June La Jolla Country Day School graduate Breya Cunningham pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds in 13 minutes, 15 seconds off the bench as the U.S. opened play in the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup with an 85-66 victory over Mali Saturday in Madrid.
The 6-foot, 4-inch Cunningham, who will play for the University of Arizona, scored seven points, making three of six shots and one of two free throws.
The U.S. trailed 2-0 and 4-2, then scored 12 consecutive points to take the lead for good in the Group B game at Jorge Garbajosa Arena.
Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon led the Americans with 15 points. Mali forward Maimouna Haidara led all scorers with 17 points and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds.
The U.S. is 5-0 against Mali in the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup, winning each game by at least 19 points.
The U.S. is first in the FIBA girls rankings based on recent performances in international tournaments. The West African nation of Mali is ranked 19th.
Players in the tournament must be born on or after Jan. 1, 2004.
Cunningham was a late addition to the team, replacing LSU freshman Aaliyah Del Rosario who was no longer able to participate, according to USA Basketball.
Cunningham was a McDonald’s All-American as she led the Torreys to the 2023 CIF San Diego Section Open Division girls’ basketball championship.
Cunningham was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. teams in the 2021 FIBA Women’s U16 Americas Championship and 2022 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup
The U.S. will continue group phase play Sunday against 13th-ranked Germany in a game set to begin at 9:15 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time and be streamed at YouTube.com/FIBA.
Germany opened tournament play with a 67-59 victory over 28th-ranked Chinese Taipei Saturday.
–City News Service
