FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026: Rwanda, Senegal impress on day one of Pre-Qualifiers
Rwanda and Senegal were impressive on the opening day of the long race to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournament on Monday. The two African teams playing at the Kigali pre-qualifying tournament registered wins, with Senegal edging tournament top seeds Hungary, 63-61, while Rwanda overwhelmed Lebanon, 80-62, at the BK Arena. Ndioma […] The post FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026: Rwanda, Senegal impress on day one of Pre-Qualifiers appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
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Rwanda and Senegal were impressive on the opening day of the long race to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournament on Monday.
The two African teams playing at the Kigali pre-qualifying tournament registered wins, with Senegal edging tournament top seeds Hungary, 63-61, while Rwanda overwhelmed Lebanon, 80-62, at the BK Arena.
Ndioma Kane stepped off the bench to inspire Senegal in a nail-biter. The forward was solid on both ends of the ball as the West African recorded their first win against a European opponent since the 2018 World Cup.
In a game Senegal twice led by as many as 12 points but Hungary kept fighting back, the difference was the defence that forced 21 turnovers.
Kane scored a team-high 16 points to go with 6 boards, Cierra Dillard contributed 14 points and dished out six assists while Madjiguene Sene had 8 points and 9 rebounds.
Debora Dubei who was hot from behind the arc piled up a game-high 24 points with Bernadett Hatar and Reka Lelik reaching double figures with 10 points apiece in a losing effort.
In the prime-time fixture, Bella Murekatete announced herself to Rwandans with a game-high 24 points and 7 rebounds to help the hosts beat Lebanon.
Also announcing herself to the Rwanda basketball faithful was former WNBA star Keisha Hampton who netted 21 points. The duo has made a huge difference on the team that played last year’s FIBA Women’s AfroBasket along Assouma Uwizeye who was the defensive hog on the night.
Already known to the crowd, Ineza Sifa and Promise Philoxy also shone with 16 and 12 points respectively with the latter dropping 12 dimes.
Next Games
Senegal returns to action tonight against Brazil while Rwanda will battle a physical Argentine side tomorrow.
The post FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026: Rwanda, Senegal impress on day one of Pre-Qualifiers appeared first on Kawowo Sports.
