While on the basketball court in Jinzhong City, China, things weren’t much different for Jence Rhoads than they were when she played in Grove City.

Off the court, though, everything was different for the former Slippery Rock High and Vanderbilt University standout who traveled to the other side of the world last month to play for Team USA in the 2012 Longrich Cup Sino-American Women’s Basketball Pre-Olympic Challenge.

“Wow. China is a completely different world,” Rhoads said. “The country is different than anything I have ever experienced before. The culture, the people, and the way of life are all unique.”

Basketball, though, is universal and Rhoads is quite fluent in the language of the sport.

She scored 2,170 points in her high school career and then went on to star for four years at perennial national power Vanderbilt, where she become the first player in the program’s history to notch 1,100 points, 500 assists and 400 rebounds in a career.

Last season as a professional with Haukar in the Icelandic League, Rhoads was named the league’s Point Guard of the Year after averaging 18.9 points, 7.1 assists and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Visiting China and playing for Team USA was just another highlight in her still burgeoning career.

“I played pretty well. I would have like to play a little better,” Rhoads said. “It was difficult being thrown onto a team and expected to gel immediately. With that being said, as a team, our first two games were tough. It took us a few games to get used to playing with each other and playing the system the coach had implemented.”

Team USA was made up of players from all around the country. Some were recent college graduates. Some were recently selected in the WNBA draft and others, like Rhoads, were playing professionally overseas.

The team had only been together for a couple of days when they were thrust out onto the court against the Chinese National A Team — the team that is currently representing the country in the London Olympics.

“The quality of play was very good,” Rhoads said. “Our team was extremely talented and our opponents were amongst the international elite. We played the Chinese National A and B teams. The ‘A’ team is ranked about fifth in the world and is currently in the London Olympics. They are a top contender for the bronze medal.”

Team USA lost to the China National A Team 100-82. Rhoads has just two points and three assists in limited minutes.

Team USA coach Chris Denker, though, was pleased with the team’s performance.

“We’re playing the sixth best team in the world and have been together less than a week,” Denker said ina blog on netscoutsbasketball.com. Team China has been together since March and has played more than a dozen recent games. They have experienced professional players and this is a very valuable learning experience for our team.”

Rhoads fared better as the trip progressed.

There were scouts from European and Asian professional women’s leagues in attendance and Rhoads is hoping it will lead to another opportunity overseas.

She currently has a contract on the table to return to Iceland, but is still undecided about where she will play this winter.

“My agent and I have been talking to teams, but have not received a solid contract yet,” she said.

While in China, Rhoads had the opportunity in her down time to be a tourist.

“Unfortunately, we did not get to see the Great Wall, but we did do plenty of other memorable things,” Rhoads said. “We went into the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. We visited the 2008 Beijing Olympic Park. We went shopping in the infamous Silk Market in Beijing. Not only did we see typical tourist attractions, but we also got to see everyday Chinese life in a rural and urban setting.”

Rhoads is now in New Jersey as an instructor with Point Guard College, an organization that conducts basketball camps all over the country.

She’s still processing all she saw and did in China.

“It was a great experience,” she said. “I made a lot of new friends.”