D’Tigress Cruise Into AfroBasket 2025 Semifinals With Emphatic Win Over Cameroon

Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, have advanced to the semi-finals of the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket after a dominant 83–47 victory over Cameroon at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Cameroon, known as the Indomitable Lionesses, opened the scoring with early baskets from Jessica Thomas and Maria Ewodo. However, Nigeria responded swiftly, with Amy Okonkwo converting a free throw to get on the board. A driving jumper from Elizabeth Balogun then sparked an 8–0 run in the final minutes of the first quarter, giving Nigeria a 21–9 lead. By halftime, they had extended their advantage to 41–29.

The third quarter proved decisive, as Nigeria unleashed a 25–2 run that put the game out of reach. Despite Cameroon scoring 16–14 in the fourth quarter, the result was beyond doubt.

D’Tigress have now won 27 consecutive AfroBasket games, a run dating back to 2015, and remain on course for a fifth straight continental title — a feat only previously achieved by Senegal.

Amy Okonkwo led the scoring with 18 points in under 19 minutes, while Nicole Enabosi and Victoria Macaulay each contributed 12 points. Elizabeth Balogun added 11 points, and all 12 players on the roster registered points.

Nigeria dominated inside, outscoring Cameroon 46–15 in the paint, forcing numerous turnovers that led to a 26–6 edge in points off turnovers, and earning a 42–15 advantage in bench scoring.

Having reached the final four, D’Tigress have also secured qualification for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament. They will face Senegal in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Murjanatu Musa said, “We played as a team… we feel great about making it to the semifinals again. We’ll try our best to make it to the finals… we just have to do our thing and see what happens.”

Ezinne Kalu added, “We just needed to stick together and play Nigerian basketball… this is the definition… fighting, throwing the first punch, setting the tone… bringing the energy… We are super excited to move to the semifinals. Senegal is a great team, and I’m looking forward to playing them.”

Cameroon’s Joelly Belleka reflected, “Nigeria is a great team… they play smart basketball. It was tough. I’m upset because we wanted to make history for Cameroon… we’ll keep working for future AfroBaskets and come back stronger.”