Mali achieved a remarkable upset in the Women’s Basketball World Cup by defeating Spain 82-73 on Saturday in Berlin.
This victory marked only the second time in the tournament’s history that the African nation has triumphed, the previous win being against Senegal in overtime back in 2010.
Trailing by two at halftime, Mali surged ahead by outscoring Spain 31-19 in the third quarter. They executed a 16-4 run during this stretch, turning a 45-44 deficit into a commanding lead. Sika Kone, who scored 19 points, contributed two three-pointers during this pivotal run. Kone, who plays for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA, also recorded 10 rebounds.
Mali (1-1) began the fourth quarter strong, scoring the first five points, including another three-pointer from Kone, effectively sealing the game as Spain could not narrow the gap to less than nine points for the remainder.
Djeneba N’Diaye also scored 19 points for Mali, which now holds a 2-10 record in World Cup play.
Iyana Martin led Spain (1-1) with 20 points; Spain is considered one of the leading teams globally.
In other news, Germany started strong and managed to defeat Japan 74-58.
With a packed crowd cheering throughout the game, Germany outperformed Japan, scoring 28-11 in the first quarter. Japan, which had previously beaten Mali 102-97, struggled to find their rhythm against the home team. After setting a World Cup record with 20 three-pointers in their opening match, Japan struggled with just 3-for-27 from beyond the arc, with two of those occurring in the last 1:38 of the game.
“We understand that Japan prefers three-point shots over two-pointers, so we focused on defending the three,” remarked German star Leonie Fiebich. “Our aim was to play physically against them.”
Frieda Buhner scored 19 points and Nyara Sabally added 18 for Germany (1-1).
Kokoro Tanaka was Japan’s top scorer (1-1) with 15 points.
All four teams in Group A are currently tied, each holding a 1-1 record.
In another match, Hungary secured its first World Cup victory in 28 years by narrowly defeating Nigeria 71-67.
Dorka Juhasz contributed 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead Hungary. Nigeria (0-2) found themselves down 66-52 with just under four minutes left but managed to close the gap to two points with three seconds remaining thanks to a basket from Elizabeth Balogun. However, Nigeria fouled Reka Lelik with just over a second left, and she successfully made both free throws to clinch the victory.
This win marked Hungary’s first since 1998 when they defeated China in the quarterfinals. The team will face Korea next to wrap up pool play.
Virag Takacs-Kiss also made a significant contribution, scoring 17 points for Hungary (1-1). Juhasz, who plays for the Minnesota Lynx, had an impressive first half with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Amy Okonkwo led Nigeria with 17 points; Nigeria’s final pool play match will be against France.