African champions, Nigeria D’Tigress, defeated Mali 78–64 on Sunday night in Abidjan to clinch a historic fifth straight FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title, the first team ever to achieve that feat, www.aclsports.com reports.
The win sealed Nigeria’s seventh continental crown and stretched their unbeaten run in the tournament to 29 games, a streak that began in 2015. It also secured Nigeria’s spot at the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the champions. Nigeria trailed 21–26 after the first quarter as Mali came out aggressive, pushing the tempo and forcing errors. But D’Tigress responded with greater intensity in the second, and despite Mali’s resistance, both sides went into halftime tied at 41–41.
The third quarter swung Nigeria’s way 20–15, and from that point, they never looked back. In the final period, the African queens tightened up defensively and executed precision on offense, outscoring Mali 17–8 to put the game away.
Ezinne Kalu led Nigeria in scoring with 20 points, dictating the tempo and leading from the front. Amy Okonkwo, finished with 19 points and was named MVP of the tournament, her second consecutive AfroBasket MVP honour. Victoria Macaulay and Murjanatu Musa combined for 22 points and contributed on both ends of the court, while Promise Amukamara brought the needed balance and decision-making down the stretch.
Sika Koné starred for Mali with 16 points and 13 rebounds but couldn’t stop Nigeria from asserting their dominance once again.
Head coach Rena Wakama wrote her name deeper into history, becoming the first woman to win the AfroBasket Women title back-to-back and the first to win it twice. She has now led D’Tigress to two unbeaten championship runs since taking charge in 2023.
Final Score: Nigeria 78–64 Mali
(Q1: 21–26, Q2: 20–15, Q3: 20–15, Q4: 17–8)
D’Tigress remain the undisputed queens of African basketball, seven titles, five in a row, and unbeaten for a decade.
