Sensational Ezike powers Nigeria to statement Women's U19 WC victory in Czechia

Sensational Ezike powers Nigeria to statement victory in Czechia

Eighteen-year-old Nora Ezike grabbed the headlines on the opening day of the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup, as she led sole African representatives Nigeria to a 93-88 victory against China on Saturday, 12 July.

Ezike was head and shoulders above her teammates, playing a key role in their ground-breaking achievement, a maiden victory in their second time of asking, defying an initial 14.8% winning chance.

The Juliana Ojoshogu Negedu-coached side overcame a slow start that saw them trail 24-16 in the opening quarter. With coach Negedu electing to sit out the Stanford freshman, Ezike in the opening half, they found themselves trailing by six at the halftime mark in a 45-38 scoreline.

The script seemed to repeat itself in the opening two minutes of the second half with Yuqian Li and Kejia Ran stretching the lead to 11 (49-38).

Last year's U18 Women's AfroBasket star Idubamo Beggi went on a 10-point run, solely keeping Nigeria in the game as the difference remained six at 54-48 five minutes into the quarter. She finished with 16 as Tobenna Nweke added 15.

Enter the magical Ezike! She took over from Beggi, going on a seven-point run of her own to hand Nigeria the lead for the first time at 55-54, and suddenly, they were back in the game and ready to pounce. US-based Jessica Ajayi's pull up shot gave the African side a 61-60 lead heading to the final stanza.

A 11-2 start to the fourth quarter gave Negedu's charges the much-needed motivation to keep the Chinese away, leading by 10 with five minutes on the clock. China were, however, relentless, Siyu Du's trey making it a three-point game with 18 seconds to the final whistle. Du, however, fouled Beggi, taking MFM Queens' point guard who had only missed once, to the line where she put it away.

Ezike announced herself to the world with a perfect 8 of 8 from the field, missing only twice from the charity stripe for 25 points, adding 6 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals in her first ever game wearing her nation's jersey.

"I am so excited as it's an honor to represent my country and it's so exciting to get this first win," she said after the win. "The key to the game was sticking to what we had practiced and what we said we were going to do heading into the game, as well as never giving up. We played good defense and kept supporting each other."

The youngster had D'Tigress' Olympic heroics at Paris 2024 Games to thank for the second half eruption.

"I took inspiration because I went to Paris 2024 with my family and I watched Nigeria's games. It was really great to see how far they went."

The next challenge for Nigeria comes in the form of Canada on Sunday, 14 July.

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[Photography Courtesy of FIBA]