Kiki Rice scored 10 points to be among three Americans in double figures and fellow UCLA guard Londynn Jones added five 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 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.
Rice made three of six shots, including one of two 3-point shots, all three free throws and pulled down five rebounds in 19 minutes, 32 seconds of play.
Jones made one of five shots, including one of three 3-point shots, and both free throws in 13:35 off the bench.
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.
Rice and Jones were teammates on the U.S. teams that won the gold medals in the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship. Rice also played for the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 2022 FIBA 3×3 U18 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.