''Perfect'' start at home for Han Xu
XI'AN (China) - Han Xu was, in a word, "perfect" in her first game of the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Xi'An.
XI'AN (China) - Han Xu was, in a word, "perfect" in her first game of the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Xi'An.
In just 17:27 minutes of action, the 2.05M (6'9") center scored 21 points to go with 6 rebounds. More impressively, however, was the efficiency with which she was able to record those points - knocking down all of her nine field goal attempts.
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It was a performance that continued to emphasize Han's dominance and uniqueness, as three of her field-goal attempts were from beyond the three-point arc. It is rare for a player of her size to be a legitimate threat from the perimeter and anchor the paint - with 4 blocked shots - but that's what Han brought to the floor for China in their emphatic win.
The 24-year-old center has had perfect game in her career with the senior national team in a FIBA competition, coincidentally also against New Zealand back in 2019 at the FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Asian Tournament 2019. However, that was achieved on only two field-goal attempts.
Han Xu's Top 5 Field-Goal Shooting Games
| Opponent | Competition | FG shooting | FG% | Points |
| vs NZL | WOQT 2024 | 9-9 | 100% | 21 |
| vs NZL | WOPQT 2019 | 2-2 | 100% | 2 |
| vs TPE | Women's Asia Cup 2021 | 9-10 | 90.0% | 18 |
| vs GRB | WOQT 2020 | 8-9 | 88.9% | 16 |
| vs AUS | Women's World Cup 2022 | 8-10 | 80.0% | 19 |
There's a reason that she was ranked 3rd in the WOQTs Smart Player Power Rankings, as published prior to the competition's commencement. Consider this opening performance a confirmation.
First game down, in perfection. With two games to go, can she go perfect the whole way with France and Puerto Rico left on the schedule as opponents?
FIBA