Crowned Early: Hussein Dey Marine Topple the Two-Time Champs for the Algerian Crown

Hussein Dey Marine did not need the final whistle of the final game to know they were champions of Algeria. The pre-tournament favorites wrapped up the 2025-26 women's national title with a round to spare, winning their opening two matches at the Tournoi des As at La Coupole to clinch the crown on tiebreakers before they ever took the floor for their last game.
The Marines, coached by Mokrane Benabbas, did it the hard way both times. In their opener they spotted two-time defending champion GS Cosider an 18-9 first-quarter lead, then clawed back behind captain Sofia Saidani (1992) and squeaked home 52-51. Saidani poured in 19 points, Ibtisseme Kriket posted a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Hanane Yousfi added 12 points and nine boards in the one-point escape.
A day later came the strangest win of the week. Hussein Dey Marine led MT Setif 45-36 entering the fourth quarter and then did not score a single point in the period, allowing Setif to draw level at 45-45 and force overtime. The Marines steadied in the extra session, edging it 7-4 for a 52-49 victory. Rania Albane (1996) led the way with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists, with Saidani and Aicha Benouda chipping in 10 apiece.
Those two results proved decisive. Because Hussein Dey Marine had beaten both GS Cosider and Setif head-to-head, their 2-0 start guaranteed they could finish no worse than first on the tiebreaker even if they dropped their final game. They did exactly that, falling 44-42 to USM Alger on the closing day in what had become a dead rubber. Albane signed off with 14 points and 14 rebounds and Naila Reguig top-scored for USM Alger with 15, but the result changed nothing: Hussein Dey Marine and Setif both ended 2-1, with the Marines on top by virtue of their overtime win in the head-to-head.
The title caps a dominant season for the Marines, who had topped the regular-season standings at 24-2 and swept through their preliminary group unbeaten. Already the reigning national Cup holders and one of the most decorated names in the Algerian women's game, they now add the championship that had been eluding them and they do so by ending GS Cosider's two-year reign atop the domestic game. The two-time champions finished third.