Mali Stun Spain 82-73 for Historic Second Women’s World Cup Win

Mali defeated Spain 82-73 in Berlin on Saturday to record only the second Women’s Basketball World Cup victory in the country’s history. The result left both teams with 1-1 records in the tournament. An agency report published by The Guardian identified the game as the first major upset of this World Cup.

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Spain held a two-point advantage at halftime, but Mali changed the contest with a decisive third quarter. The African side outscored Spain 31-19 in the period, turning a narrow deficit into control of the game before the final quarter began.

The pivotal sequence came after Mali fell behind 45-44. Mali responded with a 16-4 run, and Sika Kone made two three-pointers during that stretch. Kone, who plays for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA, finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds to give Mali production both inside and from the perimeter. Her double-double accompanied a scoring total that no Mali teammate exceeded in the victory.

Mali carried that momentum into the fourth quarter by scoring the first five points of the period. Kone added another three-pointer during that opening burst. Spain did not reduce the margin below nine points for the remainder of the game, allowing Mali to complete the upset without a late comeback changing the outcome.

Djeneba N’Diaye matched Kone with 19 points for Mali. Iyana Martin led Spain with 20 points, but her scoring was not enough to offset Mali’s third-quarter surge. The teams entered the second half separated by only two points, making the scale of Mali’s turnaround after the break the defining feature of the result.

The victory improved Mali’s all-time Women’s Basketball World Cup record to 2-10, according to The Guardian’s report. The country’s only previous win in the competition came against Senegal in overtime in 2010. Sixteen years later, the nine-point win over Spain gave Mali another landmark result and moved its current tournament record back to even after two games.