D’Tigress finishes World Cup without a win after loss to France

Nigeria’s D’Tigress wrapped up their 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup with a crushing 56-111 loss to France on Monday. They ended the group stage without winning a single game.

France, a top contender in the tournament, took control early and led comfortably, going into halftime with a score of 65-26.

D’Tigress struggled to score, managing only 13 points in each of the first three quarters. In contrast, France scored 31 points in the first quarter, 34 in the second, and 30 in the third, building a lead that was too big to overcome.

In the final quarter, Nigeria showed some fight, scoring 17 points while France added 16. But this late surge did not change the final result.

Efosa-Aguebo was Nigeria’s top scorer with 15 points, shooting 4-of-7 in 20 minutes off the bench. Balogun contributed 11 points, while Kalu and Macaulay added six points each. Igbokwe had nine rebounds, while Okonkwo grabbed eight boards and made three assists.

This defeat means D’Tigress finished their Group B run with three losses in three games.

Nigeria started the tournament with an 81-99 loss to South Korea, followed by a narrow 67-71 defeat to Hungary in their second match.

The loss to France was the heaviest during the tournament. However, the losses to South Korea and Hungary might sting more, especially the close game against Hungary, where Nigeria lost by just four points after a strong fourth-quarter push.

France also made a mark in this match, hitting 22 three-pointers. This set a new record for the most three-pointers made in a single game at the Women’s Basketball World Cup since 1994.

D’Tigress’ three straight losses represent their worst record ever in this competition.

Now that the World Cup is over, Nigeria faces many questions to answer as they look ahead to future international games. This is especially important as some experienced players may be nearing the end of their international careers.

With the World Cup behind them, the focus will shift to rebuilding the team and planning for the future, including the potential loss of key players who have been part of Nigeria’s recent teams.