VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France (AP) — Ezinne Kalu made her first four 3-pointers and scored 17 of her 19 points in the first half Monday as Nigeria won its first Olympic women’s basketball game since 2004 in Athens, upsetting Australia 75-62 in their group play opener.
Nigeria didn’t even qualify for the 2016 Rio Games and went winless in Tokyo. Australia is led by coach Sandy Brondello from the WNBA’s New York Liberty and came in ranked third in the world with Nigeria 12th.
Fans inside Pierre Mauroy Stadium were on their feet cheering and applauding Nigeria in the final seconds before the players and coaches ran to midcourt to jump, hug and celebrate. Then they high-fived the Australians.
It may have helped erase a painful start to the Games for the Nigeria team, which was denied access to the country’s boat during the opening ceremony.
Promise Amukamara added 14 points for Nigeria, Amy Okonkwo 13 and Murjanatu Musa 11. The Nigerians went over near their bench to wave at their fans before jubilantly heading off the court.
This is the second upset in two days in the women’s tournament. No. 2 ranked China lost in overtime in the pool play opener to Spain.
The Opals lost forward Bec Allen to a hamstring injured in their final pre-Olympic warmup game. Amy Atwell took Allen’s roster spot, and Australia started well enough scoring the first six points.
Nigeria got going, taking a 24-22 lead after the first. Kalu, who was born in Newark, New Jersey, and played at Savannah State, didn’t miss until her fifth 3 attempt with 1:24 left in the second. The Nigerians scored the final 11 points for a 41-28 halftime lead.
Nigeria built that to 45-30 on a layup by Musa with 6:53 left. Australia scored 10 straight points as the Opals outscored Nigeria 19-10 to pull within 51-47 after the third quarter.
Alanna Smith’s 3-pointer pulled the Opals within 58-56 with 6:04 left. That was as close as they would get. When Okonkwo finished a fast break with a layup with 50.1 seconds remaining, the Nigerians came together arms in the air during an Aussie timeout knowing they were on the verge of a big victory.
Smith led the Opals with 15 points. Sami Whitcomb added 13 and Jade Melbourne 11. Australia was just 8 of 18 at the free-throw line and turned it over 26 times, leading to 26 points for Nigeria.
Coming up
This is the first day of the Paris Games featuring four women’s games. France, ranked seventh in the world, is set to play Canada and comes into this tournament having won five straight games.
Germany is poised for its Olympic debut in women’s basketball in Group C against Belgium led by Emma Meesseman. France should have a loud home crowd against Canada, while the U.S. and Japan feature a rematch of the 2021 Tokyo Games gold medal in the final game of the day.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
