BERLIN (AP) — Ezi Magbegor scored 21 points as Australia reached the final phase of the Women’s Basketball World Cup with a physical 87-71 win over Turkey on Sunday.
Turkey, led by Sevgi Uzun with 24 points, was down 8-0 at the start but fought back after a timeout to lead 15-14. That was brief, however, as the Opals rallied to end the first quarter 21-15 up and they did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game.
Turkey’s Goksen Fitik went off with what appeared to be a right-ankle injury in the third quarter but she returned in the fourth.
The Australian team features seven World Cup debutants. Team captain Sami Whitcomb of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury had to withdraw before the tournament with a lingering knee injury.
Australia next plays European champion Belgium on Monday in a showdown that will likely decide which side progresses directly to the quarterfinals as group winner. Australia, after two wins, is already assured of at least a playoff place in the final phase of the competition.
Belgium faced Puerto Rico in their second group game later Sunday.
Also later, the United States played Italy with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers bidding to stretch the Americans’ winning run to 32 games. The U.S. hasn’t lost a game at the World Cup since the semifinal game of the 2006 tournament.
Also, China with 7-foot-3 Zhang Ziyu was playing the Czech Republic with both teams looking for their first wins.
See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
United States' Caitlin Clark holds the trophy for the player of the game during the Women's Basketball World Cup match between China and the United States in Berlin, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
United States' Caitlin Clark shoots a free throw during the Women's Basketball World Cup match between China and the United States in Berlin, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
CAIRO (AP) — Iran said Sunday it struck an unmanned U.S. vessel trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, a claim that the U.S. military dismissed as a “total lie.”
The purported attack came a day after the U.S. military said forces struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to Navy warships being targeted with ballistic missiles. Experts called it a dangerous escalation after Iran’s previous attacks at sea targeted commercial shipping.
The war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. But since a fragile ceasefire agreement was announced in June, on-and-off fighting has persisted, with both sides trying to inflict military and economic pain as negotiations have collapsed.
The United States and Iran resumed attacks last week, following a month of relative calm, with the Strait of Hormuz and areas along Iran's southern coast again being targeted. At least five people were killed earlier in the week during a U.S. bombardment that returned attention to the area where a school was hit in the war's opening strikes.
The Trump administration appears to have adopted a dual-prong approach to the conflict, responding militarily to attacks on the strait while going after foreign financial institutions that handle Iran’s money.
But Tehran's hard-line new senior leaders have signaled a willingness to dig in after weathering decades of sanctions. Iran has found ways over the years to circumvent sanctions, and now a U.S. blockade of its ports, and get its oil to buyers to help ease growing economic pressures. That relies in part on a shadow fleet transporting its oil.
Tehran’s new leverage focuses on the Strait of Hormuz that is crucial to global oil and natural gas shipments. It was seen as an international waterway before the war began.
On Sunday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that on average, 9 million barrels of oil a day are getting through the strait, which should help to relieve pressure on energy prices. His estimate appeared to exceed average flows over the past 28 days through the strait, according to TankerTrackers.com and other sources.
Wright told CNN that with oil also flowing through pipelines in the region, “we’re probably two-thirds or more of pre-conflict flows.”
But those flows depend on the presence of the U.S. Navy to help escort tankers and provide some protection against possible Iranian attack. Wright said he expected that other countries would eventually support the Navy’s efforts.
Meanwhile, Iran's nuclear program, the issue that contributed to the outbreak of the war, was meant to be addressed in negotiations that fell apart soon after the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June.
Diplomats say the U.S., Britain, France and Germany now seek to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for failure to comply with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations.
Magdy reported from Cairo and Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin in Washington and Josh Boak in Bridgewater, New Jersey, contributed to this report.
People travel on a motorboat past commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, with the city's skyline in the background, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A cargo vessel carrying shipping containers lies anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A motorboat passes a general cargo ship anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man works aboard a boat as a motorboat leaves a harbor in Bandar Abbas, Iran, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Two people sit on rocks overlooking a beach as others swim and commercial vessels lie anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man, woman and boy ride a motorcycle along the waterfront as commercial vessels lie anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A girl plays in the water with a swim ring as commercial vessels lie anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Relatives visit Kiana Karimi, 14, who was wounded during a strike what Iranian media said was a U.S. strike late Tuesday, in Kuhestak, as she lies on the bed in a hospital in town of Minab in southern Iran, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A swimmer remains near the shore as a motorboat passes commercial vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
