D’Tigress crash out of Women’s World Cup after France rout

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Nigeria’s D’Tigress have crashed out of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup after France handed them a 111-56 defeat in their final Group B game in Berlin on Monday.

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The result completed a winless campaign for the African champions, who finished bottom of the group after earlier defeats to South Korea and Hungary.

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Nigeria’s elimination had, in fact, been confirmed before they took the court against France after the European side defeated South Korea 95-69 to secure its place in the quarter-finals and end D’Tigress’ hopes of advancing.

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France nevertheless showed no signs of easing off, dominating from the opening minutes and taking a 31-13 lead after the first quarter.

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The French side added 34 points in the second quarter while restricting Nigeria to another 13 to establish a 65-26 half-time advantage.

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France then scored 30 more points in the third quarter to take a 95-39 lead into the final period before Nigeria finished with a 17-point fourth quarter.

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The victory was powered by an extraordinary shooting display, with France making 22 three-pointers — a new Women’s World Cup record.

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The previous record was 20, set by Japan earlier in the tournament. France also scored 65 points in the first half, its highest first-half tally in a World Cup game.

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Gabby Williams led France with 25 points, while Janelle Salaün added 19 and Marine Johannes scored 17. Efosa-Aguebor was Nigeria’s leading scorer with 15 points.

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The defeat marked a disappointing end to a tournament in which D’Tigress struggled to reproduce the form that had made them one of Africa’s leading basketball teams.

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Nigeria opened the competition with an 81-99 loss to South Korea before narrowly falling 67-71 to Hungary.

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D’Tigress arrived in Germany as five-time consecutive African champions and the continent’s highest-ranked women’s basketball team.

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They had also made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics by reaching the quarter-finals, the first African team to do so in Olympic women’s basketball.

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