Wilson had arrived in Australia less than 24 hours earlier, fresh off a championship and the US were playing their toughest opponent so far at the FIBA World Cup.

After a slow start, Wilson was clutch in the fourth quarter, finishing with 20 points to help the US beat China 77-63 in Sydney on Saturday.

"I don't know how I'm doing it," Wilson said. "You just put things aside. It's like riding a bike. I am exhausted, I'm not going to lie about it."

The US have now won 25 consecutive world cup games since losing in the 2006 semi-finals to Russia. The Americans advanced to the quarter-finals and are one away from matching their record 26-game run from 1998-2006.

The two teams came into the game unbeaten in the tournament.

China had cruised to wins in their first two games, routing both South Korea and Bosnia & Herzegovina by an average of 55 points.

There was a big pro-Chinese crowd of roughly 9400 fans for the game, including Hall of Famer Yao Ming, who is the chairman of the Chinese Basketball Association. He was shown on the video board and received a huge ovation from the crowd.

"The China fan base whether it was the local fan base here or they came from abroad, was just tremendous," US coach Cheryl Reeve said.

"Their support made a fun environment. I heard some USA people. This is what you want."

In the evening games, Leesuel Kang scored 37 points to help South Korea ease past Bosnia & Herzegovina 99-66 and clinch their first win in the FIBA Women's World Cup in 12 years.

South Korea have played in 16 consecutive world cups - tied with the US for most ever - but had not won a game since beating Japan by a single point in 2010.

Kang hit seven 3-pointers along with eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The day's play was rounded out by 24 points from Kyara Linskens as Belgium beat Puerto Rico 68-65.

Australia face Serbia on Sunday (6pm AEST), while Mali play France (2.30pm) and Japan take on Canada (8.30pm).

Australian Associated Press