Spain defeats host Germany again to win bronze at women's FIBA World Cup

BERLIN (AP) — Iyana Martín led Spain to the bronze medal at the women’s FIBA World Cup on Sunday with an 81-58 win over host Germany.

The 20-year-old Martín scored 22 points to give Spain its third third-place finish in the tournament after 2010 and 2018.

The Spanish players looked sharper and faster throughout, with turnovers again an issue for Germany after the hosts had 25 in their semifinal defeat to France on Saturday. Germany had six in the first quarter alone and finished with 18 against Spain.

Germany had been looking for its first medal in the tournament on its second appearance as a unified country including its last time as host in 1998. East Germany finished fourth at the 1967 tournament.

It was Spain’s second victory over Germany after defeating the hosts by 30 points in their opening game.

Germany recovered with increasingly impressive wins over Japan, Mali, South Korea and European champion Belgium. Germany was the first team in the tournament to keep France below 90 points with an 86-64 defeat in their semifinal.

Spain was dealt a shock defeat by Mali in its second game but beat Japan to top the group, then defeated Australia in the quarterfinals before a battling 76-66 loss to the United States in their semifinal.

The U.S. was bidding for its fifth straight title when it played France in the final later Sunday.

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