The Nigerian women’s basketball team opened up their Paris 2024 Olympic campaign, defeating World No. 3 ranked Team, Australia at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille. Australia started out strong, leading by 6 points, but then Ezinne Kalu turned things around for Nigeria.
She made a deep 3-pointer, narrowing the gap and putting Nigeria within 2 points. Australia responded with an outside shot to extend their lead again, but Nigeria with tight defense and another shot made by Kalu, ended the first quarter in the lead with a score of 18-17.
In the second quarter, the Nigerian team showed their skill against the Opals. Ezinne Kalu made a difficult shot, and then Murjanatu Musa stole the ball, making a layup and keeping the score 24 – 22 in favour of D’Tigress. Kalu later made a 3-point shot, drew a foul, and completed a 4-point play.
She then assisted Amy Okonkwo, who made another 3-point shot. The second quarter ended 23 – 11 in favor of Team Nigeria, with a total of 10 steals in total in the first half.
However, Team Australia bounced back after Team Nigeria’s Murjanatu Musa a 3-point shot and got a steal in the 3rd quarter. They started their comeback with Steph Talbot assisting and Alanna Smith scoring a 2-point shot.
Musa, Kalu, and Amy Okonkwo missed their outside shots while Australia kept scoring. Australia closed the gap to 5 points after a 12-4 run in the third quarter. Nicole Enabosi made a turnaround shot, but Australia made two free throws to keep the deficit at 5 points. The score ended 10-19 in favor of Team Australia.
A relentless D’Tigress made a brilliant comeback in the fourth quarter as Musa scored a 3-pointer with an assist from Promise Amukamara. Okonkwo also made an important three-pointer, putting them seven points ahead of Australia.
With a few more free throws from Team Nigeria, the final score was 75-62. They played confidently in front of 24,023 fans and secured Nigeria’s first win at the ongoing Paris Olympics.
