Lisa Leslie scored 23 points as the United States women's national basketball team ran off to a 20-point halftime and routed China 85-52 Saturday.
The United States, 39-0 in a pre-Olympic exhibition schedule, took control of the game early. Liang Xin scored China's first basket, cutting the U.S. lead to 4-2, and that was as close as the Chinese got.Leslie, a 6-5 center who played at Southern Cal, also had 11 rebounds as the Americans dominated a team it had only beaten by an average of nine points in three exhibition games last month in China.
Katrina McClain had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Rebecca Lobo had 10 points for the United States. China was led by Misa Bo, who had 15 points.
Zheng Hai-Xin, the 6-8 center who averaged 28.9 points in the three March games against the United States, was limited to four points on 2-for-10 shooting.
The game was delayed for about five minutes midway through the first half while Chinese coach Cheng Dao Hong, through an interpreter, complained about the officiating. The U.S. was leading 20-8 at the time.
The U.S. played a versatile game, scoring in transition, and pulling back when the break wasn't there to execute a flawless half-court offense.
The Chinese were limited to their half-court offense and the game got away from them when they were unable to hit their shots in the first half.