Sports
Nigeria’s D’Tigress Crashes Out Of Olympics After Losing 88-74 To United States
Nigerian women’s basketball team, D’Tigress crashed out of the the Paris 2024 Olympics on Wednesday after losing 88-74 to the United States in the quarterfinals.
Despite a strong effort in the final quarter, Coach Rena Wakama’s team couldn’t make up for the losses in the first three quarters.
The game started with A’ja Wilson scoring first, but Promise Amukamara quickly tied it up at 2-2. The Americans soon took control, pulling ahead 10-4.
Though D’Tigress closed the gap to 13-8, the USA finished the first quarter ahead 26-17.
In the second quarter, D’Tigress tried to catch up and narrowed the lead to 31-25. However, the Americans won this quarter too, 26-16, and led 50-31 at halftime.
The third quarter was tough for Nigeria, as they were outscored 24-15. They made a strong push in the final quarter, outscoring the USA 26-12, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap.
The United States, aiming for their 10th gold medal, proved too strong for Nigeria. With nine gold medals already, the Americans are now closer to reaching this historic achievement.
Next, the United States will face Australia. Alanna Smith led Australia to a big win over Serbia with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
The Australians, who won silver in 2000, 2004, and 2008, are back in the semi-finals for the first time since they won bronze in 2012.
Bowing out on a high. Thank you, Africa! pic.twitter.com/fgyNvOROpg
— DTigress (@DtigressNG) August 7, 2024
D’Tigress went into the Olympics ranked #12 in the world, the lowest in their group.
They’re leaving as the FIRST African team ever to reach the quarterfinals of basketball at the Olympics and the #8 team in the world.
We’re so proud of them 🧡🇳🇬 pic.twitter.com/ZIu9wBtfsb
— 49th. (@the49thstreet) August 7, 2024
KanyiDaily recalls that Nigeria’s D’Tigress kicked off their Paris 2024 Olympics campaign with a bang, defeating world number three Australia in the women’s basketball event.