MLI - Unstoppable Coulibaly

ISTANBUL (Euroleague Women/Afrobasket Women) - Mali star player Naignouma Coulibaly is becoming more and more of an international household name thanks to her latest performances in the Euroleague Women (ELW) and on the world stage at leading national team tournaments.

On Wednesday, the 23-year-old registered a staggering performance despite her USO Mondevile team losing 58-47 to Galatasaray in Istanbul, in the third round of Group C of the ELW.

She had 18 rebounds – a tournament high so far - to go with nine points and a block shot in 31 minutes.

The 1.93m (6'4") center dominated the game in the paint against a team that includes Turkish Olympians Isil Alben, Saziye Ivegin, Bahar Caglar, Lindsay Whalen of the USA and Sancho Lyttle of Spain.

"I feel better comparing to last season," Coulibaly told FIBA.com.

USO Mondevile competed in the EuroChallenge Women last season, but this year things are much different.

She admits that her hard work has paid off.

"I had to work hard physically, technically and tactically. I had to learn many things. I learned to read the defense as well as another basketball play style," she said.

In reality, Coulibaly’s rebounding prowess comes as no surprise as she is currently the French women's league's second leading rebounder with 9.8 boards per contest.

Two years ago, Coulibaly was the best rebounder during the Preliminary Round of the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women.

But she wants to do more.

“I need to be even stronger in the paint, I need to be ready to help, to block shots, to stop the opponent from receiving the ball near the basket,” she pointed out.

For Coulibaly, playing in the ELW against the best players in the world motivates her, and that is something she had not dreamt about when she started her career in her native Bamako.

“I never thought that I could play at this level,” she explained.

USO Mondevile opened the ELW season with an 86-82 away win at CCC Polkowice before making their home debut a winning one, beating Perfumerias Avenida 73-64.

Three games into the ELW, no other player has as many rebounds as Coulibaly.

"The first two games were very physical, that's the biggest difference between the French league and the ELW," she pointed out.

"In the ELW, teams play faster and score more points in fast-break, the game in the paint is stronger and the players are taller and faster. I need to do everything a little bit faster and under control.

"Avenida Perfumarias and Polkowice are very experienced teams. I had played against some those players (Spain’s Lucila Pascua) when we (Mali) had a preparation game during the world championship and then again during the tournament. That experience helped me for these two games."

Back in the national team

Coulibaly made her international debut at the 2005 Afrobasket, as a 16-year-old. Two years later, she won gold in the continental championship to qualify her country to the Beijing Olympics.

She is one of the most regular players in Mali's team, but like most of her foreign-based teammates, she missed out on last summer's FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women (OQTW), which raised suggestions of an alleged boycott.

However, Coulibaly says that she has not quit her national team and she has bigger ambitions.

"I'm ready to play for my country. I missed the OQTW because I was injured, but now I'm good and it's always a pleasure to play for Mali," she clarified.

"All my family is there (in Mali) and I know they feel proud of me when I play international competitions with Mali national team."

Despite the best efforts by Coulibaly and her teammates, Mali finished third at the 2011 Afrobasket, held on home soil. It was a big disappointment, which they will seek to rectify when Mozambique hosts the 2013 edition of the African continental championship for women.  

“I want the best for my country and I hope we will do better than in Bamako in 2011. We will play with the aim to qualify to the world championship,” she warned.

Coulibaly considers the 2010 Czech Republic World Championship as turning point in her career as it helped “French clubs discovered me,” she says before explaining that her national team head coach, at the time, Hervé Coudray was also very helpful.

“He gave me the opportunity to play in the French league and I'm lucky to be playing for a club which is competing in the ELW. I hope I can continue my form for many seasons,” she said.

USO Mondevile will face Olympic star-studded UMMC Ekaterinburg in Round 4 of of ELW group C play next Wednesday.

FIBA