Nigeria’s women’s basketball team has made history as the first African nation (male or female) to reach the quarterfinals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. They achieved this milestone with a 79-70 win over Canada in their final Group B game.
D’Tigress, who recorded their first Olympic basketball victory in 20 years in their opening game, have extended their run in the competition, etching their names in history and moving closer to the podium with each game.
Before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympics, African women’s teams had only won one game in over 37 matches in Olympic history.
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The Nigerian team won two games in Group B, with star forward Ezinne Kalu scoring 21 points and adding two assists, while Elizabeth Balogun impressed with 14 points and three assists against Canada.
Forward Amy Okonkwo expressed pride in the team’s performance, saying, “I am so proud of us. The last game wasn’t good for us, and even in the first half today, we were not doing what we wanted to come out and do. We had a talk with ourselves and realized it was win or go home, and we decided we wanted to stay,” via FIBA.
Having defeated the fifth-ranked team in the world, D’Tigress now looks relentless as they aim for a place on the podium. Only two more strong performances stand between them and Olympic glory.
