a free throw gained from the shot attempt but made up for it in overtime by dealing the assist on Maria Araujo three-pointer that gave Spain (1-0) a permanent lead.

Han and the Chinese will look to get back on the right track on Wednesday when they face Serbia (7:30 a.m. ET, Peacock).

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