Nigeria women’s basketball team began their quest to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a 72-65 win against Senegal on Thursday.
D’Tigress rallied to a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter after trailing in the second and third quarters.
Nigeria made a bright start to the game in Antwerp with a 20-18 lead in the first quarter but they fell behind with nine points deficit in the second quarter and an eight-point deficit in the third.
Amy Okonkwo, who was named Most Valuable Player at last year’s FIBA Women’s Afrobasket, starred for the reigning African champions with a return of 21 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
Nigeria will face world champions United States of America next on Friday before battling host country Belgium in their final group game.
With USA already through as world champions, Rena Wakama’s ladies currently stand in pole position to qualify for the Olympic Games in Paris later this year.
