Liu Yutong (basketball)

Liu Yutong
No. 23 – Beijing Great Wall
PositionCenter
LeagueWCBA
Personal information
Born (2001-02-05) 5 February 2001
Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight243 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High schoolTsinghua University High School
CollegeBeijing Normal University
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2023-2025Shanxi Flame
2025–presentBeijing Great Wall
Career highlights
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  China
Summer World University Games
2021 Chengdu
U18 Asia Cup
2018 India
U16 Asia Cup
2017 India
2015 Indonesia

Liu Yutong (Chinese: 刘禹彤) is a Chinese basketball player, playing for the Beijing Great Wall in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association. She is a center known for her physical playstyle, and nicknamed Big Baby and Female Shaq.

Early life

She attended Tsinghua University High School, where she was a teammate of Han Xu.[1]

College career

Playing for Beijing Normal University, she led the university to three consecutive national titles, first in 2019 against Peking University, scoring 30 points and 16 rebounds,[2] then in 2020[3] and 2021 against Tsinghua University.[4]

In 2020, she earned the Chinese University Basketball Association's MVP.[5]

Professional career

As a rookie Shanxi Flame player, she became an All-Star in the 2023-2024 WCBA season.[6]

After missing nearly two months of the 2024-2025 season, she was released by the Shanxi Flame and subsequently signed with the Beijing Great Wall.[7]

International career

Yutong represented China at the 2015 FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship for Women, 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women, 2017 FIBA Under-16 Women's Asian Championship, 2018 FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup and the 2018 FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship.[8]

She won the gold medal playing for China at the 2021 World University Games.[9]

References

  1. ^ Futian, Shi (2023-08-07). "'Chinese Shaq' and 'Yao' win cheers". China Daily. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  2. ^ Mu, Xuequan (2019-06-15). "BNU beat PKU to claim women's champion of CUBA". Xinhua Net. Xinhua. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  3. ^ "BNU beat THU to claim women's champion of CUBA". Beijing Normal University. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  4. ^ "BNU women's basketball team won the 23rd CUBA final championship". Beijing Normal University. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  5. ^ "BNU beat THU to claim women's champion of CUBA". Beijing Normal University. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Han Xu dunks, South beats North in WCBA All-Star Game". China.org.cn. ChinaNews. pp. 2024–03–18. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  7. ^ "Liu Yutong basketball profile". Asia Basket. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Yutong Liu (China) - Basketball stats, height, age". FIBA. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  9. ^ "'Female Shaq' and China triumph in women's basketball". FISU. 2023-08-06. Retrieved 9 April 2025.