ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - Mali came up short in last year's World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Mexico, but they are now back in the race for a spot in the 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup in Germany.
By beating Mozambique 86-68 in the quarterfinals, Mali became the second African team — after South Sudan — to advance to one of the four World Cup qualifying tournaments to be held in March.
It was Mali's third win in as many 2025 Women's AfroBasket games. Meanwhile, Mozambique was relegated to the Classification Round for the fifth to eighth place.
TURNING POINT: Mozambique guard Silvia Veloso opened the scoring with a drive to the basket, but Alima Dombele responded with four straight points to take a 4-2 lead. The two teams exchanged buckets for a while before Mali went on an 8-0 scoring run.
A 43-23 lead early in the second quarter dealt a major blow to Mozambique’s chances. Mali headed to the locker room with a 51-36 lead.
Mozambique took an early 17-second lead, but Mali dominated the rest of the highly anticipated encounter.
Mozambique urgently needed an answers to Mali’s sense of urgency. However, those answers never materialized as Mali continued to dominate, displaying impressive discipline.
HERO: No one in the Mali team stood out; everyone contributed to the triumph.
Even Rokia Doumbia, the only Malians who didn't attempt a shot, made a difference with her game-high eight assists.
Djeneba N'Diaye led Mali in scoring with 18 points. Sira Thiernou finished 5-for-7 from the floor and finished with 13 points. Alima Dembele terrorized Mozambique's paint, finishing 6-for-8 from the field and finishing with 14 points.
STATS DON'T LIE: Mali entered the quarterfinals with the worst three-point average (10.5%), but they transformed, shooting relatively better from deep.
While Mali went 20-for-36 from the floor, Mozambique went into halftime 0-for-6 from behind the arc.
By halftime, Mali’s bench had already made their presence felt, outscoring Mozambique’s 22–11.
Eventually, Mali finished 7-for-18 from the three-point line while Mozambique made 4 of their 15 three-pointers.
BOTTOM LINE: For most of the 40 minutes, Mozambique struggled to keep up with Mali’s pace, physicality, and determination to contest every shot. These factors helped Mali remain undefeated in the 2025 African Championship.
What about Mali’s rotation? It was probably the most productive in the tournament so far, with every player contributing in some way.
Mozambique brought the game to ten points in the third quarter, which turned out to be their best moment, but it was a short-lived resurgence.
With 3:44 minutes left and a comfortable 20 points lead (79-59) Mali's bench erupted in celebration a sign of mission accomplished.
Supported by Malian fans — some of the loudest in African basketball — who didn't stop drumming and blowing their horns for a second, the Malian players felt at home.
On the court, Mali appeared to be in complete control, even managing their largest lead of 12 points (23-11) by the end of the opening quarter.
THEY SAID: "Our aggressiveness throughout the four quarters was fundamental to get this win. I think they struggled to handle our physicality." - Mali power forward Diana Balayera.
"We're not giving up. However, we will continue working to achieve better results in future competitions. We stepped onto the court feeling anxious, which affected our game plan. Mali's transitions caused us many problems." - Mozambique guard Stephania Chiziane.
FIBA