Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, suffered a 77–60 defeat to South Korea in their second match of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifying tournament in Lyon, France.
Gatekeepers News reports that the team, coached by Rena Wakama, struggled to contain the Koreans, who delivered a disciplined performance and dominated key phases of the contest at the Astroballe arena.
South Korea made a strong start to the game, taking the opening quarter 20–16. Nigeria attempted to respond in the second quarter as both sides matched each other’s scoring, but the Asians still carried a narrow 36–32 advantage into halftime.
The third quarter followed a similar pattern, with South Korea edging it 22–19 to extend their lead. Any hopes of a Nigerian comeback faded in the final quarter as the Koreans tightened their defence and outscored D’Tigress 19–9 to secure the 17-point victory.
Despite the defeat, Victoria Macaulay stood out for Nigeria, finishing as the team’s top scorer with 22 points. However, D’Tigress struggled offensively overall, converting only four of their 17 attempts from three-point range.
The loss came less than 24 hours after Nigeria began the qualifying tournament with a commanding 70–37 victory over Colombia, a result that had boosted confidence ahead of the clash with South Korea.
Although the setback ended Nigeria’s winning momentum in the competition, the team had already secured qualification for 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup after winning the 2025 AfroBasket title, meaning the qualifiers also serve as preparation for the global tournament later in the year.
