D’Tigress crash out of Women’s World Cup after France rout
September 7, 2026 9:24 pm
The Nigeria women’s basketball team, D’Tigress. Photo: FIBA
Nigeria’s D’Tigress have crashed out of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup after France handed them a 111-56 defeat in their final Group B game in Berlin on Monday.
The result completed a winless campaign for the African champions, who finished bottom of the group after earlier defeats to South Korea and Hungary.
Nigeria’s elimination had, in fact, been confirmed before they took the court against France after the European side defeated South Korea 95-69 to secure its place in the quarter-finals and end D’Tigress’ hopes of advancing.
France nevertheless showed no signs of easing off, dominating from the opening minutes and taking a 31-13 lead after the first quarter.
The French side added 34 points in the second quarter while restricting Nigeria to another 13 to establish a 65-26 half-time advantage.
France then scored 30 more points in the third quarter to take a 95-39 lead into the final period before Nigeria finished with a 17-point fourth quarter.
The victory was powered by an extraordinary shooting display, with France making 22 three-pointers — a new Women’s World Cup record.
The previous record was 20, set by Japan earlier in the tournament. France also scored 65 points in the first half, its highest first-half tally in a World Cup game.
Gabby Williams led France with 25 points, while Janelle Salaün added 19 and Marine Johannes scored 17. Efosa-Aguebor was Nigeria’s leading scorer with 15 points.
The defeat marked a disappointing end to a tournament in which D’Tigress struggled to reproduce the form that had made them one of Africa’s leading basketball teams.
Nigeria opened the competition with an 81-99 loss to South Korea before narrowly falling 67-71 to Hungary.
D’Tigress arrived in Germany as five-time consecutive African champions and the continent’s highest-ranked women’s basketball team.
They had also made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics by reaching the quarter-finals, the first African team to do so in Olympic women’s basketball.
Okiki is a journalist with over seven years experience covering politics, foreign news, society, entertainment and the film industry.
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