After securing their first Olympic game win since 2004 by upsetting Australia 75-62 on July 29, Nigeria’s women’s basketball team triumphed over Canada on Sunday, August 4, with a final score of 79-70, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time at Paris 2024.
With this loss, Canada will finish last in Group B and will not advance beyond the group stage. Ezinne Kalu led Nigeria with 21 points, while Shay Colley led the Canadians with 17 points.
The first half was a tightly contested affair, with Canada fighting hard to remain in contention, even taking a four-point lead into halftime. However, Nigeria applied relentless pressure in the second half, which the Canadians could not withstand.
Nigeria outscored Canada 23-5 in the third quarter, including a 15-0 run that opened up an eight-point lead. By the midpoint of the fourth quarter, Nigeria’s lead had expanded to an insurmountable 17 points, sealing their victory.
Nigeria shot 45 percent from the field and 38 percent from beyond the arc, but their defense was the key to this critical victory. D’Tigress, as the team is nicknamed, held Canada to just 37 percent shooting overall, including a poor 5-26 from long distance.
D’Tigress forced 26 Canadian turnovers, converting them into 27 points, a significant factor in the game’s outcome. Of these turnovers, Nigeria recorded 16 steals.
Another major factor was free throw shooting. Canada went to the line 22 times but only made 15 of those attempts, while Nigeria went 14-17 from the stripe. The combination of turnovers and missed free throws, along with poor shooting, spelled disaster for the Canadians, who ended their Paris 2024 campaign winless.
Nigeria’s defense has been the team’s identity, showcased once again in this game. In their upset win over Australia, they forced 26 turnovers, including 15 steals. Despite losing to France 75-54 on August 1, D’Tigress forced another 17 turnovers and had nine steals. Overall, through three games of group play, Nigeria forced 69 turnovers, including 40 steals.
After this victory, D’Tigress await their first-ever Olympic quarterfinal matchup, as they march inexorably to one of the greatest epochs in Olympic history – African Gold in Basketball.
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