Africa-Press – Rwanda. Saturday, September 13
Semi-final
Côte d’Ivoire 45-40 Mali
Côte d’Ivoire stunned African basketball powerhouse Mali on Saturday, September 13, bringing an end to their unbroken dominance at the FIBA U16 Women’s AfroBasket.
For the first time since the inception of the FIBA U16 Women’s AfroBasket in 2009, Mali will not take home the championship title.
Côte d’Ivoire pulled off a stunning 45–40 upset over the eight-time defending champions in the semi-finals held at Petit Stade.
It was a result that only a few predicted, but the Ivorians’ grit, determination, and unwavering belief carried them to a breakthrough victory, reshaping the narrative of the tournament and ending Mali’s 14-year reign.
Now, for the first time in the competition’s history, Mali will compete for third place instead of the trophy.
This is a remarkable achievement for Côte d’Ivoire, who were heavily defeated by Mali (65–38) in the group stage just a week ago.
This victory secured Côte d’Ivoire one of two places available to African nations at the 2026 FIBA U16 Women’s Basketball World Cup in the Czech Republic from July 11-19.
With the score tied at 31-31 at the end of the third quarter, Côte d’Ivoire started the fourth quarter strongly when Lalya Diarisso scored a long two-pointer, followed by a three-pointer from Gnomon Kone.
These decisive plays turned out to be a game-changing moment for Côte d’Ivoire, who never trailed again, despite Mali guard Yahe Bagayoko tying the game at 36-36 with five minutes remaining.
Sensing a Mali comeback, Côte d’Ivoire intensified their defensive aggression, going on a 7-0 scoring run, and Mali were unable to respond.
Although Jane Diomande and Maëlhis N’Dri were the top scorers for Côte d’Ivoire with nine points each, it was the team’s collective effort that caused Mali so many problems at both ends of the court.
Fatima Konate came off the bench to shoot 2-for-2 from behind the arc, finishing with six points.
A week ago, when Mali and Côte d’Ivoire faced off, reigning champions Mali dominated every single stats category of the game, cruising to a 65-38 win.
However, the semi-final clash was very different from their first meeting, with Côte d’Ivoire out-rebounding Mali 61-50; They moved the ball impressively, sharing 11 assists, and forced Mali to turn the ball over 32 times.
What really set the two teams apart, though, was the contribution of their respective benches, with Côte d’Ivoire’s outscoring Mali’s 24–3.
Prior to Mali’s 45-40 loss to Côte d’Ivoire in the 2025 U16 Women’s AfroBasket tournament, their last loss was on 11 August 2021, when they fell to Egypt 66-56.
However, they bounced back to win their seventh consecutive title.
What we witnessed on Saturday was a new era in the tournament’s history, with the staggering result coming from a team classed as outsiders that reached the knockout stages after a 2–1 record in the group stages.
Mali arrived in Kigali with a 30–1 winning streak dating back to the 2015 tournament, but Côte d’Ivoire put an end to that remarkable record and will now make their world stage debut next year.
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