Ezinne Kalu scored 21 points and Nigeria made Olympic history by becoming the first African team, male or female, to reach the Olympic quarterfinals in basketball when it beat Canada 79-70 on Sunday.
The Nigerians (2-1) came in having only one win — back in the 2004 Athens Games — and now they’re staying around the Olympics longer than they ever have before. Their quarterfinal opponent is the United States, which is going for an eighth consecutive gold medal.
The next opponent didn’t matter after the win over Canada.
Kalu and her teammates went to midcourt to start celebrating, with an assistant coach using her phone to record the moment. The Nigerians stopped to high-five the Canadians, and then returned to celebrating with a midcourt huddle.
An assistant coach grabbed a flag from a fan for photos on the court, and the Nigerians took their time hugging and posing for more photos as they savored the moment.
Canada, ranked fifth in the world, leaves winless in three games, eliminated on the final day of group play for women’s basketball by a team ranked 12th.
Australia held off France for a 79-72 victory in the final game in group play on Sunday night. The Opals (2-1) clinched the eighth and final quarterfinal berth, avoiding elimination before a crowd of 27,193 that FIBA said set an attendance record for women’s basketball in Europe.
The Aussies will play the first quarterfinal Wednesday against Serbia after the draw was announced Sunday night. Spain will play Belgium, followed by France and Germany and then the U.S. and Nigeria.
Five countries came into the final day having clinched berths, led by the U.S. The others were Spain, Serbia, France and Germany. Belgium, Nigeria and Australia clinched Sunday.
Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and went winless in Tokyo. This women’s team was denied access to Nigeria’s boat for the opening ceremony on July 26, and now it will play Wednesday in Bercy Arena on the banks of the Seine River.
Nigeria scored the first six points. Captain Amy Okonkwo hurt her right shoulder early in the second quarter, colliding with Canada forward Aaliyah Edwards while diving for a loose ball, and Canada took a 41-37 lead into halftime.
Okonkwo returned for the third quarter, when Nigeria opened with a 13-1 run. The Nigerians outscored Canada 23-5 in the third and took a 60-46 lead into the fourth.
Elizabeth Balogun added 14 points for Nigeria, and Promise Amukamara had 12.
Shay Colley led Canada with 17 points, Bridget Carleton had 13 and Kayla Alexander 12.
Australia 79, France 72
The Opals jumped together in celebration following their big win against France.
The French (2-1), who won bronze at the Tokyo Games, were backed by a stadium packed with flag-waving fans.
The Opals outscored France 25-16 in the third, taking a 59-50 lead into the final 10 minutes. Gabby Williams helped France close to 65-64 with 4:40 left.
Tess Madgen scored, and then Cayla George hit a corner 3 to give the Opals some breathing room.
Madgen led Australia with 18 points. Ezi Magbegor added 14, and Sami Whitcomb and Alanna Smith each had 12.
Williams finished with 15 for France (2-1).
U.S. 87, Germany 68
The Americans showed off their size through the start of group play. They clinched first in their group by showing off their tremendous depth, outscoring Germany 52-13 in reserve points.
Jackie Young scored 19 points for the U.S.. A’ja Wilson added 14 points, and Breanna Stewart had 13.
The Americans clinched the top seed in their pool and extended their record streak to 58 consecutive Olympic wins dating to the 1992 Barcelona Games.
These teams played an exhibition game in London right before the Olympics, and the Americans came away with an easy 84-57 victory that night. They had to work a bit more for this one.
Belgium 85, Japan 58
Emma Meesseman scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Belgium routed Japan to clinch the first of three remaining quarterfinal berths. The Cats came together, hugging and dancing at midcourt, after the final buzzer, with some wiping tears from their eyes.
Japan (0-3) was eliminated after winning silver three years ago at the Tokyo Games. The Japanese wiped away tears as they left the court.
This is the second straight Olympics that the silver medalist failed to medal in the next Olympics. Spain won silver in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games, and then lost to France in the quarterfinals in Tokyo.
Belgium (1-2) needed to beat Japan by 27 points to finish with a better point differential than China to keep playing. The Cats had a packed house trying to help, with Belgium a mere 20 miles (32 kilometers) away and China (1-2) watching the scoreboard through the final three games to learn its fate.
The Cats led 19-7 at the end of the first with the final margin the biggest concern. Japan didn’t make it easy as Belgium had a 20-16 edge in the second for a 39-23 lead at halftime.
Belgium outscored Japan 22-16 in the third for a 61-39 lead. Fans roared for each Belgium bucket, knowing the need to not only win but by the point margin. Elise Ramette’s 3 with 4:52 pushed the lead to the 27 points needed at 71-44, and Becky Massey hugged her to start a Japan timeout.
Ramette finished with 16 points. Antonia Delaere and Maxuella Mbaka Lisowa each had 12.
Saki Hayashi led Japan with 13, and Evelyn Mawuli added 12.
