ASU women's basketball falls to Chinese National Team

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Lijie Miao hit a 22-footer at the top of the key with 16 seconds left to give the Chinese national team a 63-59 exhibition win Thursday night over No. 15 Arizona State.

Briann January's layup with 38 seconds left had given Arizona State a 59-58 lead but the Chinese ran down the clock for Miao's long shot. Xiaoli Chen added two free throws with four seconds remaining for the final margin.

January scored 19 points and had five assists for Arizona State while Nan Chen led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

The Chinese women outscored the Sun Devils 7-3 over the final two minutes after Arizona State made 7-of-8 free throws in a 40-second span to erase a 56-49 deficit.

The Chinese women, who split their six games on the U.S. college tour, ran off six straight points early in the second half after the Sun Devils got within 36-35 with 14:30 remaining to take control. Chen made 10-of-13 from the field before fouling out with 2:27 left.

Lauren Lacey had 17 points for Arizona State, which lost an exhibition to the U.S. national team on Nov. 8 and then the season opener at North Carolina on Sunday.

Xiaoni Chen added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists for China.

China finished 3-3 on its six-game college tour, getting wins over New Mexico and Texas-El Paso while losing to North Carolina, Texas A&M and Rutgers. Ranked 10th in the world, the Chinese are preparing for next year's Beijing Olympics.

The Chinese women went on a 14-1 run to take an 18-6 lead in the first six minutes but Arizona State's pressure defense forced China into 10 turnovers in the final eight minutes of the half to rally back to within 30-28 at the break.