Nigeria’s senior women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, suffered a 77–60 defeat to a resilient South Korean side in their second game of the ongoing 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament at the Astroballe in Lyon, France on Thursday.
Coming off the back of their emphatic 70–37 victory over Colombia on Wednesday, the African champions were expected to build on that momentum. However, they struggled to find their offensive rhythm throughout the contest as the Koreans controlled large spells of the game.
Murjanatu Musa won the opening jump ball against Korea’s Jisu Park and scored the first points of the game. The Koreans, however, quickly settled into their rhythm and edged the first quarter 20–16. Both teams battled evenly in the second quarter, finishing it 16–16, but South Korea still held a slim four-point lead going into halftime at 36–32.
South Korea came out strongly after the break, outscoring Nigeria 22–19 in the third quarter to extend their advantage. They then finished the game in dominant fashion, pulling away with a 19–9 run in the final quarter to secure a convincing 17-point victory.
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Jihyun Park led the way for the Koreans with a game-high 22 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal, finishing with a +22 efficiency rating. She was well supported by forward Leeseul Kang, who contributed 20 points and three assists. Jisu Park also recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, along with four blocks and four assists, finishing with a +23 efficiency rating.
For Nigeria, Victoria Macaulay matched the game-high with 22 points and added six rebounds, but her efforts were not enough to put D’Tigress on the winning side. Murjanatu Musa also contributed 10 points.
It proved to be a difficult outing for several of D’Tigress’ key players, including Amy Okonkwo (3 points), Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah (2 points), Elizabeth Balogun (1 point), Ezinne Kalu (7 points) and Promise Amukamara (5 points).
D’Tigress will now look to bounce back from the defeat when they face the Philippines on Saturday, with Friday serving as a rest day in the tournament.
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