The U.S. women’s basketball is set to take on the Nigerian national women’s basketball team in their first preliminary matchup on Tuesday.
The teams last met on July 18 in an exhibition matchup. The US defeated the Nigerian squad 93-62 and were led by A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces who had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
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Breanna Stewart of the Seattle Storm had 14 points, Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury scored 12 and Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm and Sylvia Fowles of the Minnesota Lynx added with 10 points.
For Nigeria, they were led by Atonye Nyingifa who scored 9 points while Erica Ogwumike, who’s sisters play for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks added 5 points.
The U.S. squad is expecting a hard-fought game from this Nigerian team. Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx spoke about the team’s work ethic and motor, in a press conference.
“Something that really impressed me was how hard they played the entire game, the fight that they had. That is what every team is going to be like when we are here, so we have to be prepared for every game because we are going to get everybody’s best game and best effort,” she said.
You can catch the action at 12:40 a.m. ET on the USA Network.