Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, ended their campaign at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament with an 81–73 defeat to Germany women’s national basketball team on Tuesday.
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Germany produced a strong fourth-quarter performance to pull away from Nigeria women’s national basketball team and secure victory after a closely contested encounter.
The Germans led narrowly for most of the contest and sealed the win with a 27–21 advantage in the final quarter. Quarter scores read 17–14, 18–17, 19–21, and 27–21 in favour of Germany.
Nigeria struggled with shooting efficiency throughout the game, converting 37.68 percent of their field-goal attempts compared to Germany’s 42.42 percent. Germany also proved more clinical from the free-throw line, recording 81 percent accuracy, while Nigeria managed 66.7 percent.
Despite the defeat, D’Tigress showed resilience in several areas. Nigeria recorded 13 offensive rebounds, six blocks, and nine steals, outperforming Germany in defensive hustle.
However, Germany dominated the defensive boards with 34 defensive rebounds and finished the game with 45 total rebounds against Nigeria’s 42.
Individually, Ezinne Kalu and Elizabeth Balogun were among Nigeria’s notable performers.
Balogun led the Nigerian scoring chart with 15 points, while Murjanatu Musa added 13 points and Amy Okonkwo contributed 12 points.
For Germany, Leonie Fiebich led the scoring with 15 points, while Alexandra Peterson added 14 points and Emily Bessoir contributed 12 points to secure the win.
Following the result, Germany finished top of Group D with nine points, ahead of France women’s national basketball team and South Korea women’s national basketball team. Nigeria placed fourth in the group with seven points after recording two wins and three losses in the tournament.
The result marked another tough outing for D’Tigress as they conclude their participation in the qualification tournament, while Germany strengthened their push toward the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
