Nigeria’s D’Tigress, on Monday, pulled off a famous shock win against Australia as they took down the Opals 75-62 in their opening game of the Women’s Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the win was Nigeria’s only second victory in the Women’s Olympic Basketball tournament, after their success 68-64 against South Korea in 2004.
It was their first win in nine games in the preliminary round and they conceded only 62 points against the Australians, fewer than in any of their previous games in the competition.
Australia, on the other hand, has lost their opening game of a Women’s Olympic Basketball tournament for the second edition in a row.
This was after winning their previous six such games; this is their first defeat against a team from Africa in 12 games in major competitions.
It was a sensational performance by the African side as they capitalised on Australian turnovers to take victory in front of another huge crowd at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France.
Nigeria posted a spectacular 11-0 run to finish to the first half and that gave them a 13-point cushion heading to the locker rooms, which proved enough for them to get over the line.
Nevertheless, when the Opals did make it a one shot game in the last period with four minutes remaining, Amy Okonkwo settled Nigerian nerves with a huge triple to get them rolling again.
This won’t be remembered for any heroics other than those performed by the entire Nigerian team.
However, there is no doubt that Ezinne Kalu was the class act that carried them to this memorable success.
The playmaker had not represented Nigeria since Tokyo 2020 and was on fire with 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Australia spilled the ball a staggering 26 times in the game and that handed Nigeria a huge 26 points from turnovers.
It was a difference-maker and especially in the first half when they almost handed their opponents a point per minute from that source.
D’Tigress were outstanding, considering they had a slow start.
Their defence was particularly impressive and with this win, they could prove to be the fly in the ointment of predictions about Group B.
They flew the flag for African basketball in a big way.
Australia looked disjointed and their guards didn’t cope with the ball pressure as they quite literally threw away any chance of a victory.
“It feels so good. We stuck together and we came together in adversity. This is what it is all about – you fight,” Amy Okonkwo said after the game.
Opals’ forward, Alanna Smith rued her team’s missed chances, saying that they turned the ball over way too much and failed to step up to the physicality of the game.
“Turning the ball over though was the crux of the game.
“We didn’t play Opals’ basketball and we weren’t aggressive defensively. We have to be better. We have to find a way,” she said.
NAN also reports that the Wakama-led team can now look forward to their remaining group games against Canada and France with confidence.
Nigeria is the least ranked team (No 12) in the group, while Australia (No.3) is the highest-ranked team in the group.(NAN).
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