Evelyn Akhator’s 24 points not enough as Nigeria lose to Australia in FIBA World Cup opener
Nigeria’s women national basketball team D’Tigress suffered a 86-68 loss to Australia in their first game of the 2018 FIBA women’s world cup on Saturday.
The reigning african champions were no match for the Aussies as they were overrun by the 2006 women champions at San Cristobal de La Laguna.
Dallas Wings forward Evelyn Akhator poured in 24 points for Nigeria but it wasn’t enough to stop the rampant Aussies.
Nigeria trailed from the beginning of the game to the end, they lost the 1st, 2nd and 4th quarters (17-24, 14-18 and 14-23) while winning the 3rd quarter (23-21).
Their shooting percentage was very poor as they shot only 33% from 2 pts and 13% behind the arc. There performance in the 4th quarter was not good enough as they were outplayed by their opponents.
Evelyn Akhator’s 24 points was the highest for D’Tigress, she also led the team in blocks made with 2, Atonye Nyingifa led in rebounds with 6, Promise Amukamara led with 4 assists, and Adaora Elonu led with 4 steals.
Liz Cambage was Australia’s top performer with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
Up next for Nigeria is a clash against world number six team, Turkey who beat Argentina 63-37 earlier today.
