The D’Tigress of Nigeria secured their first Olympic win in 20 years by defeating the Opals of Australia in their opening match at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Nigeria triumphed over Australia 75-62 at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium on Monday, July 29.
Nigeria led 18-17 at the end of the first quarter and extended their lead to 41-28 by halftime. Australia rallied after the break, winning the third quarter 19-10, but Nigeria sealed the victory in the fourth quarter, winning 24-15 and igniting wild celebrations in their technical area.
Before today’s game, the four-time African champions had never won a single game at the Olympics in their previous two appearances.
This is the team’s first win in an Olympic match since Athens 2004, where they defeated South Korea in an inconsequential classification game after being eliminated from the competition.
Australia was ranked third in the competition’s power rankings, while Nigeria was ranked 12th.
