D’Tigress Beat Senegal, Retain FIBA Women Afrobasket Title

Nigeria Sunday defeated Senegal 60 to 55 to retain the FIBA Women Afrobasket title in Dakar.

The Nigerian ladies defied the home support enjoyed by the Senegalese to take the game.

The D’Tigress looked to be coasting home after the third quarter but the Senegalese came back strong in the last quarter to take a brief lead before the Nigerians rallied back to win the game despite losing the final quarter to the host.

From the onset, D’Tigress were in top gear, racing to a 10-4 lead. But the Senegalese fought back gallantly to reduce the first quarter to 14-10 advantage Nigeria.

In the second quarter, D’Tigress continued their dominance, which ended in 32-24.

They also won the third quarter 16-13 to bring the cumulative score to 48-37. The Senegalese had a better quarter but the Nigerians rallied to win it and took an 11 point lead to the final quarter.

However, the drama was left for the final quarter when the Senegalese got 10 points without the Nigerians making any. It took the D’Tigress five minutes to make their first point in the final quarter and briefly relinquish the lead mid-way through the quarter which they lost 12-18. But by then, the Nigerians had done enough to earn victory and win their second consecutive title.