France Sets Women's FIBA World Cup Record with 22 Three-Pointers
France did not just win. They detonated from deep.
In a group-stage closer that turned into a shooting clinic, the French national team shredded Nigeria’s defense with a historic perimeter barrage, draining 22 three-pointers to set a new Women's FIBA World Cup record in a 111-56 rout.
They took 40 shots from beyond the arc and buried 22 of them. Fifty-five percent from three. In a World Cup game.
By halftime, the numbers looked almost unreal. France walked into the locker room with 65 points and 14 made threes, the contest already stripped of suspense. Nigeria were chasing shadows; France were chasing history.
Japan’s mark erased in three days
The record had barely settled into the books before it was broken.
Japan had raised the bar earlier in the tournament with 20 three-pointers against Mali, a performance that seemed destined to stand for a while. Three days later, France blew past it and kept going, pushing the standard out of reach on a night when the basket seemed wider than the lane.
They didn’t just edge the record. They took it and stretched it, turning it into a statement.
By the break, the game was effectively done. France had piled up 65 points, already hit those 14 threes, and stripped the second half of any real jeopardy. Yet the shots kept flying, and more importantly, they kept falling.
Williams leads the storm, Johannes conducts it
In this offensive avalanche, two names cut through the noise.
Gabby Williams was everywhere, finishing with 25 points and setting the tone from the opening minutes. She attacked, spaced the floor, and punished every defensive lapse.
Alongside her, Marine Johannes turned the perimeter into her personal stage, knocking down five three-pointers and stretching Nigeria’s defense to breaking point. The Golden State Valkyries guard and forward joined the long-range party as well, hitting six of eight from deep in a blistering display of shot-making.
France ended the night with five players in double figures and 29 assists, the stat sheet reading like a blueprint for modern, unselfish, perimeter-heavy basketball.
Williams and Johannes lit the fuse early, combining for eight three-pointers in the first half alone. Once they had loosened the bolts, everyone else joined in.
The record falls, almost by accident
The climax came late, but the tension belonged only to the record books.
With 5:45 still to play, Migna Touré rose up and drilled France’s 21st three-pointer, nudging them past Japan’s mark. A few possessions later, Dominique Malonga delivered the 22nd, sealing a new World Cup high and underlining the sheer scale of the performance.
The most telling detail came afterwards. Touré admitted she had no idea France were even chasing a record. There was no forced hunt for history, no late-game stat-padding. They simply kept playing their game: shoot when open, move the ball, trust the rhythm.
On a night like this, that rhythm was unstoppable.
France leave the group stage not just as contenders, but as a team that can blow a game open from the perimeter in a matter of minutes. If they keep shooting like this, who in this tournament can really live with them?
