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Nigeria’s U18 Women’s Basketball team, the Junior D’Tigress is focused on hitting the quarter-final stage of the ongoing Afrobasket when they take on Uganda in their last Group C game on Sunday PeakNews Online reports.
The Nigerian women will be seeking their second win in the group stage after a commanding performance over debutantes Zimbabwe.
The team which is making a return to AfroBasket for the first time since 2008, secured a commanding victory over Zimbabwe, winning 107-30. This emphatic response came after their 72-60 loss to Egypt in their opening game.
The West Africans, who have dominated the last four editions of the AfroBasket tournament, started strong with a 29-5 first quarter. They followed it up with a 27-7 second period, allowing them to take a comfortable lead into halftime. This cushion gave coach Juliana Ojoshogu Negedu the opportunity to rotate her squad, with only one player missing the game.
Zimbabwe’s top scorer, Tinaishe Chiedza Daniele Chikwata, managed 13 points. The team showed glimpses of improvement in the third quarter but were still outscored 26-12. Nigeria closed out the game with a 25-6 fourth quarter to seal their first win of the tournament in Group C.
Nigeria’s Idubamo Beggi delivered a stellar performance, scoring 20 points, grabbing 10 steals, and adding 7 assists for a rare double-double. Momoluwa Ayomide Tewogbade contributed 19 points, 7 rebounds, 6 steals, and 4 assists. Haminatu Ayodeji led the team in rebounding with 12, closely followed by Abigail Isaac with 11.
Zimbabwe remains winless after two matches in the tournament.
