2023 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket: D’Tigress pound DR Congo in opener

Nigeria’s D’Tigress began their quest to win a fourth successive FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title with a dominant 69-35 win over DR Congo in their first game in the competition.

Despite all the issues surrounding the team in recent weeks, the Nigerian girls showed their class against their Congolese opposition to claim a flawless victory.

Congo DR took an early lead in the first quarter before the D’Tigress rallied to end the quarter with a 16-8 lead. They continued to punish their opponents in the second quarter, extending their lead by three points to 29-18 by half-time.

The D’Tigress resumed for the third quarter in the same manner as they finished the second, further opening the gap to their opponents to 46-32 by the end of the quarter. The Nigerian team finished off their opponents in the final quarter, restricting them to only three points while they added 23 points of their own to finish with a 69-35 win.

Ifunaya Okoro delivered a sterling performance with 11 points and four rebounds, Elizabeth Balogun also contributed 11 points, and Sarah Ogoke scored ten points. Tomi Taiwo also scored ten points for the D’Tigress in the match.

Nigeria delivered a timely reminder of their quality in their first match under former player Rena Wakama, and will face Egypt in their second group game on Sunday.