Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, on Thursday suffered a 77–60 defeat to South Korea women’s national basketball team in their second game at the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Lyon, France.
The loss came less than 24 hours after the Nigerian side recorded a convincing 70–37 victory over Colombia women’s national basketball team in their opening match of the tournament.
South Korea produced a disciplined performance to secure the win, particularly dominating the final quarter to halt Nigeria’s previous winning record against the Asian side.
The Koreans started brightly, taking the first quarter 20–16. Nigeria responded in the second quarter as both sides matched each other point for point, with the period ending 16–16 to give Korea a slim 36–32 lead at half-time.
The third quarter followed a similar pattern as South Korea edged it 22–19 to widen their advantage heading into the final quarter.
Any hopes of a Nigerian comeback faded in the closing minutes as the Koreans tightened their defence and outscored D’Tigress 19–9 in the fourth quarter to seal a comfortable 17-point victory.
Nigeria struggled offensively throughout the game, particularly from beyond the arc, converting only four of their 17 three-point attempts for a 24 per cent success rate. They also shot 18 of 45 from two-point range.
South Korea, however, were more efficient in attack, converting 16 of their 26 two-point attempts for 58 per cent accuracy and also scoring 14 of 19 free throws.
In overall team statistics, South Korea dominated the rebounds with 47 compared to Nigeria’s 34 and recorded 29 assists, more than double Nigeria’s 14.
Despite the defeat, a few Nigerian players turned in notable performances.
Victoria Macaulay led the Nigerian side with 22 points, building on her impressive performance against Colombia where she was named the Most Valuable Player.
Veteran guard Ezinne Kalu added 11 points, while Murjanatu Musa contributed 10 points.
Thursday’s clash marked the third meeting between Nigeria and South Korea. Nigeria had won the previous two encounters, defeating the Koreans 68–64 in a placement game at the 2004 Summer Olympics before edging them 70–69 in the Olympic qualifying tournament in 2016.
