ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - The six-time champions, Nigeria's D’Tigresses, have advanced to the semifinals of the 2025 Women's AfroBasket tournament by defeating Cameroon 83-47 and keeping their title defense campaign alive.
The victory extends their unbeaten run in Africa to 27, dating back to 2015, while moving them closer to a record fifth title in a row. Only Senegal have achieved Nigeria's current feat of four.
TURNING POINT: Jessica Thomas and Maria Ewodo got the Indomitable Lionesses off to a 4-0 start with their hot hands, but that was the only dominance they would enjoy once reigning MVP Amy Okonkwo got the defending champions on the board with a free throw.
With a Elizabeth Balogun jump shot, Rena Wakama's side took the lead at 5-4, going on an 8-0 run in the last 2:40 to lead 21-9.
Cameroon adjusted on both ends of the floor to match Nigeria at 20 points in the second quarter. The first-quarter slump saw them trailing 41-29 at halftime.
However, a 25-2 run in the third quarter sealed the fate of the 2021 bronze medalists, rendering their 16-14 lead in the fourth quarter too little, too late.
HERO: Despite Okonkwo's 18 points in just under 19 minutes, the victory was a team effort.
All but one player who got more than 10 minutes of playing time got on the scoreboard with at least one basket. Four players scored in the double digits.
STATS DON'T LIE: Where didn't Cameroon struggle? The side coached by Ahmed Mbombo Njoya was dominated 46-15 in paint points, 21-8 in fast break contributions, and 26-6 in points off turnovers. The Nigerian bench also dominated with a 42-15 advantage.
BOTTOM LINE: While Nigeria continues to rewrite the history of women's basketball in Africa, Cameroon, a former silver medalist, is fighting for fifth place, which would be an improvement of one place from their performance in 2023.
WHAT THEY SAID: “We played as a team, enjoying the game by doing what we do best, and this is the result. We feel great about making it to the semifinals again. We’ll try our best to make it to the finals. We know them and they know us. We just have to do our thing and see what happens in the end.” Nigeria forward Murjanatu Musa.
“We just needed to stick together and play Nigerian basketball. This is the definition of Nigerian basketball: fighting, throwing the first punch, setting the tone, and bringing the energy to win over our supporters and fans. We are super excited to move to the semifinals! It's going to be a great game. Senegal is a great team, and I'm looking forward to playing them."- Nigeria guard Ezinne Kalu.
“Nigeria is a great team. They have four or five Olympians, and they play smart basketball. It was tough. I'm upset because we wanted to make history for Cameroon basketball. It's okay, though. Maybe it's not our turn, but we'll keep working for future AfroBaskets and come back stronger.” - Cameroon guard Joelly Belleka.
FIBA