D’Tigress beat Angola by 20-point margin to qualify for Afrobasket quarterfinal

D’Tigress displayed a dominant performance on Monday night to defeat Angola 85-65 in their final group game at the ongoing 2021 FIBA women’s Afrobasket in Yaounde, Cameroon.

The emphatic victory booked a place for the Otis Hughley-led girls in the quarter-finals of the competition.

D’Tigress avoided a repeat of the turbulent start that almost cost them their first game against Mozambique and looked the hungrier of the two teams from the tip-off.

The dynamic duo of Ezinne Kalu and Adaora Elonu was on the rampage as the Nigerians established an 18-5 lead before the game’s first six minutes.

D’Tigress finished the first quarter with an ambitious three-pointer at the buzzer by Nicole Enabosi, establishing a 31-18 lead.

The Nigerians suffered a little bit of numbness in their precision in the second quarter, but they were able to shake off the jades and finish the halftime 52-28.

Nigeria never surrendered hegemony as they continued the impressive accuracy and work ethic to end the third quarter with a 67-47 lead.

In the final quarter, they ran the Angolan ragged to win the game 85-65 and finish top of group B, booking an automatic ticket into the quarter-finals.

Kalu led D’Tigress with 12 points, followed by the trio of Promise Amukamara, Oderah Chisom and Adaora Elonu with 10 points each.

The Nigerians are determined in their quest to win the women’s AfroBasket championships for the third time in a row.

Only Senegal was able to achieve the feat when they won four times in a row from 1974 to 1981.