D’Tigress win the 2023 Women’s Afrobasket championship for the fourth time in a row after defeating Senegal 84-74 in the final at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
The win which was their sixth continental title comes exactly 20 years after they conquered their very first African crown in 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique.
Nigeria started the game brightly taking the first quarter 19-10 but the second quarter was not as easy as the first as the Senegalese came out stronger but D’Tigress held on to win the quarter 24-21.
The Senegalese were the better side in the third quarter taking it 26-19. D’Tigress, however showed championship character in the fourth quarter outscoring their West African counterpart to win after triumphs in 2017, 2019, and 2021.
Three of D’Tigress five starting players finished with double digits to their credits. Elizabeth Balogun sank 15 points, Sarah Ogoke added 13 points, and Amy Okonkwo contributed 14 points.
Also making this list are Ifunaya Okoro, who led Nigeria in scoring with 16 points, while Munjanatu Musa hit a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds to contribute to the D’Tigresses’ victory.
Besides winning their fourth African title in a row, Nigeria closed this year’s Women’s campaign unbeaten (5-0), which saw D’Tigresses extend their continental winning streak to 24-0, dating back to the 2015 Women’s AfroBasket 65-55 win over Angola in their Third-Place game in Yaounde.