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BRATISLAVA (FIBA U19 World Championships for Women) - Mali pulled themselves to within eight points of Sweden but were ultimately unsuccessful as they lost the opening match of the FIBA U19 World Championships for Women, 94-70.

Frida Eldebrink was central to the Swedish success, scoring an impressive 30 points - including eight of 10 shots from inside the arc - while Frida Aili poured in 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

Mali were undone by their profligacy from the charity stripe, where they sank only 12 of 25 attempts (48%) compared to their opponents’ 19 from 30 (63.3%).

The Africans led for the opening five minutes of the game thanks mainly to the efforts of Nagnouma Coulibaly, who top-scored with 19 points, but Sweden edged ahead 24-20 by the end of the first quarter, Eldebrink getting 11 of those points.

A 34-14 scoring burst in the second period gave Sweden a healthy half-time lead, but Mali pulled it back to within eight points with a 12-2 run of their own.

That was as close as they got, though, as Sweden found an extra gear in the final period and cruised to a comfortable win.

David Broome
FIBA