Chinese center Han reaches 500-point milestone in WNBA career

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese center Han Xu reached 500 points in the WNBA in the New York Liberty's 94-92 road win over the Phoenix Mercury on Saturday.

Playing as a reserve, Han scored a season-high 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field, including 3-for-6 shooting from 3-point range, to go along with six rebounds and one assist.

Selected 14th overall by the Liberty in the 2019 WNBA draft, Han reached the milestone in her fourth WNBA season, where she averaged 5.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game.

Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty with 27 points, a season-high 10 assists and seven rebounds.

The Mercury rode a 17-4 run in the third quarter to possess a 10-point advantage, while the Liberty closed the quarter on a 12-1 run to take a 66-65 lead into the fourth.

Rebecca Allen's 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining pushed the lead to 92-84. Phoenix scored the next six points, but Breanna Stewart's free throws with 12.7 seconds remaining closed out a win for the Liberty. ■