Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, Nigeria women’s national basketball team (D’Tigress), suffered a 93–86 defeat to France women’s national basketball team in their fourth game at the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers in France.
France started strongly, taking the first quarter 29–21 and extending their advantage with a 28–24 second-quarter win to head into halftime with a 57–45 lead.
Nigeria responded after the break, showing resilience in the third quarter by outscoring the hosts 21–15 to cut the deficit. D’Tigress continued to push in the final quarter, but France narrowly edged it 21–20 to seal the 93–86 victory.
Despite the loss, Nigeria’s second-half performance was encouraging, as they outscored France 41–36 after halftime but could not complete the comeback.
The defeat marks Nigeria’s second loss in four games in the qualifiers as the team continues its quest for a place at the global tournament.
D’Tigress will now shift focus to their next crucial game against Germany.
Quarter Scores:
Q1: France 29 – 21 Nigeria
Q2: France 28 – 24 Nigeria
Q3: France 15 – 21 Nigeria
Q4: France 21 – 20 Nigeria