ABIDJAN (Côte d'Ivoire) - South Sudan made their Women's AfroBasket debut in 2025, taking on a star-studded Mali, and despite a 56-53 loss, the East African have made some heads turn.
Mali have dominated the age-group competition, and are one of the best teams on the continent, a sharp contrast to their opponent of the day who qualified on a wild card after two failed attempts in 2021 and 2023. Their youth teams are yet to feature in the competition.
What's more, Mali are the reigning bronze medalist, having beaten Rwanda on home soil in 2023 in the playoff.
University of Colorado forward Nyamer Lual Diew, returning since her debut in the 2021 Women's AfroBasket Zone 5 Qualifiers, will go down in history as the first ever scorer for the East Africans in the competition.
TURNING POINT: Trailing 19-15 in the opening quarter, the debuting South Sudan looked ready to challenge Mali, a powerhouse in Africa.
Mali ran the scores for 24-15, forcing coach Alberto Antuna into what would eventually be a game-changing timeout. Diew got the claw back going from deep. South Sudan ran a tight ship on defense to cut Mali's momentum as Delicia Washington's floating jump shot with 1.27 to play brought them level at 30.
A 9-2 run in the opening half of the third quarter for Mali, with treys from Alima Dembele and Djeneba N'Diaye did little to stop the opponent as, once more, they fought back to take the lead at 41-39 and the pattern repeated in the final stanza, only for South Sudan to miss some crucial free-throws on homestretch that would have given them a historic victory, or at least a fighting chance in overtime.
HERO: South Sudan's fighting spirit was commendable throughout the game, Washington and Diew hitting double-digits with 18 a piece. The former added 12 rebounds for a double-double, as Diew came two rebounds short of a similar feat.
Mali's ability to hold their own in clutch moments, however, proved a game winner. Dembele's 18-point contribution and N'Diaye's 10, deserve a hero's mention.
STATS DON'T LIE: Mali's shooting from range on the day was cringe-worthy and it is no wonder that they could not pull away. They converted five off 41 attempts, 20 more than South Sudan, who converted four, did.
The West Africans, however, took advantage of South Sudan's 32 turnovers to score 27, while also flexing their depth to go 20-5 off the bench.
BOTTOM LINE: Mali have survived this scare but, should it be a wake up call or was it just first game jitters. The bronze medalists have work to do if they are to lift the title they last won in 2007.
South Sudan, on their part, have sent a strong statement of intent with that performance. It remains to be seen how far they can go should they correct some costly mistakes from their opening match.
THEY SAID: "We fought for 40 minutes but had some costly turnovers in clutch moments. We also missed a lot of shots we normally make, but we will come in tomorrow focus on the things that we can control and try and come out on top," Delicia Washington - South Sudan Point Guard. "It was an ugly win but a win is a win. Victory on the first game gives everyone confidence and we will ride on that momentum. South Sudan are a good side and we expected this from them having watched their films. We, however, found a way to go past them. That's one down, two to go in the Group Phase. We go back to training tomorrow and prepare better for a the next game," Sira Thienou - Mali Forward.
FIBA