Nigeria’s women’s 18-basketball team, the Junior Tigress bounced back from their opening game loss to Egypt in style, thrashing debutants Zimbabwe 107-30 in their second game of the FIBA U-18 Women’s Afrobasket 2024 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Idumabo Beggi stole the show, leading Nigeria with a dominant performance. She contributed significantly on both ends of the court, scoring a game-high 20 points, grabbing 10 steals, and dishing out 7 assists. Her exceptional play earned her the Most Valuable Player award with a remarkable 31-efficiency rating.
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Three additional Nigerian players reached double figures in scoring: Momoluwa Ayomide Tewogbade (19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals), Wandoo Marvis Hembam (15 points), and Doyinsola Lijirin (10 points). Meanwhile, two players dominated the boards, with Haminatu Ayodeji leading the way with 12 rebounds and Abigirl Isaac contributing 11.
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Despite their impressive performance, the team will have to work on their ball handling if they want to go far in the competition. They turned over the ball 45 times and will be counting their luck that they played a team that couldn’t capitalize on their errors. Zimbabwe on the other hand were worse in terms of turnovers losing the ball 71 times.
Coach Juliana Negedu’s team aims to secure their second tournament win and advance to the knockout stage when they face Uganda on Sunday. Nigeria’s goal is a top-2 finish, which would qualify them for the prestigious FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2025 in Czechia.
This marks Nigeria’s first appearance in the competition since 2008, and they are determined to make a strong impact.
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