Perth Lynx shatter attendance record as Han Xu, Amy Atwell, Anneli Maley and Alex Ciabattoni star in win

Perth Lynx just became a box office attraction as Chinese superstar Han Xu’s first home game produced a record crowd, an electric atmosphere and a thumping win over Southside Melbourne Flyers which put the entire WNBL on notice. Playing in front of 3121 fans, the Lynx scored 63 points in the first half, led by 31 points during the third quarter and won 98-81 at Perth High Performance Centre on Friday night. The Lynx were confident of breaking the club record of 1753 fans, but the Chinese community were out in force to watch Xu and the Lynx certainly made them feel welcome. Chinese writing was on the big screen at different points of the game and a Chinese dragon display was held on court at half-time. Xu had a huge impact with 19 points, but she was upstaged by co-captain Amy Atwell who scored 32 points including 21 in the first half. Her co-skipper Anneli Maley was on track for a triple double and finished with 13 points, 19 rebounds and six assists. Alex Ciabattoni continued her outstanding season with 21 points. Atwell said the team rose to the occasion. “It was a lot of fun. It helps when we’re all making shots. It was a record crowd and you could feel it on the court. To come out of the gates like that and play that way in the first half was really fun,” Atwell said. “When we came out for our final team warm ups, there were definitely a lot more bums on seats which was really exciting. We knew coming in that there would be a lot more people. We just fed off that energy. “It’s going to be super advantageous. The more people in here that we can get, they’ll be kind of our sixth man. When we are struggling or trying to find energy and we can bring the crowd into a game like that, we will be hard to stop.” Perth Wildcats players, Chinese dignitaries and former Docker Michael Walters were part of the huge crowd and Xu paid tribute to everyone on court after the match. “I feel like here is my family. Here is my home,” Xu said.