'Veteran' Madi Ryan leads Sapphires into semi-finals

• ‍Game 1: Sapphires duo break steals record in World Cup opener‍
• Game 2: No.1 US escapes Sapphires late run‍
• Game 3: Manyok double-double powers Sapphires to knockout stages‍
• Game 4: Sapphires unleash 24-0 blitz to bury Germany early

Australian star Madi Ryan continued to build her reputation as one of the best junior basketballers in the world, pouring in 21 points as the Sapphires held off Japan 70-64 to reach the FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup semi-finals.

Ryan, 17, led the Sapphires, adding to an already exceptional international résumé spanning three age-group World Cups, an Under-16 Asia Cup and two Oceania championships all before her 18th birthday.

Australia will play Spain on Saturday, July 18, 2026 – tip-off TBA.

“Playing against Japan is one of world basketball's famous and enjoyable challenges,” Sapphires head coach Tom Garlepp said in an exclusive interview with basketball.com.au.

“They play hard and are well coached.

“We were sharp versus Germany, and I thought the players played with a good mindset play-by-play.

“We would like to simply keep building.

“We obviously know that the teams get tougher with every game in any tournament, so with each practice and match we want to try and grow and learn together, and this messaging will be consistent for the quarterfinal."

Ryan went 9-from-18 from the field, pulled down five boards and had three assists in 36 minutes while teammate Matilda Trout delivered a dominant all-round performance of nine points, 14 rebounds and four assists.

Australia shot 40.7% from the field and made all 15 of its free throws (100%), while out rebounding Japan 44-25, including a decisive 14-4 advantage on the offensive glass.

Japan closed within two points at 61-59 midway through the fourth quarter, but Australia had every answer. Trout buried a momentum-stopping three-pointer before Ryan converted a driving lay-up to restore a seven-point cushion. Japan again trimmed the margin to 66-64 in the final 23 seconds, but Isabel Smith and Olivia Olechnowicz combined to make four straight free throws to seal the six-point victory.

Garlepp tightened Australia's rotation for the quarter-final, relying heavily on his starting five as the stakes increased.

Ryan (36:58), Olechnowicz (35:41), Smith (35:15), Trout (31:01) and Richardson (30:42) all logged more than 30 minutes. Only Daisy Hocking (10:15), Jade Sherrington (12:11), Jasmine Jones (4:32), Jay Sebasio (0:33) and Jemyma Manyok (2:51) logged minutes off the bench, while Lily Mapp and Eliza Ashby did not play as Australia leaned heavily on its starters.

The Sapphires' victory was built on two decisive scoring runs. An early 8-0 burst gave the Sapphires control before a dominant 12-0 run in the second quarter blew a one-point lead out to 13.

Australia took a 36-28 advantage into halftime and spent the rest of the afternoon holding off Japan's challenges.

Japan refused to go away after the break, responding with a 7-0 burst to cut the margin to three points at 49-46 during the third quarter.

Takeuchi repeatedly kept Japan within striking distance, finishing 14-from-25 from the field while adding three assists.

Smith added 16 points, including a perfect 9-of-9 from the free-throw line, while Olechnowicz contributed 14 points and five rebounds.