Nigeria senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, ended their campaign at the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament with a 73–81 defeat to Germany, who produced a controlled performance to secure victory in Villeurbanne, France on Tuesday.
Germany led at the end of every quarter and controlled the contest for more than 33 minutes, gradually pulling away in the final period after resisting Nigeria’s challenge.
The Europeans built their largest advantage of 10 points in the fourth quarter to seal an eight-point win.
Nigeria showed more fighting spirit in the second quarter, overturning a six-point deficit with a 10-0 run to take a 31–27 lead, inspired by Elizabeth Balogun, who scored five points during that spell.
Germany responded with a dominant stretch of their own, turning the momentum with a 10-0 run that bridged the second and third quarters.
The decisive moment came late in the third quarter when Nigeria held a narrow 49–46 lead but Leonie Fiebich sparked Germany’s response with a driving lay-up to restore the lead, before combining with Nyara Sabally to fuel a crucial run that saw Germany hit three consecutive field goals while restricting Nigeria’s scoring opportunities.
From that point, the Germans maintained control and did not trail again.
Balogun led Nigeria with 15 points, shooting three of five from beyond the arc, while also adding three rebounds and an assist in just under 31 minutes.
Germany’s efficiency in key moments proved decisive, particularly in the closing stages, where they outscored Nigeria in the final minute and converted their only three-point attempt, while Nigeria missed all four of their field goal attempts during that stretch.
The result saw Nigeria finish the qualifying tournament with a two-win, three-loss record, having earlier recorded victories over Colombia and Philippines, while suffering defeats to South Korea, France and Germany.
Despite the mixed results, Nigeria had already secured qualification for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin after winning the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket August 2025, with the qualifiers serving as preparation for the global tournament scheduled to take place in Berlin, Germany from 4 to 13 September.
The team, which previously featured at the tournament in 2006 and 2018, will now turn attention to further preparations, including a historic pre-season exhibition in the United States against the Minnesota Lynx in April, which will be the first time an African national team will face a WNBA franchise.
