D’TIGRESS of Nigeria suffered their first defeat at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament in France today, going down 77-60 to a dominant South Korea team at the Astroballe in Villeurbanne.
The African champions cruised past Colombia 70-37 in their opening game last night, but the Koreans were much too strong for them the day after.
After a competitive opening quarter, Korea seized control of the game against D’Tigress and never looked back, leading for over 31 minutes and steadily extending their advantage behind a balanced attack and relentless defensive pressure.
The momentum shifted late in the opening quarter. Trailing 12-16, Korea unleashed a 15-0 run over a span of 4:33, capped by a Jihyun Park three-pointer with 1:11 left to seize a 17-16 lead.
During this decisive stretch, Korea’s defence forced four turnovers and held D’Tigress to just one point, while multiple players contributed on the offensive end.
By the midway point of the second quarter, Korea had built a double-digit cushion and set the tone for the rest of the game.
Jihyun Park was the star for Korea, finishing with 22 points on 8-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 from deep, along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists in 29:14 of action.
Centre Jisu Park controlled the paint with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks, while Leeseul Kang added 20 points and 3 assists to round out Korea’s balanced scoring.
On the other side, Victoria Macaulay matched the game-high with 22 points for the D’Tigress on 8-of-13 from the field and grabbed 6 rebounds, but her 5 turnovers and -10 plus/minus reflected the team’s struggles during Korea’s game-changing run.
Korea’s largest lead reached 19 points with 1:19 remaining in the final quarter (Korea 77 – Nigeria 58).
D’Tigress’ biggest advantage was 4 points, achieved four times in the opening quarter, most recently with 1:48 left (Korea 12 – Nigeria 16).
