In what has been termed history-making, Nigeria’s female basketball team, D’Tigress has won their opening game against Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Nigeria upset Australia 75-62 at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium on Monday, July 29. The Australian national team is currently ranked No. 3 in the world.
This historic win marks D’Tigress first victory in an Olympic match since Athens 2004 when they defeated South Korea 68-64.
Nigeria recovered from a slow start to win the first quarter 18-17.
After the famous Olympics win, Kalu, who returned to the national team after a three-year gap, said the defense of the Nigerian team, ranked 12th, was ‘relentless.’
Ezinne Kalu played a crucial role in driving the team’s offense by scoring 19 points and contributing 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
With 3:54 left in the fourth quarter and the Australians making a push, Nigeria women’s basketball captain Amy Okonkwo rose to the occasion, sinking a three-pointer to extend the D’Tigress lead to seven points.
“This means a lot for our country. Today we made a statement that we are not going to give up and no matter what country we play, we are going to play our basketball,” an elated Kalu said after the match.
Similarly, Kalu’s teammate, forward Amy Okonkwo said, “It feels so good. We stuck together and we came together in adversity. This is what it is all about – you fight.”
D’Tigress coached by record-breaking Rena Wakama will play hosts France on August 1 before wrapping up their group-stage campaign against Canada on August 4.