Life's a beach for Lynx in Han Xu's first start

• ‍Lynx land towering WNBA star Han Xu for WNBL26‍
• 2025-26 WNBL Team Lists and Roster Tracker
• New Wave: Meet the WNBL26 import players

Han Xu has arrived and has shifted the sands of the WNBL in 2025-26.

Chinese national centre Xu had 22 points in 29 minutes as the Perth Lynx handled UC Capitals 91-67 at AIS Arena on Saturday, November 29, 2025.

Xu went 10-from-12 from the field (1-from-3 from three), grabbed four boards, blocked two shots, had an assist and a steal.

"The best thing is I came to this team," Xu said.

"I also went to the beach one time for my teammate's birthday. It was my first time going to the beach with my teammates.

"They had fun and I felt like life is not only basketball. Basketball is my job, but I need to enjoy life too.

"The girls give me a lot of happy things. I’ll keep playing with them, focus on basketball, go to the beach, go to the bar, enjoy Australia."

Perth is 6-3 after nine games and are a half a game behind second placed defending champions Bendigo Spirit at 6-2.

"Really happy," Perth head coach Ryan Petrik said.

"We’re starting to play a little bit better each week. Han makes a lot of things offensively a lot easier for us. To put up 91 points, shoot 65% from two and 50% from the field, and finally sort out some of the rebounding problems — we’re getting there.

"We’re clearly a work in progress. If the championship game was played today, Townsville are probably gonna win it by 800, but we’re building towards March.

"The plan is to try and take them down in March.

Petrik revealed Han has had limited sessions with the Lynx and the focus has been on scripting.

"Three training sessions, and even then it’s been limited because of the schedule and flights," he said.

"We’ve been able to train a bit, but not a lot of five-on-zero script. Everything looks pretty good in five-on-zero, but once you scrimmage and fatigue sets in and they’re under duress, it gets messy. And you certainly saw that in the second half once we gassed a bit — we didn’t look anywhere near as good.

"We’ve got three practices this week before another turnaround into Southside, then we get a nine-day break.

"We’re just trying to get to that nine-day break so we can scrimmage, drill everything, get into their legs, and see if they can do it under duress.

"Hopefully after that we’ll start looking a lot better."

Xu said playing alongside Capitals centre Zitina Aokuso helped her prepare for he first WNBL game.

"Before, I played with Aokuso a few times, so I was very focused on this game," Xu said.

"This is my first game and I played against her. She’s a tough player, a top centre. I was always ready, focused on every moment on the court and what the coach said."

Key Details

• Result: Perth Lynx 91 def. UC Capitals 67
• When: Friday, 29th November 2025
• Where: AIS Arena, Canberra
• Standings

By the Numbers

• Han Xu (Perth Lynx) starred with 22 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks in 29 minutes.
• Nicole Munger (UC Capitals) scored 12 points, and had three rebounds and one assist in 26 minutes.

What Happened

Perth Lynx established their dominance from the opening tip, taking a 23-17 first quarter lead and never relinquishing control. The visitors maintained their advantage through the second period, heading into half-time with a 43-36 buffer. The third quarter proved decisive as Perth extended their lead to 70-57, setting up a comfortable finish.

The Lynx's offensive efficiency was the standout feature of their performance. Perth shot an outstanding 65% from the field (24-from-37), compared to UC Capitals' solid but inferior 44% (20-from-45). The visitors' ability to convert their opportunities, particularly inside the paint, created a significant scoring advantage that the home side couldn't match.

Han Xu delivered a masterful display in the paint, shooting a perfect 9-from-9 from two-point range while adding 1-from-3 from deep. Her presence in the key disrupted UC Capitals' defensive schemes and provided Perth with a reliable scoring option throughout the contest. Amy Atwell complemented Xu's interior dominance with a clutch performance, contributing 22 points on efficient shooting including 3-from-6 from downtown and a superb 7-from-8 from the charity stripe.

For the home side, Nicole Munger provided the most resistance with 12 points on 75% two-point shooting, while Zitina Aokuso and Jayda Clark each contributed 10 points. However, UC Capitals struggled to find consistent offensive rhythm, managing just 10 points in the final quarter as Perth's defensive pressure intensified.

Perth's superiority on the boards proved crucial, out-rebounding UC Capitals 42-37. Anneli Maley was instrumental in this area, securing 12 rebounds to go with her five points and four assists. The Lynx's ability to control the defensive glass limited second-chance opportunities for the Capitals and fuelled their transition game.