Women’s Basketball World Cup Roundup: France sets record for 3s in win

BERLIN (AP) — France set a record for 3-pointers in a single game at the women’s FIBA World Cup while Spain and host Germany progressed after winning their final group games Monday.

France scored an unprecedented 22 triples in a comprehensive 111-56 victory over already-eliminated Nigeria.

Sunday: USA survives tough test from Italy 55-52 at World Cup

Migna Toure’s 3-point shot with 5:45 left was her team’s 21st, breaking the three-day-old record of 20 set by Japan on Friday for 3-pointers in a single contest in World Cup history.

Dominique Malonga notched the 22nd. The Seattle Storm All-Star finished with nine points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Gabby Williams led France with 25 points and 6 rebounds. The Olympic finalists were already assured of their place in the quarterfinals.

Also in Group B, Hungary defeated South Korea 82-73 to finish second in the group. Both teams await upcoming games in Group A to learn their next opponents in playoffs for the quarterfinals.

Meesseman stars again

Emma Meesseman led Belgium to the quarterfinals with 22 points and 10 rebounds as it topped Australia 80-68 for first place in Group C.

The European champion is now off until Thursday.

Ezi Magbegor led Australia with 15 points and added seven rebounds, two assists and a steal, and her Seattle Storm teammate Jade Melbourne had 10 points, six assists and a steal for the Opals.

Australia faces a qualifying playoff on Wednesday against the loser of the Italy-China matchup later Monday.

Belgium had a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter and bolted in an 11-2 run. The Opals couldn’t recover. Belgium’s Julie Allemand finished with seven assists to give her an all-time record 111 in World Cup play.

Spain in quarterfinals, Germany progresses

Iyana Martin led Spain to a 79-59 win over Japan with 20 points and four rebounds, sending Spain (2-1) straight through to the quarterfinals as Group A winner because of its head-to-head record against Germany.

Seattle Storm rookie Awa Fam had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, and also made two assists and a steal for Spain.

Frieda Bühner helped Germany (2-1) to a comfortable 83-58 win over Mali with 21 points, followed by Luisa Geiselsöder with 17.

Alima Dembélé’s two free throws at the start gave Mali (1-2) its only lead as the host made sure of progress from a group that had been wide open as all teams had 1-1 records before their final games.

Germany faces South Korea on Tuesday to decide which progresses to the quarterfinals.

Japan finished third in the group while Mali was eliminated despite its shock win over Spain on Saturday. Japan next plays Hungary on Tuesday.

Puerto Rico celebrates

Puerto Rico finished strong to eliminate Turkey 75-71 in their final group game earlier.

Arella Guirantes led Puerto Rico with 21 points.

Puerto Rico was trailing by seven points going into the final quarter but Imani McGee-Stafford scored and Pamela Rosado followed with two 3-pointers to take a 59-58 lead.

Turkey power forward Elif Bayram went off early in the final quarter with an apparent left leg injury.

Turkey fans outnumbered their counterparts at Berlin’s Max-Schmeling-Halle and they tried to put off Guirantes but couldn’t stop her from securing the win with two free throws.

Seattle Sports staff made minor additions to this post.

Sue Bird faces a new pressure as USA women’s national team managing director

Related

WNBA offseason begins with high-stakes search for a commissionerFormer Storm star Gabby Williams leads Golden State to WNBA titleWNBA sets draft lottery date; Storm have 4th-best odds at top pickMath helping Ex-Storm standout as she leads Valkyries in WNBA FinalsFormer Storm star shines in Game 1 of WNBA FinalsStorm guard Flau’jae Johnson named to WNBA All-Rookie Team