Mali shocks Spain in a Women’s Basketball World Cup stunner

In a surprising turn of events at the Women’s Basketball World Cup, Mali defeated Spain with a score of 82-73 on Saturday. This marked the first upset in the tournament’s history for the African nation, who had previously triumphed over Senegal in overtime in 2010. Mali found themselves trailing by two at halftime, but they overcame this deficit, leading 31-19 in the third quarter.

A dramatic 16-4 surge in the third quarter shifted the momentum in Mali’s favor, as they went on to dominate the remainder of the match. Sika Kone, a player for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA and the tournament’s top scorer with 19 points, was the catalyst for this resurgence, contributing two three-pointers to the game-changing run. Kone also pulled down 10 rebounds during the match.

Mali capitalized on this momentum with the opening five points of the fourth quarter, including another three-pointer from Kone, ultimately sealing the victory as Spain could not close the gap beyond nine points thereafter. Djeneba N’Diaye added 19 points for Mali, making it a remarkable performance for the team, which has a poor World Cup record of 2-10.

Spain, the tournament’s top team, responded with a strong effort, scoring 20 points from Iyana Martin. Hungary, meanwhile, secured their first World Cup win in 28 years by edging Nigeria 71-67. Dorka Juhasz led the way for Hungary with 19 points and 16 rebounds, while Nigeria fell to a second consecutive defeat, now standing at a winless record of 0-2 in World Cup history.

Hungary will face Korea next to close out pool play, with Virag Takacs-Kiss adding 17 points to the victory. Juhasz, who plays for the Minnesota Lynx, contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds in the first half.