Ezinne Kalu scored 17 points as Nigeria women’s basketball team began her quest to secure a 3rd successive AfroBasket title, with a 66-48 victory over Mozambique in their group B opener.
Despite trailing in both the first and second quarter, the D’Tigress bounced back in the third and fourth, scoring 38 points in that period to rescue the game from the fire.
Captain Adaora Elonu added 13 points and 7 rebounds, while Oderah Chisom and Sarah Ogoke both registered 8 points.
“Mozambique is a really good team, they are scrappy, they don’t give up,” Chisom said after the match.
“We had struggles in the first half…like giving up on the play and they would just steal it. So eventually we just played our game and just never looked back. The key was to stay together.”
Four group winners will advance to the quarter-finals, with the remaining eight teams playing for the remaining four quarter-final tickets.
The tournament’s top two teams will qualify for one of the qualifying tournaments for the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
After a not too impressive outing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Nigeria women’s basketball team are one of the favourites to clinch the title.
Up next for D’Tigress is a game against Angola, on Monday 20th September at 8 pm Nigerian time.
