One Storm player leads rally, another falls in stunner at World Cup

Two of the four Seattle Storm players competing in the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Germany were in action Saturday. One enjoyed a second straight win, but the other suffered a stunning loss. Here’s what happened on Day 2 of the tournament.

France recovers to rout South Korea

Storm All-Star Dominque Malonga and former Storm teammate Gabby Williams helped France put the game away during a 24-4 run in the third quarter in a 95-69 win over South Korea.

Malonga had 10 points and Williams added nine during the stretch. They each finished with 14 points. Marine Johannes scored 14 of her game-high 17 points in the first half for the French (2-0).

South Korea (1-1) got off to a hot start and led 31-24 after the first quarter. Then Johannes and France got going, scoring the first 14 points of the second quarter. Johannes had nine of those as the French led 43-37 at the half.

Yeeun Heo and Haeran Lee led South Korea (1-1) with 12 points apiece.

France next plays Monday against Nigeria.

Mali shocks Spain

Mali pulled off a massive upset by shocking Spain 82-73.

It was only the second win ever in tournament history for the African country, which beat Senegal in overtime in 2010.

Mali (1-1) was down two at the half, but outscored Spain 31-19 in the third quarter to take the lead. Mali went on a 16-4 run in that period after it was down 45-44 to take command. Sika Kone, who finished with 19 points, had two 3-pointers during that game-changing run. Kone, who plays for the Atlanta Dream in the WNBA, also had 10 rebounds.

Djeneba N’Diaye also had 19 points for Mali, which is 2-10 in its World Cup history.

Storm rookie Awa Fam had four points on 2 of 7 shooting and grabbed five rebounds for Spain (1-1), which was one of the top teams in the world. Iyana Martin scored a team-high 20 points.

Spain continues play Monday against Japan.

Host Germany slows down Japan for first win

Germany got off to a fast start and slowed down Japan in a 74-58 win.

In front of a sold-out crowd that was loud for the entire game, Germany outscored Japan 28-11 in the first quarter. Japan couldn’t find any rhythm against the hosts. A day after hitting a World Cup-record 20 3-pointers, Japan was just 3-for-27 from behind the arc.

Frieda Buhner scored 19 points and Nyara Sabally added 18 for Germany (1-1).

Kokoro Tanaka led Japan (1-1) with 15 points.

All four teams in Group A are tied at 1-1.

Hungary beats Nigeria for first World Cup win in 28 years

Dorka Juhasz had 19 points and 16 rebounds to help Hungary edge Nigeria 71-67.

Nigeria (0-2) was down 66-52 with 3:57 left before getting within two with 3 seconds left on Elizabeth Balogun’s basket. Nigeria fouled Reka Lelik with just over a second left and she calmly knocked down both free throws to seal the win.

It was Hungary’s first victory since 1998 when the team topped China in the quarterfinals. Now they’ll play Korea next to close out pool play.

Virag Takacs-Kiss added 17 points for Hungary (1-1). Juhasz, who plays for the Minnesota Lynx, had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the first half.

Amy Okonkwo scored 17 points to lead Nigeria, which finishes off pool play against France.

The Associated Press and Seattle Sports staff contributed to this post.

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