> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Storm Well-Represented in FIBA Women’s World Cup Quarterfinals - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/storm-well-represented-in-fiba-womens-world-cup-quarterfinals/ - Published: 2026-09-08T20:39:26.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-08T06:13:28.000Z - Author: Connor Benintendi - Tags: Analysis, Storm, Dominique Malonga, Jade Melbourne, Awa Fam, Ezi Magbegor \[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="2499"\] ![ Seattle Storm guard Jade Melbourne celebrates a play during a game against the Toronto Tempo on Saturday, May 30, at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/1d/f2/1df2f77b-83dd-4bc0-a6d2-6d1bb5df89a3/content/images/2026/10/20260513_at-2btoronto_jn-12-format-original.jpg) Seattle Storm guard Jade Melbourne celebrates a play during a game against the Toronto Tempo on Saturday, May 30, at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm \[/caption\] Two of the four Seattle Storm players competing in the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup have qualified for the quarterfinals, and there’s a good chance all four will make it. Dominique Malonga (France) and Awa Fam (Spain) each finished first with their teams in group play, advancing them directly to the top 8\. Ezi Magbegor and Jade Melbourne (Australia) still have to win one more game in a quarterfinal qualifier against Italy. Australia finished the group phase with the same record as Spain (2-1), but they finished second behind Belgium (3-0) in Group C. Italy (1-2) is the third-place team from Group D. If Magbegor, Melbourne and Australia defeat Italy, they will face Fam and Spain in the quarterfinals on Thursday, Sept. 10\. All games in the quarterfinals are win-or-go-home. Malonga and France will play the winner of the quarterfinal qualifier between Puerto Rico and China, also on Thursday. Since France is on the other side of the bracket from Spain and Australia, there’s a chance that the World Cup final will have two or more Storm players competing head-to-head. The times for Spain and France’s quarterfinal games on Thursday are yet to be determined, but Australia will play its qualifier against Italy at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Here’s a look at each Storm player’s performances in group play during this year’s World Cup before quarterfinals tip off. ### **Friday, Sept. 4** **Australia 70, Puerto Rico 54** Jade Melbourne: 10 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl Ezi Magbegor 11 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl **Spain 83, Germany 53** Awa Fam: 17 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk **France 99, Hungary 53** Dominique Malonga: 17 pts, 10 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk ### **Saturday, Sept. 5** **Mali 82, Spain 73** Awa Fam: 4 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk **France 95, Korea 69** Dominique Malonga: 14 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk ### **Sunday, Sept. 6** **Australia 87, Turkey 71** Jade Melbourne: 8 pts, 1 reb, 3 ast Ezi Magbegor: 21 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast ### **Monday, Sept. 7** **Belgium 80, Australia 68** Jade Melbourne: 10 pts, 1 reb, 6 ast, 1 stl Ezi Magbegor: 15 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl **France 111, Nigeria 56** Dominique Malonga: 9 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl **Spain 79, Japan 59** Awa Fam 16 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl ### **Any surprises?** Magbegor is playing exceptionally well in the World Cup, highlighted by her performance against Turkey on Sunday. The longest-tenured Storm player scored a team-high 21 points for Australia, and she’s averaging 15.6 points and 6.3 rebounds so far in the tournament. Australia is using Magbegor as more than just a rim protector, and it’s opening up her offensive capabilities. She has been lacking in that area of her game in WNBA play for the last two seasons, but is proving she can still be a first or second scoring option in the right situation. Conversely, Malonga has been slightly underwhelming offensively, scoring just nine points in France’s last game against Nigeria. It’s a star-studded roster, with France likely being the World Cup favorites currently, so Malonga understandably won’t always be the top offensive performer. But she has still left something to be desired at this point in the tournament. France, which also has former Storm player Gabby Williams on the roster, has been outright dominant with an average margin of victory of 42.3 points through group play. That’s not shocking, considering they were ranked second in the world coming into the tournament. But it does make the potential finals matchup with No. 1-ranked USA even more intriguing. Melbourne and Fam have played about as expected in their roles. Each is a critical contributor for their team and will be major factors in the quarterfinals and possibly beyond. Fam, in particular, has shown she can lead Spain as a No. 1 scoring option when she’s at her best.