The second day of group stage action at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup delivered a slate of dramatic results, headlined by a massive upset that shook up the tournament’s early rankings. Ranked among the top basketball nations in the world, pre-tournament favorite Spain fell 82-73 to Mali on Saturday, handing the African side just its second all-time victory in World Cup history.
Mali’s only prior tournament win came in an overtime clash against Senegal back in 2010, and the underdog entered the halftime break trailing Spain by two points. But a dominant third quarter turned the tide entirely: Mali outscored its higher-ranked opponent 31-19 in the frame, fueled by a decisive 16-4 run that flipped the game’s momentum after Spain had pulled ahead 45-44. WNBA Atlanta Dream forward Sika Kone anchored the run with two clutch three-pointers, and she finished the match with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Djeneba N’Diaye matched Kone’s 19-point output to pad Mali’s lead.
Mali opened the fourth quarter with five straight points, including another three from Kone, that put the game out of reach. Spain never trimmed the deficit to fewer than nine points for the rest of the match, with Iyana Martin’s 20-point performance not enough to salvage a win for the favorite. Both teams left the day with 1-1 records in group play, capping off what will go down as one of the biggest upsets in recent World Cup history.
Host nation Germany picked up its first win of the tournament in dominant fashion, slowing 3-point specialist Japan to secure a 74-58 victory in front of a sold-out, raucous home crowd. Germany burst out of the gate with a blistering 28-11 first quarter advantage that Japan never recovered from. Just one day after setting a new World Cup record with 20 made three-pointers in an opening win over Mali, Japan struggled immensely from beyond the arc, finishing just 3-of-27 on long-range attempts, with two of those makes coming in the final 90 seconds of the game.
“We know Japan shoots more 3s than 2s, so we took away the 3. Our goal was to be physical with them,” explained German star Leonie Fiebich after the win. Forward Frieda Buhner led the hosts with 19 points, while Nyara Sabally added 18 points to help Germany even its record at 1-1. Kokoro Tanaka finished as Japan’s top scorer with 15 points, leaving Japan also at 1-1 through two games. With the results, all four teams in Group A enter the final round of pool play tied with identical 1-1 records, keeping the group’s knockout stage wide open.
In another historic result, Hungary earned its first FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup win in 28 years, holding off a late Nigeria rally to secure a 71-67 victory. Minnesota Lynx forward Dorka Juhasz posted a double-double of 19 points and 16 rebounds, including 13 points and 11 boards in the first half, to lead the Hungarian side. Virag Takacs-Kiss added 17 points off the bench for Hungary, which moved to 1-1 in group play.
Nigeria clawed its way back from a 14-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining, pulling within two points on an Elizabeth Balogun basket with just three seconds left on the clock. But Nigeria was forced to foul immediately after the basket, and Hungary guard Reka Lelik stepped to the line and calmly sank both free throws to lock in the win. The victory marks Hungary’s first at the World Cup since a 1998 quarterfinal win over China. Hungary will close out group play against South Korea, while Nigeria, now 0-2, will face France in its final pool match. Amy Okonkwo led all Nigeria scorers with 17 points in the tight loss.
The final match of the day saw France bounce back from a slow opening quarter to run away from South Korea for a 95-69 win, improving to 2-0 in group play. South Korea got off to a red-hot start, holding a 31-24 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. But Marine Johannes turned the tide in the second quarter, scoring nine of her 17 total points during a 14-0 France run to open the frame, putting France ahead 43-37 at halftime.
France put the game away early in the third quarter with a dominant 24-4 spurt led by Dominique Malonga and Gabby Williams. Malonga dropped 10 points during the run, while Williams added nine, putting South Korea in a hole it could not climb out of. Both Malonga and Williams finished the game with 14 points apiece to round out France’s balanced scoring attack. The win keeps France undefeated through two matches, while South Korea falls to 1-1 heading into its final pool game against Hungary.