Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon and Mali enter semifinal round

Ezinne Kalu

Nigeria - Ivory Coast 72-56
The defending champions enter the Semifinals at the AfroBasket 2021. Nigeria overcame Cote d'Ivoire 72:56 to become the first team to reach semis. Nigeria grabbed a 24-8 surge at the start and never looked behind. They added a 19-13 rally in the second frame and won the third period 16-14. Cote d'Ivoire managed to reply with a 21-13 run in the last stanza to reduce the gap at the end. Ezinne Kalu (173-G-92, college: SSU) stepped up with 17 points and Amy Okonkwo (188-F-96, college: TCU) added 14. Victoria Macaulay (193-F/C-90, college: Temple) produced 13, whilst Promise Amukamara (173-G-93, college: Arizona St.) scored 11. Salimata Berte (182-F-89) replied with 13 points in a loss and Djefarima Diawara (180-F-94) had 9.

Senegal - Mozambique 74-46
Senegal reaches Semifinals of the AfroBasket 2021. They overcame Mozambique 74-46 as they dominated the whole game. Senegal took a 20-13 lead at the start following a 17-9 rally in the second period. Moreover they did not slow down in the rest of the game and posted two more victories. Mame-Marie Sy-Diop (185-F-85) stepped up with 17 points and Bintou Dieme-Marizy (164-PG-84) added 10. Oumoul Sarr (185-F/C-84), Couna Ndao and Yacine Diop (178-G/F-95, college: Louisville) ended up with 8 points each in a win. Anabela Cossa (172-G-86) scored 10 in a loss and Vilma Covane (190-C-96) netted 9.

Cameroon - Egypt 67-61
Cameroon fired past Egypt in the quarterfinal battle in Yaounde. Marguerite Effa (190-F-97, college: Nevada) scored 19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to pace the hosts. Egypt sank 25 points in the first period to take a 5-point lead. Cameroon however went on a 19-7 run in the second frame to take a 7-point halftime lead. Egypt pulled within four points at the final break. Cameroon regained control in the fourth term. They limited Egypt to just 15 points in the final period and rallied to the win. Duicy Fankam had 16 points and 18 rebounds for the home side. Raneem Elgedawy (193-F-97, college: WKU) responded with 19 points and 16 rebounds, while Soraia Mohamed (172-G-95) added 16 points in the loss.

Mali - Angola 74-53
Mali outscored Angola to secure the semifinal berth. Sika Kone (190-F/C-02) and Djeneba N'Diaye (165-PG-97) scored 14 points each to lead the winners. Mali recorded a 46-21 halftime lead. They followed with an 18-9 run in the third term to clear off for good. Mariam Coulibaly (192-C-97) produced 11 points and 14 rebounds in the victory. Cristina Matiquite (191-C-92) responded with 15 points for Angola. Avelina Peso (184-F/C-98) had 11 points and 13 rebounds in the defeat.



Tags : EZINNE KALU, FRENCH BASKETBALL, NIGERIAN NATIONAL TEAM