D’Tigress star Cecilia Okoye has announced her retirement from professional basketball and will not feature for Nigeria at the 2019 FIBA Afrobasket Women in Senegal from August 9-18.
Okoye was part of the D’Tigress record breaking team at the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Tenerife, Spain last year. She was also an integral member of the 2017 Afrobasket winning team in Mali.
The American-born Nigerian averaged 1.7 PPG and 1.7 RPG at the World Cup in Spain and 4 PPG and 2.5 RPG at the FIBA Afrobasket Women in Mali.
In an emotional message written on her social media Instagram account on Wednesday she said, “Your girl is hanging up her shoes after 5 wonderful seasons playing overseas!
“I have learnt a lot from these years, from the good and the bad, I’ve had the opportunity to meet amazing folks who’ve changed my life for the better. I have had the opportunity to see the world for free, was given a chance to represent the Nigerian nation, and there’s so much more I’m grateful for and can’t wait to see what life has in store for me after basketball,” she said
“Thank you to those who rooted for me through it all.”
The 27 year old forward was a member of the First Bank Basketball Club bronze medal team at the 2017 FIBA Africa Champions Cup for Women in Angola.
She was a two year letter winner for the McNeese in Spain (2012-14) where she was a named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year, a two-time All-Southland selection and led McNeese in rebounds both seasons.
The Afrobasket champion recently played for top women’s basketball league side in Luxemburg, B.B.C. Etzella Ettelbruck.
