D’Tigress beat Mozambique 71-66 to qualify for today’s semifinal

Nigeria became the first team to advance to the ongoing AfroBasket Women 2015 Semi-Finals after beating Mozambique 71-66 in the first quarterfinals of the championship in Yaoundé, Cameroun yesterday.

Joyce Ekworomadu sparked Nigeria’s triumph with a game-best 20 points, while Odelia Mafanela and Deolinda Ngulela combined for 34 Mozambique points.

Adaora Elonu hit a layup with 5:45 minutes left, giving Nigeria a 60-58 lead, and they never trailed again.
Mozambique stepped on floor planning to make the most of their three-point shooting. However, they seemed to have crossed the line by attempting 5 of 29 from beyond the arc.

It’s general knowledge that Nazir Sale’s team arrived in Yaoundé with a shorthanded roster, and that fact became even more evident as the team’s bench contributed only five points against Nigeria’s 28.

Helen Ogunjimi has officially become Nigeria’s secret weapon. She not only played aggressive defense, but the 30-year-old guard provided two crucial three-pointers keeping Nigeria very much alive in the contest.

Ten lead changes show how competitive the game was. Two years ago, Mozambique upset Nigeria in the quarterfinals, yesterday they were very close to repeat their fortunes, but Nigeria stepped on floor in desperation mode, reaching the tournament’s semifinals for the second time since 2011.

Ndidi Madu, who cleared the boards with a game-high 13 rebounds, later told FIBA.com: “It was a tough game for us. Mozambique is a great team. We didn’t do a good of job rebounding. We definitely need to able to rebound in order to win ball games. It does not matter who we face tomorrow, we just need to be ready for the fight.”