Spain beat Germany 81–58 to take bronze at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026

Spain won the bronze medal at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 at Uber Arena in Berlin on Sunday, September 13, beating Germany 81–58. Germany finished fourth.

Iyana Martin led Spain with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals on 8-of-15 shooting. The clearest differences were ball security (Spain committed 8 turnovers to Germany’s 18) and the offensive glass (15 offensive rebounds to 7).

How the game unfolded

Spain led 25–15 after the first quarter. Germany won the second quarter 21–15, and Spain went into halftime ahead 40–36, the first-quarter lead trimmed from 10 points to 4.

Spain won the third quarter 21–15, leaving the score at 61–51 with a quarter to play. Spain then took the fourth quarter 20–7.

Spain won three of the four quarters, and the 23-point final margin was the widest of the game at any quarter break.

According to the play-by-play, the lead changed hands once and the score was tied 3 times. Spain’s largest lead was 23 points, at 81–58 with 0:36 left in the fourth quarter. Germany’s biggest advantage was 2 points, in the first quarter.

Germany last led with 8:45 left in the first quarter, and the last tie came with 4:11 left in the second quarter; Spain did not trail after that.

The stretch that decided it

The play-by-play shows where Spain pulled away for good: leading 58–51 with 0:10 left in the third quarter, Spain outscored Germany 23–7 over the next stretch to lead 81–58 with 0:36 left in the fourth quarter.

Germany turned the ball over 5 times in that stretch; Spain recorded 4 steals; and Iyana Martin scored 9 and Maria Conde scored 6 of the 23 points in the run.

Why Spain won

Spain’s margin came from measurable differences in the box score. The widest were ball security (Spain committed 8 turnovers to Germany’s 18), the offensive glass (15 offensive rebounds to 7) and the free-throw line (16 makes to 11).

The turnover gap was the largest single difference: Germany gave the ball away 18 times, and 12 of those came on Spain steals. The extra possessions showed up in shot volume, with Spain attempting 67 field goals to Germany’s 51.

Spain also won the overall rebounding battle 39–30, and the 8-rebound edge on the offensive glass meant second chances Germany did not get.

Spain shot 28 of 67 (41.8 percent) from the field, 9 of 25 from three and 16 of 17 at the line; Germany went 20 of 51 (39.2 percent), 7 of 22 from three and 11 of 13 on free throws.

Germany held the edge in bench scoring (29 points to 19), which did not offset the rest.

Who delivered

Iyana Martin was Spain’s most productive player, finishing with 22 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals in 31 minutes. She shot 8 of 15 from the field, 3 of 6 from three and 3 of 3 at the line, with 2 turnovers. She came in averaging 16.6 points over five earlier games of the tournament.

Raquel Carrera, off the bench, added 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 33 minutes on 4 of 8 from the field, 0 of 1 from three and 7 of 7 at the line. That was more than double the 6.6 points she had averaged over her previous five games of the tournament.

Awa Fam, a starter, added 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in 26 minutes on 5 of 6 from the field and 0 of 1 from three. She had averaged 11 points in her previous five games of the tournament.

Maria Conde, a starter, added 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 29 minutes on 4 of 13 from the field, 1 of 4 from three and 3 of 3 at the line. She had averaged 10.8 points in her previous five games of the tournament.

Spain’s reserves scored 19 of the team’s 81 points; the Germany bench scored 29.

What Germany couldn’t overcome

Nyara Sabally led Germany with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists on 6 of 7 from the field and 1 of 1 from three; Alexis Peterson added 13 points and Leonie Fiebich added 10 points.

Shooting from key players was a problem: Leonie Fiebich made 2 of 11 shots, 2 of 5 from three.

Nyara Sabally had 4 turnovers and Alexis Peterson had 5 turnovers, part of an 18-turnover game for Germany.

Germany’s best period was the second quarter, won 21–15, but Spain won the quarters that followed.

What bronze means

Bronze gives Spain third place at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026, played in Berlin; Germany finishes fourth.

The podium is complete: the United States won gold and France silver.

In the group stage Spain beat Germany 83–53, lost to Mali 82–73 and beat Japan 79–59. It then beat Australia 89–66 in the quarterfinal and lost to the United States 76–66 in the semifinal. That 3–2 record became 4–2 with this win.

In the group stage Germany lost to Spain 83–53, beat Japan 74–58 and beat Mali 83–58. It then beat South Korea 94–56 in the qualification round for the quarterfinals, beat Belgium 93–74 in the quarterfinal and lost to France 86–64 in the semifinal. Germany finishes the tournament 4–3.

It was a rematch of their group-stage game, which Spain won 83–53; the margin was narrower this time.

WNBA connection

Ten players on current WNBA rosters appeared in this game, matched to their WNBA profiles by identical athlete IDs: Raquel Carrera (New York Liberty), Awa Fam (Seattle Storm), Maria Conde (Toronto Tempo), Megan DiLeo (Portland Fire), Elena Buenavida (Minnesota Lynx) and Alicia Florez (Washington Mystics) for Spain; Nyara Sabally (Toronto Tempo), Leonie Fiebich (New York Liberty), Frieda Buhner (Portland Fire) and Luisa Geiselsoder (Portland Fire) for Germany.

Among them, Raquel Carrera finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals; Awa Fam finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists; Maria Conde finished with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals; and Megan DiLeo finished with 9 points and 3 rebounds.