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VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — In just the third game of the Olympics, women’s basketball has delivered its first huge upset, as Nigeria took down Australia, 75-62, for the program’s first Olympic win since 2004.
“It’s a wave of emotions,” Nigeria coach Rena Wakama said. “I’m so proud and excited for this group. I have young girls who are hungry and ready to shock the world. I’m glad we were able to do that today.”
Nigeria, the second-lowest FIBA-ranked team of the 12-team field coming into the Olympics, was a significant underdog on paper against Australia, which was FIBA’s No. 3 team. Australia, which is coached by New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, has six players who are currently on WNBA teams, as well as three-time WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson (who retired from the WNBA in 2012) and Cayla George, who won a WNBA title with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023. Nigeria doesn’t have any current or former WNBA players on its roster.
None of that mattered when the teams took the floor. Nigeria’s defense was smothering as the team tallied 15 steals and forced 26 turnovers (scoring 19 points off those turnovers). That allowed Nigeria to have a significant advantage in shot attempts (68 to Australia’s 57). Even when Australia got a chance to put points on the board without a defense, it struggled, going 8-of-18 from the free-throw line.
“We’re tough, we’re edgy,” Wakama said. “I pride the girls on being the more physical team and usually, we win that advantage. That’s our DNA. That’s who we are. We don’t back down.”
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The win was particularly special for Nigeria because it was the first Olympic group play win in the program’s history. (The 2004 win over South Korea was the 11th-place game.) Forward Elizabeth Balogun said that the team used that 20-year gap as motivation to “make history,” and that it felt particularly good to win with a defensive performance because that’s what the team wants its identity to be.
Additionally, the win came a day after the South Sudan men’s team won its first Olympic game over Puerto Rico, putting the only two African teams in this tournament at 2-0.
“Africa basketball has always been pretty good,” Amy Okonkwo said. “We’ve fallen short in some of these opportunities … but it’s different this time around and we’re really trying to do our best to put ourselves on the map and show what Africa is capable of.”
Nigeria next plays host France on Thursday. Australia will look to rebound with its Thursday game against Canada.
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(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
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