Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, the D’Tigress, have defied expectations to reach the Olympic quarterfinals for the first time in history.
Their Cinderella run, which saw them upset third-seeded Australia and fifth-seeded Canada, has captivated the nation. However, their fairy tale journey faces its sternest test yet as they prepare to battle the United States, a dominant force in women’s basketball who have clinched gold at the last seven Olympics.
Despite their historic achievement, the D’Tigress will enter the matchup as significant underdogs. They have lost all five previous encounters against the Americans, including a narrow nine-point defeat at the Tokyo Olympics and a more decisive loss in this year’s Paris Olympics qualifiers.
Nevertheless, the Nigerians have shown remarkable improvement and will look to build on their strong performance against the US in Tokyo, where they pushed the eventual champions to the brink.
With momentum on their side and a nation behind them, the D’Tigress are determined to defy the odds once again.
Event | Date | USA score | NGR score |
WWC | 28/09/2018 | 71 | 40 |
WOQT | 0902/2020 | 76 | 71 |
Friendly | 18/07/2021 | 93 | 62 |
Olympics | 27/07/2021 | 81 | 72 |
WOQT | 09/02/2024 | 100 | 46 |