Basketball: D’Tigress defeat Colombia 70–37 in World Cup qualifier

Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, began their campaign at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament with a commanding 70–37 victory over the Colombia women’s national basketball team.

The match, played in France, saw the Nigerian side deliver a dominant performance to secure their opening win of the tournament.

Nigeria started the game strongly, taking an 18–12 lead in the first quarter. Colombia responded with a slightly improved performance in the second quarter, edging that period 17–16, but they still trailed heading into halftime.

The reigning African champions completely took control after the break. D’Tigress outscored Colombia 19–5 in the third quarter and 17–3 in the fourth, sealing an emphatic 33-point victory.

The win marked the 14th victory for head coach Rena Wakama since she took charge of the team in 2023.

Under Wakama’s leadership, the team has played 18 competitive matches, recording 14 wins and four defeats. She also guided Nigeria to victory at the 2023 and 2025 editions of the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket.

Currently ranked eighth in the world by FIBA, D’Tigress continue to show steady progress on the global basketball stage. One of their most remarkable achievements remains reaching the quarter-finals of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, a historic milestone for African women’s basketball.

In the game against Colombia, Nigeria controlled the tempo through aggressive defence and quick transition play.

Victoria Macaulay led the scoring for D’Tigress with 13 points, achieving the feat in just over 14 minutes on the court. Ifunaya Okoro also made a strong contribution, finishing with 10 points after playing more than 28 minutes.

Colombia struggled to break through Nigeria’s organised defence and managed to score only eight points in the entire second half, highlighting D’Tigress’ defensive discipline.

Nigeria will face the South Korea women’s national basketball team in their next group match scheduled for Thursday, as they continue their qualifying campaign in France.

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