D’Tigress have made history on a number of fronts after overcoming a half-time deficit to claim a 79-70 win over Canada at the women’s basketball tournament of the ongoing Olympics.
Rena Wakama’s team put up a monumental defensive display in the third quarter, recovering from a strong start by the Canadians to restrict their North American opponents to just five points in the third quarter.
That meant Nigeria went from being 37-41 behind at the half to leading 60-46 thanks to a 23-5 third quarter in D’Tigress’ favour – the only quarter Nigeria won.
Ezinne Kalu led Team Nigeria’s scoring with 21 points coupled with three rebounds and three steals, while Shay Colley steered the Canadians with 17 points.
As a result of the win, Nigeria has now won two matches at one Olympic Games for the first time. More importantly, D’Tigress become the first African team to reach the quarter-final stage.
Nigeria could finish top of Group B depending on how it goes in the final group game between hosts France and Australia – the Opals need a win to guarantee a spot in the last eight while France has already booked their quarter-final spot.