The Nigerian women’s basketball team became the first African team ever to reach the quarter finals of the Olympic Games in their 79-70 win over Canada at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France.
Bouncing back from the second game defeat to host nation France, the manner of the triumph was impressive as D’Tigress condemned winless Canada to an early trip home.
It was also the first time an African basketball team won two games at the Olympics
The first quarter was an evenly matched encounter as it ended 18-18.
Canada fought to remain in contention to advance, even winning the second quarter 23-19 to establish a four point lead at halftime.
However, coming into the third quarter, the Nigerian ladies mounted a lot of pressure that the Canadians could not forestall as D’Tigress earned an emphatic 23-5 win, including a 15-0 run to open up an eight point lead.
By the midway point of the fourth quarter, the Nigerians’ lead had ballooned to an insurmountable 17 points as they sealed the deal.
Ezinne Kalu was once again the star player for Nigeria, pulling the strings in the backcourt.
The playmaker registered a whooping 21 points, while teammate Elizabeth Balogun chose a great time to have her best game in memory as she stepped up with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Promise Amukamara made five steals against Canada, the second-most for a player with a team from Africa in a game at the Olympics, with Nigeria’s Maktabene Amachree still holding the record for the highest with 6 against Greece in the 2004 Tokyo edition.
A delighted Amy Okonkwo said after the game that Nigeria was determined to remain in the tournament after the hurtful loss to France.
“I am so proud of us”, Okonkwo started.
“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 realised it was win or go home and we decided we wanted to stay”, Okonkwo concluded.
Born to a Nigerian father, retiring Canada forward Natalie Achonwa was magnanimous in Canada’s defeat to their opponents.
“It’s been a hell of a journey and I wouldn’t trade it for the world”, Achonwa said.
“If you are competing with the best in the world in do-or-die situations you need to be ready in every possession of the game.
“I don’t want to make excuses. You have to show up every possession and every play. The teams we played did it better than us”, Achonwa added.
Nigeria will find out who their opponents will be in the quarter finals.
