Head coach of Nigeria Rena Wakama says D’Tigress were unable to get the job done after a 71–67 loss to Hungary at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, www.aclsports.com reports.
“It is tough when your shots weren’t falling. I thought we had great looks in the first half, really good looks. We got to the free throw line but finished the game shooting 12-23 from the free throw line. We just weren’t able to get it done today,” Wakama said.
She praised Hungary’s performance while challenging her team to improve their starts.
“They are a good team, they shot 51% from the floor, they have great size so that caused some issues for us but they were playing super connected basketball and they stuck to their game plan. My challenge for the team is start the game like it is everything, our starts haven’t been that great. We are getting better, it is just finding our rhythm and finding our flow.”
Captain Amy Okonkwo said Hungary’s rhythm and rebounding made the game difficult for the African champions but believes the team still has its spark.
“Hungary played very well, they out-rebounded us by a lot. They had their rhythm and we were trying to find our rhythm. I think we were able to find a glimpse of it towards the end but we weren’t able to come through with the win. I still believe we have the spark in us. It just needs to translate on the floor and we can find it within ourselves and stay connected.”
Image: FIBA
