As Much as Possible! Kalu Scores Highest Points of the Game, Musa Adds Points and Rebounds, Nigeria Misses Chance to Continue Upset

The second round of the Olympic Women’s Basketball Group Stage on August 1st saw the host team, France’s women’s basketball team, easily defeat Nigeria with a score of 75-54, achieving their second consecutive victory.

Nigeria failed to continue their surprising run against the hosts in this game. They were largely dominated by France throughout the match, except for a brief period during the second quarter where they managed to maintain a decent pace. However, their shooting rate sharply declined at the start of the second half, allowing France to widen the gap. Nigeria had no effective counter-strategy, making the outcome a foregone conclusion early in the game. They thus missed out on securing a second consecutive win.

In this match, Nigeria’s Kalu maintained her impressive form. She played for 32 minutes, scoring 4 goals from 12 attempts, with 1 goal from 6 three-point shots, and made 1 out of 9 free throws, totaling 18 points and 2 rebounds, along with 2 assists and 3 steals. She also had 5 turnovers and 4 fouls, with a negative rating of -27. It is worth noting that in the previous game where Nigeria pulled off an upset against Australia, Kalu scored a team-high 19 points and contributed 5 rebounds and 5 assists with 4 three-pointers. Musa, who got a starting opportunity in this game, scored 14 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, almost achieving a double-double, with 5 successful shots from 15 attempts and 4 successful free throws.