Hungary beats Japan 84-63 to set up quarterfinal against US at women's FIBA World Cup

BERLIN (AP) — Réka Lelik led Hungary with 23 points and eight rebounds in an 84-63 win over Japan at the women’s FIBA World Cup on Tuesday to set up a quarterfinal against the United States.

Virág Takács-Kiss also had eight rebounds and added 17 points for Hungary, which will face the four-time defending champion in the late quarterfinal slot Thursday.

“It feels incredible. It’s been 40 years since we went to the quarterfinals and I still can’t believe it,” Lelik said.

The game was overshadowed by a serious injury to Japan shooting guard Saki Hayashi, who went off with what looked a broken right arm after an awkward fall.

Hayashi needed immediate medical attention a foul in the air from Agnes Torok with just over a minute left in the second quarter. A blue tarp was provided to give her privacy and fans responded with applause when she was led off.

Japan connected on only seven 3-pointers Tuesday. The Japanese had set a record with 20 three-pointers in a World Cup game on Friday before France broke it with 22 on Monday.

Ramu Tokashiki's two free throws drew Japan level at 34-34, but that was as close as it got. Agnes Studer responded with a 3-pointer to give Hungary a 37-34 lead at halftime.

“They hit their open shots, we missed our open shots,” Japan coach Corey Gaines said.

Hungary finished 11 of 25 from beyond the arc on the first of two days off for the U.S., which qualified directly for the quarterfinals as a group winner.

“I’m excited to play the very best players in the world, the best team in the word,” Lelik said of Thursday's game. “I never got the opportunity to play against them. So I’m just very excited how it’s going to be. And we’re going to do everything for sure. But besides that, I want us to enjoy the game.”

Host Germany faces South Korea later for a quarterfinal spot against Belgium.

The home team, buoyed by loud support at the Berlin Arena, has gradually improved since losing its first group game by 30 points to Spain. Germany rebounded with a 74-58 win over Japan and followed with a comfortable 83-58 win over Mali.

Germany’s Frieda Bühner scored 21 points against Mali after 19 in the previous win and was expected to duel with Korea’s leading player Park Ji-hyun.

All the quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday. Spain and France await the winners of Wednesday’s playoffs between Italy-Australia and China-Puerto Rico, respectively.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

Japan's Kokoro Tanaka is challenged by Hungary's Dorka Juhasz, left, and Veronika Kanyasi during the Women's Basketball World Cup qualification playoff between Hungary and Japan in Berlin, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Hungary players celebrate defeating Japan after the Women's Basketball World Cup qualification playoff between Hungary and Japan in Berlin, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Hungary players celebrate defeating Japan after the Women's Basketball World Cup qualification playoff between Hungary and Japan in Berlin, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Japan's Kokoro Tanaka aims to shoot during the Women's Basketball World Cup qualification playoff between Hungary and Japan in Berlin, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Japan's Nanako Todo in action during the Women's Basketball World Cup qualification playoff between Hungary and Japan in Berlin, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Japan's Mai Yamamoto, right, and Hungary's Yvonne Turner in action during the Women's Basketball World Cup qualification playoff between Hungary and Japan in Berlin, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Hungary's Virag Takacs-Kiss, left, and Japan's Stephanie Mawuli in action during the Women's Basketball World Cup qualification playoff between Hungary and Japan in Berlin, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Hungary's Reka Lelik, right, and Japan's Maki Takada in action during the Women's Basketball World Cup qualification playoff between Hungary and Japan in Berlin, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lonnie Bunch is stepping down from the leadership of the Smithsonian Institution following a tumultuous year in which President Donald Trump tried to remake the portrayal of U.S. history by the Smithsonian museums and other cultural entities.

Bunch said in a news release Tuesday that he was departing the position he had held since 2019 “with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude.” The Smithsonian said he would leave the post at the end of the year.

Bunch’s departure comes two months after a White House report branded the leaders of the Smithsonian Institution, especially at the National Museum of American History, as radical activists who cannot be trusted, an indication that Trump could be preparing to install his own team.

Anthea M. Hartig, the first female director of that museum, faced growing scrutiny from Trump and other Republicans over the summer after the White House Domestic Policy Council’s report saying the museum’s leadership doesn’t tell history “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.”

Three weeks after the report’s release, Trump ordered his administration to install signs in front of the U.S. history museum telling visitors that some of the exhibits are inaccurate. Hartig pushed back, telling lawmakers during congressional hearings that the report "does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum.”

There had been speculation that firings were in the offing. Trump doesn’t have the power to fire leaders at the Smithsonian with the swiftness he’s managed at other top cultural institutions in Washington, most notably the Kennedy Center, where a board of his supporters named him chairman.

The Smithsonian operates outside the executive branch and museum directors report to Bunch, who is subject to oversight from a Board of Regents that includes Vice President JD Vance, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, a bipartisan group of lawmakers and so-called citizen regents.

Roberts, who serves as Smithsonian’s chancellor, said in a release that Bunch had “pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story.”

The White House did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The announcement has left questions about some Smithsonian programming. Bunch is scheduled to speak Sept. 25 at the National Museum of African American History and Culture at an event entitled: “Understanding America: 10 Years of Excellence.”

The museum did not immediately respond to a question about how Bunch's retirement might impact the event.

The Smithsonian has been under examination by the Trump administration since 2025 as it has focused on the images and messages presented to the public as the nation approached its 250th anniversary.

A March 2025 executive order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, led to signs being changed at federal parks, exhibits being altered or in some cases removed, and military bases being renamed. Trump specifically cited the National Museum of African American History and Culture and argued that the Smithsonian as a whole was engaging in a “concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history.”

Several months later, the White House ordered a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian museums and exhibitions before the country’s 250th birthday, with a goal of aligning the institution’s content with Trump’s interpretation of American history.

In a letter sent to Bunch at the time, the White House detailed the steps it expected the organization to take as part of the announced review. The examination is of all public-facing content, including social media, exhibition text and educational materials, to “assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals,” according to the letter.

That review initially focused on eight museums — the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

California Democrat, Sen. Alex Padilla praised Bunch in a statement for not shying away from the nation's history. “In the face of Donald Trump’s attacks on the Smithsonian, Secretary Bunch spoke truth to power and reasserted his commitment to defend and uphold American history and values. While I respect his decision to depart, the job now falls to the Board of Regents and Congress to ensure the success of his work will remain for generations to come.”

Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C., and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

FILE - Lonnie Bunch, then director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Sept. 21, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch speaks at an event, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)

Paige Crowther Charbonnea, left, after President Donald Trump posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to her brother, 9/11 hero Welles Crowther, during a Steel Across America event with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation on the Ellipse, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)