D’Tigress demolish Rwanda 79-48, reach AfroBasket final

<p>Champions D’Tigress outclassed hosts Rwanda 79-48 in the semi-finals of the ongoing 2023 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket in Kigali, Rwanda to book a place in the final, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.</p>, <p>The win on Thursday means D’Tigress have now extended their unbeaten run to 23 games and are on the verge of winning a fourth consecutive AfroBasket title.</p>, <p>The last time Nigeria lost a game in the Women’s Afrobasket was in 2015 against Cameroon in the semi-finals.</p>, <p>New head coach, Rena Wakama, maintained the starting five that managed to beat Mozambique 59-52 in the quarter-finals to set up a last-four showdown with the hosts — whom they had defeated in their previous two meetings 2009 and 2011 — on Thursday.</p>, <p>Amy Okonkwo, Palla Kunaiyi-Akpanah, Elizabeth Balogun, Sarah Ogoke and Blessing Ejiofor were ruthless from the tip-off, but the hosts scored the first points, before Okonkwo put Nigeria in front.</p>, <p>D’Tigress blew through the Rwandans and established a 22-6 lead in the first quarter.</p>, <p>The Nigerians increased their dominance in the second quarter and were ahead 44-18 at halftime.</p>, <p>It was a bright start for the Rwandans in the third quarter, as they outscored D’Tigress to get themselves back into the game, as the quarter ended 58-35.</p>, <p>In the final quarter, Nigeria restored control and secured an outstanding 31-point victory to progress to the competition’s final.</p>, <p>Okonkwo led the Nigerians with 23 points, followed by Oluwayemisi Taiwo, who netted 12 points.</p>, <p>Nigeria now await the winners of the other semi-final game between Mali and Senegal on Friday (today) as they hope to win the championship for the fourth time in a row on Saturday, a feat that only the Senegalese boast of in African basketball.</p>