The Royals have been battling in WPBA action without one of their star players, but it has certainly been for a good reason. Rokia Doumbia, who made her debut in the league last year after finishing her college career, has been with the national team of her native Mali as they played at AfroBasket, trying to advance to next year’s World Cup. They had an excellent run in the event all the way to the final, but lost to Nigeria, still earning a spot in the World Cup qualifying tournaments in March.
Doumbia’s Career
Doumbia was born in Mali and starred for their U16 team in 2015. She headed to the United States for high school, playing at powerhouse programs at Hamilton Heights Christian and IMG Academy. Her college career started with two seasons at Arkansas before she transferred to Purdue and played two seasons there. Since the 2020-21 college season did not count towards eligibility limit, she finished her career at USC and got her graduate degree.
Rather than starting an overseas pro career, she started a career in business in the Bay Area, but continued playing by joining the WPBA. She was a star for the Royals in her first season and continued that earlier this season by taking on a bigger facilitation role. Being able to play at a high level at this time of the year enabled her to be ready to contribute for Mali, returning to the team after playing in 2019 and 2021, but not in 2023, as they were looking for guard depth for this squad.
Mali’s Tournament
The format of AfroBasket was two group stage games before the knockout rounds. They opened play in Group B last Saturday with a surprisingly close 55-53 win over South Sudan as Doumbia started and had 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 14 minutes. They took first place in the group on Monday when they defeated Cameroon 75-49 as Doumbia came off the bench this time and had 3 rebounds and 4 assists in 14 minutes.
Winning the group meant that Mali got a bye to the quarterfinals and Doumbia had 8 assists in 17 minutes in their 86-68 win over Mozambique on Thursday. South Sudan turned out to be a stronger team than expected, but Mali won the rematch in the semifinals 76-50 on Saturday with 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists from Doumbia in 21 minutes. The team started well in the championship game again Nigeria on Sunday, but ended up falling behind in the second half and losing 78-64 as Doumbia finished her tournament with 6 points and 3 assists in 22 minutes.
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-afrobasket-2025/games/127703-MLI-SSD#boxscore
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-afrobasket-2025/games/127705-CMR-MLI#boxscore
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-afrobasket-2025/games/127717-MLI-MOZ#boxscore
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-afrobasket-2025/games/127723-MLI-SSD#boxscore
https://www.fiba.basketball/en/events/fiba-womens-afrobasket-2025/games/127727-NGR-MLI#boxscore
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