Nigeria shows progress
Nigeria’s women’s team, despite recent losses to France and Germany, showed measurable progress in the FIBA qualifiers — Victoria Macaulay earned All-Star Five honors and the squad’s improvements were widely noted. That development is a positive signal for African basketball depth. (espn.com)
D’Tigress finished 2–3 in the Lyon–Villeurbanne qualifying pool, opening with a 70–37 win over Colombia (Mar. 11) and a 101–84 victory over the Philippines (Mar. 14), and losing to South Korea (77–60 on Mar. 12), France (93–86 on Mar. 15) and Germany (81–73 on Mar. 17). (espn.com)) Victoria Macaulay was one of the tournament’s most efficient interior scorers, posted tournament averages of 13.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists with a 16.4 efficiency rating. (fiba.basketball)) Macaulay’s single‑game high was 22 points against South Korea (March 12), and she scored 68 points across five games in Lyon for a 13.6‑point tournament total. (fiba.basketball)) FIBA’s official All‑Star Five for the Lyon‑Villeurbanne pool listed Janelle Salaün (MVP), Marine Johannes, Victoria Macaulay, Frieda Bühner and Leeseul Kang, with Salaün leading the group at 16.7 points per game. (fiba.basketball)) Nigeria entered the qualifiers already qualified for the 2026 World Cup by winning AfroBasket 2025 (their fifth straight continental title, 78–64 over Mali in the final), and used the Lyon tournament largely as a competitive tune‑up ahead of Berlin. (en.wikipedia.org)) Despite the 2–3 mark in Lyon, Nigeria retained its place inside the FIBA Women’s World top‑10—holding eighth in the latest rankings with 700.3 points—making D’Tigress the highest‑ranked African side heading into the World Cup draw. (fiba.basketball))
