D’Tigress Extend Dominance, Reach AfroBasket Final After Beating Senegal

Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, extended their remarkable unbeaten streak in African competition to 28 games with a hard-fought 75-68 win over arch-rivals Senegal in the semi-finals of the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket on Saturday in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Sport360NG reports.

The thrilling contest at the Palais des Sports de Treichville saw Nigeria, under the guidance of coach Rena Wakama, continue their decade-long supremacy on the continent. The six-time African champions came into the tie riding the momentum of a 27-match winning run dating back to their third-place finish at the 2015 edition in Cameroon.

So far in this year’s tournament, D’Tigress have been in imperious form. They opened their campaign with a commanding 92-45 victory over Rwanda, followed by a narrow 60-55 triumph against Mozambique. Their dominance was further underlined in the quarter-finals, where they demolished Cameroon 83-47 to reach their fifth straight semi-final and secure a spot at next year’s FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

Against Senegal, a familiar foe, it was coach Otis Hughley’s team who started brightly. But Nigeria quickly found their rhythm, overturning the early deficit to take the first quarter 22-17. They held on to their lead with a closely contested second quarter, going into halftime up 43-37.

Senegal, however, came roaring back in the third quarter, outscoring the Nigerians 21-9 in a spirited 10-minute stretch that momentarily swung the momentum in their favour.

But true to their championship pedigree, D’Tigress responded with resilience in the final period. Despite losing key player Murjanatu Musa, formerly of Phoenix Mercury, to fouls early in the fourth quarter, Nigeria turned up the heat. Amy Okonkwo and Ezinne Kalu led the charge, combining for crucial points as Nigeria dominated the final quarter 23-10 to seal the win.

With the victory, D’Tigress have booked their place in Sunday’s final, where they aim to claim a record-extending seventh AfroBasket title and defend the crown they’ve held since 2017.

Kalu led Nigeria’s scoring with 19 points and six rebounds, Promise Amukamara added 16 points, while Okonkwo and Victoria Macaulay contributed 15 and 13 points respectively. For Senegal, Cierra Dillard stood out with 26 points, and Ndioma Kane chipped in 14, but their efforts were not enough to prevent a drop into the third-place playoff.