Nigeria’s women basketball team, D'Tigress, continues to make history, becoming the first ever African team, men or women, to make it beyond the group phase at the Olympics. Rena Wakama’s ladies tore the script on Sunday afternoon, August 4, after edging Canada Women 79-70 to cement a ticket to the quarterfinals of the basketball event at Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Also winning two games for the first time at the Olympics, the manner of the victory was also impressive as they condemned winless Canada to an early trip back home. Nigeria gained the upper hand in the contest with a stunning 11-0 run to start the second half. It left Canada reeling, and their opponents never recovered. Like the previous games, Nigeria’s Ezinne Kalu was hugely influential registering 21 points, while 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. Nigeria were ruthless in punishing Canadian errors with an incredible 27 points from turnovers. Canada simply didn't have the firepower in this tournament to be successful and that was always the concern. In the end, it will be the margin and manner of this loss in particular that will feel uncomfortable for them and rub salt into the wounds of an early departure. ALSO READ: Paris 2024: Nigeria topple Australia in women basketball I am so proud of us. 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, Nigeria forward Amy Okonkwo told the media. Canada have lost their three games during this 2024 Olympic tournament, the second time they failed to win a game in an edition, after 1976 when they lost their five games; they have conceded more than 70 points in each of their last four games at the Olympics, their longest such streak in the tournament.
